Accused Killer Out of Jail

A Cole County judge declares a mistrial after a jury can’t reach a unanimous decision about a Columbia man’s involvement in a murder. Brandon Chase has been on trial since Tuesday for his role in the shooting death of Keith Mosely last April in Jefferson City public housing apartments.Chase is out of jail, but still faces robbery and murder charges. That’s because jurors were split seven to five. They told the judge they were so set in their decision that further deliberations would not help. Therefore the judge had no choice and declared a mistrial.The jurors say there is no hard evidence linking Chase to the killing. Chase’s lawyer was pleading to the jury in his closing arguments that this whole case was built on what people heard Chase and others say. Cole County prosecutor Mark Richardson was also pleading to the jury that they don’t leave common sense behind just because they’re a juror. He said Chase was the ring leader and was planning on robbing Mosely. But jurors believed both sides of the argument.”Because it was a hung jury, the judge has ordered a mistrial and will in the course of ordinary affairs reset the case for trial,” Chase’s lawyer Jan King explained.That new trial is set for March 27th. ABC 17 News asked Chase’s lawyer if he is going to try any new angle in the trial. He said he wasn’t going to even speculate what he or the Cole County prosecutor are going to do.