Monday, April 24, 2017

Judge declares mistrial in Bundy standoff after jury deadlocks on conspiracy counts

A federal judge on Monday declared a mistrial after a jury deadlocked on conspiracy counts against six men charged in the 2014 armed standoff between the Bureau of Land Management and Nevada’s Bundy ranching family. The jury reached guilty verdicts earlier Monday on lesser charges against two of the six defendants, but jurors declared themselves “hopelessly deadlocked” on federal conspiracy charges against the group. Greg Burleson, 53, of Phoenix and Todd Engel, 49, of Boundary County, Idaho, were found guilty of obstruction of justice and interstate travel in aid of extortion stemming from the April 2014 clash over grazing rights on federal land. Burleson, who was described as an ex-FBI informant and shown in a video saying he posed as a member of a bogus film crew during the standoff, was also convicted on six other counts, including threatening and assaulting a federal officer. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Gloria Navarro set another trial date after the jury reached an impasse for the second time in the same day, several hours she sent them back with orders to continue deliberations at the Las Vegas courthouse...more

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