Convictions in boat case tossed

Citing jury confusion, a federal judge in Miami threw out weapons convictions against a man accused in the hijacking and shooting deaths of four people last year aboard the Joe Cool charter boat.

U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck said misleading jury instructions and his own failure to adequately answer a jury question about the law led to an “inconsistent verdict” in the trial of Guillermo Zarabozo, 20.

On Sept. 30, jurors were deadlocked on all the major counts against Zarabozo, including robbery, boat hijacking and four counts each of murder and kidnapping. But the jury convicted him on four counts of using a firearm in a violent crime; the judge has voided those convictions. A new trial is scheduled for January.