JURY DEADLOCKS ON DRUG CHARGE IN MACADAMIA-NUT BUY

Jurors had trouble digesting the evidence Tuesday against a man facing a
possible life sentence for allegedly buying a macadamia nut from a Santa
Ana policeman posing as a rock cocaine dealer.

The Orange County Superior Court jury deadlocked 8-4 in favor of convicting
Foster Morris of attempted cocaine possession,a charge that carries 25
years to life under California's "three strikes, you're out" law.

Morris, 57, who lost both his legs to diabetes and uses a wheelchair,has
eight "strikes" on his record for robberies and burglaries committed
between 1959 and 1981. He has spent the past year in Orange County Jail.

"I have to think the jury was wondering why such a minor transgression was
put in front of them, why they were here for a silly macadamia nut," said
Deputy Public Defender Maria Hernandez. "I don't know whether they thought
it was a three-strikes case, whether they took that into consideration."

Jurors were ordered not to consider the possible punishment for Morris. The
three-strikes law was not mentioned at the one-day trial in Santa Ana.

Morris was sitting in the passenger seat of his friend's Geo sedan last
August when he allegedly gave $20 to undercover Officer Ernesto Conde in
exchange for the decoy drug. Hernandez argued that the lack of a video or
audio tape left reasonable doubt to Morris' intentions.

Judge Richard F. Toohey scheduled a hearing for Friday to determine whether
to hold a second trial. The judge has so far refused to use his discretion
to offer morris less than the maximum sentence. Hernandez said three years
in prison would be fair.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski