San Diego

A mistrial was declared Tuesday in the case against a 36-year-old man accused of murdering his mother-in-law at a Clairemont doughnut shop. Jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked, 11 to 1 for conviction on first-degree murder after almost two days of deliberations.

However, the San Diego Superior Court jury did find Randy Geering guilty of illegally exhibiting a gun and burglary in the Jan. 29 incident that left Audrey Erbe, 59, dead from a gunshot in the head. Erbe was manager of the doughnut shop. Geering’s estranged wife was at the store at the time.

Judge William Kennedy ordered Geering to appear Nov. 22 for the scheduling of a retrial. Deputy Dist. Atty. Gregg McClain said he is prepared to retry the case.

Jurors were brought into court late Monday, and one told Kennedy that a verdict was “a possibility” if they had further discussions.

The judge sent them back to deliberate, but they returned five minutes later, saying they were “hopelessly deadlocked.”

McClain had argued for a first-degree murder verdict, while Charles Elliott, Geering’s attorney, suggested an acquittal or at most a verdict of involuntary manslaughter.

Geering testified that he accidentally shot his mother-in-law after he whirled around in response to a noise and the gun discharged, striking her. But his estranged wife testified that she heard him angrily arguing with Erbe.

Geering will be sentenced Dec. 13 on the two counts on which he was convicted. He faces a six-year sentence on the burglary count and a one-year term on the gun count.