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Sanford, Fla. (Associated Press) — Jurors deliberating in the trial of a Florida attorney charged with operating a gambling network under the guise of a veterans’ charity are having trouble reaching consensus.
The six jurors sent a note to the judge late Friday asking if a verdict had to be unanimous. The note said some jurors were leaning toward guilty and others toward not guilty.
Judge Kenneth Lester called the jurors back into the courtroom and told them a decision had to be unanimous. Their question came after 14 hours of deliberating over two days.
Kelly Mathis is charged with more than 100 counts for his work with Allied Veterans of the World. He claims he did nothing wrong.
His arrest with 56 other defendants led to the resignation of Florida’s lieutenant governor and a ban of Internet cafes by the Florida Legislature.
At issue is whether Kelly Mathis committed any crime in his work for his client, Allied Veterans of the World. Jurors deliberated for five hours Thursday. Prosecutors said Internet cafes operated by Allied Veterans were a front for a $300 million gambling operation that gave very little to veterans’ charities.
An acquittal of Mathis would likely cause many of the remaining two dozen or so co-defendants still waiting for their cases to be tried to seek to have their charges dropped.
“The judge doesn’t want to try the same case again” if a jury already has acquitted a major defendant, said attorney Don Lykkebak, whose client, Allied Veterans defendant James Hill, reached a deal with prosecutors last month.
A conviction, on the other hand, would likely have defense attorneys seeking plea deals for their clients, said attorney Cheney Mason, whose client, Allied Veterans defendant Anthony Parker, also reached a deal with prosecutors last month.
