County deciding on retrial after jury deadlocked in Anderson murder trial
Nov. 19—ANDERSON — The Madison County Prosecutor's Office has not determined if it will seek another trial for Tywaine Perry.
A Madison Circuit Court Division 6 jury deadlocked Wednesday on Perry's charges of murder and attempted murder in the Dec. 8, 2016, shooting death of Carlson Conn.
Judge Mark Dudley declared a mistrial after jurors deliberated for about five hours; he set Dec. 3 to reschedule the trial.
Perry, 22, also is accused of wounding Marcus Prickett in the arm in the house the two men shared in the 2400 block of Lincoln Street.
The key testimony during the trial was that of Prickett, the only eyewitness to the shooting.
In his closing statement, defense attorney Spenser Benge told jurors that the state wanted them to speculate what happened.
"The state wants you to connect dots that don't really connect," he said.
Benge said Prickett made numerous inconsistent statements and that his testimony was not believable.
"His story makes no sense," he said. "He lied and flip-flopped in is statements."
Prickett testified that Perry opened the door to the house, asked where Conn was and displayed a gun. Prickett said he left the living room and went to a bedroom.
"Why would the shooter let Prickett leave the living room," Benge asked. "There is more to the story then Prickett told. We may never know."
A disputed point during the trial was a letter Prickett sent to the court in 2019 in which he stated he lied and could not identify the shooter.
Prickett testified that Perry wrote the letter and Prickett copied it. A state's witness testified that she placed money in Prickett's jail commissary account at Perry's direction.
"This was a 17-year-old black kid, selling crack (cocaine) and runs from the police," Benge said. "That makes him guilty. He did what a scared kid would do."
In his closing remarks, Deputy Prosecutor Daniel Kopp said Prickett made inconsistent statements and wrote the letter because he was intimidated and scared after being threatened while in jail on an armed robbery charge.
"You will convict the defendant on the evidence that Marcus Prickett told the truth," he said of the testimony during the trial. "The evidence collaborates what Marcus said.
"The defendant caused the lies and inconsistencies in Prickett's story," he said. "He (Prickett) testified he was 100% sure the defendant was the person who shot his father figure."
Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.
