Durrell Jones, charged with the October 2006 murder of Lawrence rapper Anthony Vital, known as Clacc, will stand trial a second time, a Douglas County judge has decided. The Lawrence Journal-World has the story.
The saga surrounding Vital's murder began when his body was discovered full of bullet holes in rural Lawrence. A June 2007 Pitch feature told the story of Vital's rise in the local and regional rap scene as part of Da BombSquad in the early 2000s. More than a year after his death, Major C. Edwards and Jones -- who both are in federal custody on other charges -- were charged with his murder.
Edwards copped a plea for intentional manslaughter in March 2010, but
Jones went to trial last week, where Edwards testified against him.
Prosecutors accused Jones, 26, of murdering Vital, 28, over a drug debt. But despite Edwards' testimony, the jury of 11 women
and one man, which began deliberations last Friday, failed to
reach a consensus on Wednesday. The Journal-World reports that
Jones' attorney, John Kern, claimed that Edwards wasn't a reliable witness.
Prosecutors told the paper that they won't drop the charges against
Jones, and a new trial was scheduled for August 8.
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