Despite 2 Convictions, Case May Drag On : Courts: Jury is unable to decide whether special circumstances that could lead to death penalty are applicable.

The Pasadena Superior Court jury that deadlocked over a death penalty issue last week dealt a setback to a 1988 murder case that already has been the focus of two trials.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Walter H. Lewis said he will consult with the family of the victim, Lois Haro, before deciding whether to seek another penalty-phase trial before a new panel of jurors.

Haro’s parents and husband have attended all court proceedings in the case. At a new trial, they would again have to hear harrowing descriptions of how the 26-year-old woman was abducted from a shopping mall by two men, sexually assaulted and then shot in the head.

“I do want to get their feeling about a retrial,” Lewis said. “I really feel for them.”

The prosecutor began to consider his options after Judge Charles C. Lee on Wednesday declared a mistrial in the penalty phase of the trial of George Marvin Trone Jr., 21, one of two Pasadena men arrested and convicted in Haro’s slaying.

On Aug. 30, the seven-man, five-woman jury found Trone guilty of first-degree murder, kidnaping, robbery, rape and another sexual offense. But jury members told the judge Wednesday that they were hopelessly deadlocked 10 to 2 on the matter of special circumstances, with the majority in favor of sentencing Trone to death.

If special circumstances are found, a murder defendant can be sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In this case, Lewis said, the jury was required to find that Trone intended to kill Haro while he was engaged in the kidnaping, robbery or sexual assaults.

Investigators say that on Oct. 18, 1988, Haro was accosted by two men as she was returning to her car at the Plaza Pasadena mall after buying a gift for a baby shower. The men commandeered Haro’s Toyota, abducted her, stole her jewelry, sexually assaulted her, then shot her once in the head so she could not identify them, authorities said.

Earlier this year, Ronald Anthony Jones, named by police as the triggerman in Haro’s slaying, was convicted of the same five felony charges, plus special circumstances. He was sentenced to death.

In Trone’s case, two jurors were not convinced that the defendant knew that Jones was going to kill Haro, said jury foreman Joseph Lowther of Azusa, who believed Trone was a full partner in the slaying.

“I do feel frustrated,” Lowther said after the mistrial was declared. “I argued the case five different times.”

“We had a cut-and-dried case” against Trone, added juror Bob Shirer of Duarte. He said he believed the two jury holdouts “mostly felt sorry for the man.”

Haro’s family appeared to be disappointed by the mistrial and questioned several jurors about the deliberations. Family members declined to be interviewed, however, saying they wanted to wait until the case is concluded.

Lee ordered Lewis to decide by Sept. 18 whether to try Trone again on the issue of special circumstances.

Defense attorney Charles E. Dickerson said he hopes the prosecutor does not seek a new trial.

“I think there’s been enough pain in this case,” Dickerson said.

The defense attorney said that even if there are no special-circumstances findings, Trone is likely to be imprisoned for 20 to 30 years before he is eligible for parole.

“There are no winners in this case,” Dickerson said. “It’s a sad day for the family of the victim. It’s a sad day for Mr. Trone.”