The jury could not reach a verdict Friday in the trial of Neville Potter Jr. for the February 2009 murders of Marvis Chamaro and Jack Diehl in Mandahl Bay, and V.I. Superior Court Judge Brenda Hollar directed them to return for one more try Saturday morning.
On Friday morning, Hollar read instructions to the jury, delineating how to proceed through the series of charges, starting with two first-degree murder charges for the shootings of Diehl and Chamaro. The jury, which has been sequestered away from family, work and friends since Monday, deliberated for an hour and a quarter and then sent a note to Hollar saying they were unable to come to a unanimous verdict.
Hollar brought the jury back into the courtroom just after 2 p.m. and told them they needed to work more to find a consensus.
“An hour and a half is not enough time for consideration after a four-day trial,” said Hollar, instructing the jury to return to their chambers and try again to reach a unanimous verdict if possible, “without doing violence” to what they believed to be the truth.
Just after 6 p.m., the jury again sent a note to Hollar saying they continued to be deadlocked. The jury again returned to the courtroom, where Hollar dismissed them for the evening and said they would try “one more time” Saturday morning before ruling the jury hopelessly deadlocked and declaring a mistrial.
