FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Fulton County judge declared a mistrial because it was taking too long. Channel 2’s Liz Artz talked to the mother of the victim who thought they would have a verdict for the holiday.
Family members say they were told the trial was not expected to last more than 9 days and the jurors had holiday travel plans so the judge declared a mistrial.
It's the fourth holiday season to pass since Matthew Hardeman was gunned down on Owen Street in southeast Atlanta. Witness told police Prentice Baker and Verlaine Laguerre shot Hardeman multiple times after an argument.
“It just burns when it crosses my mind,” mother Gloria Hardeman told Artz. “I have his pictures up and I say ‘Matthew, I don’t know what to say. I miss you.’”
When the trial began Dec. 10, Gloria Hardeman thought she would find some resolution and peace by Christmas. She says she was let down when a Fulton County judge declared the mistrial.
“It’s still painful and more (that) I have to wait painfully again," she said.
Fulton County court's responded by stating.
“In this instance, after weighing the totality of the circumstances, the court felt the mistrial was the best and most appropriate solution.”
Gloria Hardeman says it's the latest disappointment in a string of letdowns that started after her son's alleged killers, Laguerre and Baker, were charged with murder, but allowed to go home on bond.
“Sometimes I feel like I’ve been sold a dream,” she told Artz.
Now, the Hardeman family will have to wait another five months. Court officials said it will be at least April 2015 before another jury will be sat and the case will finally go before a judge. Meanwhile, both suspects remain free on bond.
WSBTV
