Roger Beason listens as jurors hear the prosecution’s closing statements Wednesday. Beason is accused of shooting a dog in the face with a compound bow.
Staff Photo by Tim Barber/Chattanooga Times Free PressA Hamilton County jury couldn’t reach a verdict Wednesday in the trial of a Whitwell, Tenn., man charged with aggravated animal cruelty for shooting a stray dog in the snout with an arrow.
After a two-day trial and nearly three and a half hours of deliberation, the jury foreman told Criminal Court Judge Don Poole the jury was divided, 7-5, over charges against Roger Dale Beason, 36.
Poole declared a mistrial and set a hearing for June 1. Assistant District Attorney Lance Pope said his office hadn’t decided whether to retry the case.
Beason’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Erinn O’Leary, declined to comment.
The jury foreman declined to be interviewed Wednesday.