CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN DIEGO : Silberman Jury Seeks Guidance

The jury in Richard T. Silberman’s money-laundering trial said it was deadlocked and asked for help because it had yet to decide any of the several charges against the San Diego financier. In response, and over defense objections, the federal judge presiding over the case provided further guidance on various legal terms, including the defense of entrapment, which Silberman has asserted. The complex case arose from an undercover FBI sting operation. Jurors, who resumed deliberations after receiving the new instructions from U.S. District Judge J. Lawrence Irving, gave no indication whether they were close to a verdict on any or all of the charges. Silberman, 61, who once served as a top aide to former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., is accused of laundering $300,000 that an undercover FBI agent allegedly characterized as the proceeds of Colombian drug dealing.