Local News in Brief : Rape Jury Deadlocks
A mistrial was declared in the case of a man accused of attacking a Van Nuys Municipal Court judge.
After more than 10 hours of deliberation spanning three days, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury reported that it was hopelessly deadlocked 9 to 3, with the majority in favor of acquitting Stephen Andrew Weible, 28, of Tarzana. Weible is charged with kidnaping and attempted rape in the Jan. 4, 1986, attack on Judge Leslie A. Dunn.
Prosecutors will review the evidence and decide by Feb. 16 whether to seek a new trial, Deputy Dist. Atty. David R. Disco said.
Dunn, 38, testified during the 10-day trial that she was jogging near her Tarzana home when a man grabbed her, pulled her into his car and drove to the service entrance of a Woodland Hills elementary school. Dunn said she struggled and eventually was able to flee.
The lack of physical evidence linking Weible to the crime had the greatest influence on jurors, the foreman said. No samples of Dunn’s hair and no fibers from her clothing were found in Weible’s car.
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