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News Briefs
Trial in cyclist death ends in a hung jury
The trial of Jon Nisby, the San Jose man accused of killing bicyclist Jeffrey Steinwedel on Dec. 2 1996, ended in a hung jury on March 3. After deliberating for four hours, the jury announced it was deadlocked 8-4 for guilty.
"The four jurors who voted not guilty essentially agreed we had the right truck, the right defendant and there was contact between the truck and the bicycle," said Tim McInerney, deputy district attorney. "But they were not sure who caused the contact."
The case will go back to trial within the next month. A pre-trial hearing has been set for March 11. The new judge for the case is Judge Andrea Bryan Lynn in Department 47.
The trial, which lasted seven days, went according to plan, McInerney said. "Going into the trial, we knew it was going to be extremely difficult because of the way the accident happened, with essentially no one seeing the actual impact," he added.
McInerney presented a circumstantial case by establishing which truck it was, who the driver was and how the accident occurred.
Eric Davila, Nisby's attorney, defended his client on the basis that no one knew what caused the impact between the truck and the cyclist or whose fault it was.
Nisby, 39, faces a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter for the death of Steinwedel, 46. If convicted, he could spend up to a year in jail and be fined up to $5,000.
The jurors who voted for guilty were adamant in prosecuting Mr. Nisby and were adamant he was negligent and very dangerous," McInerney said.
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Cupertino, California Since 1947
