A Banning jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision today on murder and other charges in the trial of a probationer accused of fatally shooting a Coachella Valley man , prompting a judge to declare a mistrial.
Jurors in the trial of Hector Ramiro Yamanaka Ruiz, 45, had been deliberating since Wednesday morning, but informed Riverside County Superior Court Judge Francisco Navarro on Friday they were hopelessly deadlocked on the first-degree murder count, as well as a special-circumstance allegation of lying in wait and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
The jury did convict Ruiz of arson, possession of an incendiary device and violating a domestic violence restraining order.
The judge declared a mistrial on the charges on which jurors hung, scheduling a retrial status conference for Feb. 23 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. Prosecutors are expected to announce they’ll proceed with retrying the defendant on the unresolved charges.
He remains held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.