Mistrial Declared in Ex-Policeman’s Murder Trial : Deadlock: Only one juror feels that unanimous verdict was attainable. Fired officer would have faced possible death sentence.

A mistrial was declared Thursday after a jury announced it was hopelessly deadlocked in the trial of a former Los Angeles police officer charged with arranging two contract murders in the early 1980s.

After four weeks of considering the evidence, only one member of the Superior Court jury felt that a verdict was attainable. The remaining jurors said they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict against William Leasure, 44, of Northridge.

The jury was deadlocked 10-2 in favor of conviction.

Leasure, arrested May 29, 1986, was on trial on murder and conspiracy charges stemming from the contract killings of Ann Smith in May, 1980, and Tony de los Reyes in September, 1981. Both victims were killed while embroiled in bitter marital disputes with their spouses, who were Leasure’s friends.

If he had been convicted, Leasure would have faced a possible death sentence because the charges against him included special circumstance allegations of murder for financial gain and while lying in wait.

Leasure sat without expression as Judge Stanley Weisberg questioned the jurors about their deliberation efforts and then declared the mistrial.

Outside court, Deputy Dist. Atty. James Koller said, “I could say I’m disappointed but that would be an understatement.”

Koller declined to say whether he will seek a retrial, but Weisberg--with whom the decision lies--indicated that he expects to hear the case again, ordering Leasure to return to court July 19 to set a new trial date.

Karen Hawkins, the lone juror who wanted to continue the discussions, said the panel cast ballots six times on the four counts and at one point Wednesday had voted 11-1 for conviction on the conspiracy charge.

Several jurors indicated outside court that one member of the panel was unswayed in his belief that Leasure was innocent.

Hawkins, a school district secretary, and jury foreman Tom Maldonado, a pharmacist at UCLA Medical Center, disclosed that the holdout juror told others on the panel about a newspaper story he had read about a key witness’s refusal to testify.

Jurors in high-profile cases are typically admonished regularly to avoid exposure to news accounts of a trial. Hawkins said she asked Maldonado to inform the judge of the incident, but he refused.

“His mind was made up even before he read that article,” Maldonado said of the other juror. “When (Hawkins) brought it up, we all agreed it wasn’t worth the judge’s effort.”

Koller said he was unaware that any of the jurors had read news accounts and declined to say what action he might have taken if he had known earlier.

Juror Bert Todd, an employee of the County Probation Department, said the two who favored acquittal may have been influenced by the thought of deciding whether to send Leasure to the gas chamber had he been convicted.

“I think they found it difficult to have on their conscience,” Todd said.

The jury had sent the judge a note June 20 advising that it was deadlocked, but Weisberg had instructed the jurors to continue their discussions.

Leasure, a pale, balding former traffic officer, is also accused of being the ringleader of a yacht theft and insurance fraud ring. He faces separate trials in Los Angeles and Contra Costa County on those charges.

The key witness in the murder trial against Leasure was Dennis France, the admitted triggerman in both contract killings, who testified under a grant of immunity. France said Leasure hired him to kill the victims, coaching him and driving the getaway car both times.

Leasure’s attorney, Richard Lasting, said France “has always known that his ticket to avoid prosecution is to name Mr. Leasure.”

The prosecutor in closing arguments said Leasure--a 17-year department veteran fired from the Police Department in 1988 for knowingly possessing a stolen vehicle--planned the murders “not so much for money, (but) almost for the thrill--to get away with it.”

But Lasting took aim at the testimony of France, describing him as a “liar, thief, extortionist, schemer and braggart.”

France testified that Leasure paid him $3,500 to fake a robbery and to shoot Smith, 41, in her mother’s Highland Park beauty shop in May, 1980, on the eve of a bitter divorce hearing.

France said Leasure hired him again in September, 1981, to kill De los Reyes, the 63-year-old husband of one of Leasure’s friends who wanted to speed up her son’s inheritance.

Paulette de los Reyes, the victim’s wife, also testified during Leasure’s two-month trial. De los Reyes had previously admitted hiring Leasure to arrange her husband’s killing, pleading guilty in November, 1989, to a reduced charge of second-degree murder and solicitation of murder in exchange for her testimony.

Smith’s husband, Arthur Smith, also was convicted of arranging the killing of his spouse.