"A Sonoma County judge declared a mistrial Thursday after jurors couldn't agree on a verdict in the case of a 2023 stabbing outside a Santa Rosa bar that left one man dead. The 12-person jury split evenly, 6-6, on whether to convict Braulio Garcia III of murder in the killing of 38-year-old Asante VanDyke outside Gary's at the Belvedere on Mendocino Avenue. Jurors began deliberating last Sept. 18 after two weeks of testimony."
"What started the fight is still disputed. Prosecutors say it was over someone's girlfriend. McAllister said it stemmed from an earlier confrontation inside the bar. Prosecutors said that as VanDyke and his friends were leaving, Ponce caused a distraction while Garcia punched VanDyke and stabbed him in the chest and stomach. When VanDyke's friends stepped in, prosecutors said Garcia stabbed two of them. Ponce then fired a gun, hitting one man in the arm. Garcia and Ponce ran but were arrested days later."
A Sonoma County judge declared a mistrial after a 12-person jury split 6-6 on whether to convict Braulio Garcia III of murder in the Feb. 1, 2023, stabbing death of 38-year-old Asante VanDyke outside Gary's at the Belvedere. Jurors began deliberations Sept. 18 after two weeks of testimony and were deadlocked after four days, including one day disrupted by a courthouse evacuation. The jury foreman said votes on the murder charge and related charges were evenly split multiple times. Garcia's lawyer said DNA under VanDyke's fingernails matched Louis Robert Campos, whom police identified but never arrested. Richard Ponce pleaded no contest to two assault charges and was sentenced to 10 years. Lawyers will return to court Oct. 9 to discuss next steps.
Read at The Mercury News
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