Mistrial declared in 2007 Boston murder case

Prosecutors contend Steele was shot solely because the defendants wanted to shoot someone in that neighborhood and that Steele was not involved in any gang activity as the two defendants allegedly were.

In a note sent to Superior Court Judge Linda Giles today, jurors said they had reached verdicts on all the counts against the two men -- but the decisions were not unanimous as required by law.

The jurors held one more vote -- to decide if they could still try to reach unanimity -- and that fell on a 11-1 count. From the bench, Giles told jurors they should not feel ashamed that they were unable to decide the case.

She said that 11 of the 12 jurors deliberated for seven days -- a juror was removed and a new juror added last Friday -- totaling 40 hours.

In a statement, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley's office said both men will be retried. The attorneys had agreed to meet Oct. 20 to set a new trial date. Before the jury began deliberations, Giles found Carter not guilty of a charge of witness intimidation, a charge that rested heavily on tape recordings and letters Carter made while awaiting trial that were seized by authorities through a search warrant.

Some relatives of Steele and the defendants had a brief shouting match in the hallway after the mistrial was declared, but Boston police and court officers separated them without any further difficulties.