CORRUPTION JURY STILL STALEMATED

Former Prichard Detectives Await Verdict In Racketeering Trial

Jurors in the federal corruption trial of two former Prichard narcotics
detectives deliberated all day Friday without reaching a verdict and hinted
around midday that they did not seem close to agreement.

The panel is set to resume deliberations in the case against Anthony Diaz
and Frederick Pippins around 9 a.m. Monday.

A grand jury in Mobile last summer indicted Diaz, Pippins and four other
men -- former Lt. James Stallworth Jr., former Sgt. John Stuckey and former
detectives Derek Gillis and Nathan McDuffie -- on racketeering and related
charges. The indictment alleged in part that the six took money from drug
suspects in exchange for letting them go.

The defendants went on trial together in October, but jurors deliberated
for three days before declaring themselves deadlocked, prompting a mistrial.

All of the men except Diaz and Pippins pleaded guilty Jan. 4 and agreed to
cooperate with prosecutors. They are to receive sentences ranging from
probation to three-year prison terms.

Diaz and Pippins went back on trial Monday, with Stuckey and Stallworth
testifying against them. Closing arguments took place Thursday. Jurors
deliberated for about an hour before adjourning until Friday morning.

Shortly before noon, jurors sent a letter to Chief U.S. District Judge
Charles Butler Jr. seeking advice on resolving their different
interpretations of the law.

"The gist of it was everyone was not of the same opinion," said Lila
Cleveland, Diaz's lawyer.

The jury sent another note around 4:30 p.m. asking for permission to go
home for the weekend. Butler thanked them and told them to get some rest.

If the panel remains stalemated, Butler could opt to use what is called an
Allen charge or a "dynamite" charge, a set of further instructions intended
to break a deadlock. Essentially, the judge tells jurors to consider each
other's opinion in addition to the evidence in the case.

Butler unsuccessfully issued such a charge in the first trial.

The trial has taken place and deliberations are to resume on the second
floor of the federal courthouse downtown on St. Joseph Street. If found
guilty, Diaz could face more than 15 years in prison, while Pippins could
face as many as nine years.