A judge has granted a mistrial in Deontae Rush's murder trial for the killing of a Lincoln man during a drug robbery last year.
Prosecutors on Friday morning filed a motion for mistrial over COVID-19 delays that meant the jurors would have been outside the courtroom and unsequestered for at least six days.
Trial started Monday over James Shekie's fatal shooting in his home near 20th and Superior streets on Feb. 23, 2021.
Officials did jury selection, opening statements were made and the state called its first witnesses. But Tuesday morning, jurors were sent home after the judge and at least three Lincoln police witnesses tested positive for COVID-19.
Initially, jurors were told to return Friday, when trial tentatively was set to resume.
But in the motion for mistrial, Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Eric Miller said the attorneys learned Thursday that the judge still was symptomatic so the trial wouldn't start back up until Monday at the earliest.
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"As of the filing of this motion, the parties do not know with any certainty as to when his symptoms will abate or when he will test negative, and thus it is not clear as to when his isolation will end and when trial can resume," Miller wrote.
Miller said, if convicted, Rush likely would argue that jurors had the opportunity to engage in jury misconduct or to be exposed to improper influence given media attention to the case; and they are unlikely to have a fresh recollection of the evidence already presented.
The delay also could cause problems with the state's ability to secure the attendance of witnesses from out of state, Miller said.
Lancaster County District Judge Kevin McManaman granted the motion for mistrial Friday afternoon.Â
"The court finds that the events at trial, through no fault of the state or the defendant, constitute sufficient grounds for declaration of a mistrial," he wrote.
He said a mistrial was necessary to avoid prejudice and injustice to both sides.
Trial was rescheduled to start Oct. 28.