A mistrial was declared today when a federal jury in San Francisco was unable to reach a verdict in the cocaine-fraud trial of a former San Francisco Police Department crime laboratory technician.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston declared the mistrial after jurors in the trial of Deborah Madden, 62, of San Mateo, said they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the federal charge of obtaining cocaine by fraud, deception or subterfuge.
Jurors leaving the courtroom, who declined to be identified, said they agreed that Madden took cocaine from the laboratory in 2009, but said they disagreed on whether prosecutors proved that she did so by means of deception.
The jurors said they split by a 10-2 and 9-3 vote at various times in favor of conviction on the charge. Illston set a hearing for Oct. 12 to discuss future steps, including a possible retrial.
