Beauregard Case Again a Mistrial

A San Bernardino Superior Court jury deadlocked Friday in the attempted-murder retrial of former Cal State Northridge football player Jonathan Beauregard.

After four days of deliberating, the jury voted 11-1 in favor of acquittal, creating another mistrial.

In Beauregard’s first trial, in October, a jury also deadlocked, voting 9-3 in favor of conviction.

“It’s very disappointing and we don’t know at this point if there will be another retrial,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Cheryl Kersy said.

A starting lineman for the Matadors in 1994, Beauregard was accused of shooting his former girlfriend and her male companion as they sat in the man’s car outside a San Bernardino bar Aug. 29, 1994.

Dunyella D. Smith, the former girlfriend, identified Beauregard as the triggerman in police reports shortly after the incident. However, in court Smith testified she wasn’t certain Beauregard was the man.

Von E. Thompson, the other victim, pointed to Beauregard in court and testified that he had no doubt Beauregard was the man who shot him.

Smith was shot in the hip and Thompson in the chest and arm. At the time, Thompson was a security guard at the nightclub and his work attire included a bulletproof vest.

“[The jury] had a lot of testimony read back and the one juror who voted to convict said the rest of the jurors decided Von [Thompson] couldn’t see who shot him,” Kersy said. “They rejected his ID right out.”

Beauregard, 23, has been free on $100,000 bail since October, 1994.