Murder case ends in mistrial

A mistrial was declared late Friday in the William Pressley murder trial after the jury could not reach a verdict after more than 20 hours of deliberations over two days.

The seven men and five women sent three notes to Circuit Judge Fred Foreman saying they were deadlocked during their deliberations, and Foreman agreed after the jury foreman told him in open court that further discussion of the case would not resolve the logjam.

Pressley will remain in the Lake County jail on $3 million bond, and a hearing will be held Sept. 5 to determine what action will be taken next in the case.

Pressley, 29, is accused in the Sept. 22, 2005, beating death of Jesus Gaytan, 26, of Waukegan, in a road rage incident that ended in a Gurnee parking lot.

After the jury's note was sent to Foreman, prosecutors and Pressley's attorney asked the judge not to declare a mistrial without giving the jury more time to consider the case.

Foreman sent a note back to the jurors instructing them to "consider the evidence, review the instructions and continue your deliberations."

Pressley was a passenger in a car driven by Gregory McKnight, 32, when it was struck from behind by Gaytan's car near a Park City tavern.

Gaytan sped away from the crash, and McKnight pursued him to an industrial park off Delany Road in Gurnee where the drivers confronted each other.

McKnight and another passenger in the car, Terrance Woods, 26, of Waukegan, originally told police all three people in McKnight's car beat and kicked Gaytan repeatedly.

McKnight and Woods pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last year and agreed to testify against Pressley. However, while on the witness stand this week, both significantly changed their original stories about Pressley's involvement.

Prosecutors claimed the two were angry over the prison sentences they received -- McKnight got 19 years and Woods received 18 -- and were deliberately trying to scuttle Pressley's prosecution.

Defense attorney Thomas Briscoe of Waukegan argued McKnight and Woods were lying when they originally made their statements and when they testified.

Briscoe tried to convince jurors during the three-day trial that Pressley played no role in the beating that led to Gaytan's death.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Pressley faces a sentence of 20 to 60 years in prison.