Andrews Case Ends In Mistrial Jurors Evenly Split; County Mulls Options

After three days of intense deliberations, a Spokane jury failed to reach a verdict in the double-murder trial of Joseph Andrews.

Before noon Friday, the six-man, six-woman jury sent a note to Spokane County Superior Court Judge Richard Schroeder, saying they were stuck and felt they could not reach a unanimous verdict.

The jury began deliberating Tuesday night, trying to reach a decision in a case that could have led to the death penalty against Andrews, 26.

Prosecutor Jim Sweetser said the county will review its choices, including whether to drop the death penalty option, before seeking a second trial against Andrews.

“This is a serious case in which two people were murdered. We will choose a new trial date, then meet with the attorneys involved to see what comes next,” Sweetser said.

Spokane County has spent more than $500,000 over the past 2-1/2 years as several private attorneys, investigators and deputy prosecutors prepared for the trial, Superior Court officials said. A second Andrews trial would add to the cost.

Prosecutors spent nearly three weeks during the trial trying to prove that Andrews had brutally killed two Spokane residents in a parked car in 1994.

Larry Eaves and Eloise Patrick, both 37, were found shot in the head inside Patrick’s car near downtown. Prosecutors said Eaves had owed Andrews drug money and had argued with him the night of the shootings.

Defense attorneys insisted Andrews did not commit the murders. They specifically challenged the credibility of the key prosecution witness, 24-year-old Tarry Green, who said she was with Andrews when the pair was killed.

Schroeder spent 45 minutes talking with jurors after the mistrial, learning that the group was divided evenly - half for conviction, half for acquittal.

That split, Schroeder was told, occurred early in the deliberations and changed little in the days that followed.

Defense attorneys Kevin Curtis and Phillip Wetzel said they felt “extreme disappointment” at not reaching resolution in a case that consumed most of the past six months.

“I also feel frustration, realizing that we may have to do this all over again,” said Curtis.

The decision to retry Andrews must be made within 30 days, Sweetser said. A new trial date must be set to start within two months of the mistrial.

Deputy Prosecutors Dannette Allen and Pat Thompson declined to comment.

Andrews, dressed in a new beige suit bought by family members, had no comment as sheriff’s deputies took him back to Spokane County Jail, where he’s been confined since his arrest in the fall of 1994.

His mother and sister, both from California, were in court when the mistrial was declared.

Sweetser said several options are possible, including a plea bargain with the defense attorneys.

Curtis and Wetzel also wanted to delay comment on future options. “What I want to say is, we felt from the time we got this case, there was not sufficient or credible evidence to support a conviction,” Curtis said.

If the prosecutor’s office drops the aggravated murder charges against Andrews, the death penalty option is removed and a second trial would take much less time.

It took three weeks for attorneys on both sides to interview 110 potential jurors before the trial started. The time was needed to pick “death-qualified” jurors who said they were not against the death penalty and were committed to a fair examination of the evidence.

Ultimately, jurors decided the state had not built a solid case against Andrews, said Wetzel.

Without direct physical evidence tying Andrews to the murder, jurors had to reach their conclusions largely on Green’s testimony.

“The jurors felt one of their main concerns was the credibility of key witnesses,” including Green, Wetzel said.

After talking with Schroeder, one juror left while 11 remained for two more hours, speaking with attorneys from both sides.

The jurors agreed not to talk publicly, eluding reporters by exiting from an adjoining courtroom and then leaving the courthouse quickly.

Having an evenly split jury usually prompts serious reconsideration by prosecutors, said State Appellate Court Judge John Schultheis.

“The assumption is that prosecutors only bring a capital charge in their strongest cases,” he said.

Sweetser would only say that some trials lead to convictions the second time around.

“After the defense discloses all they have, and after looking at the whole picture, it gives us the opportunity to conduct additional investigations that support our case.”

What may not change, however, is the reliability of some of its witnesses. At key times in the trial, prosecution witnesses offered contrasting stories, had trouble with dates, confused jurors by recanting earlier statements, and in two witnesses’ cases, refused the judge’s orders to testify.

“Witness credibility is one of the things we’ll need to examine and discuss,” Sweetser said.

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