A mistrial was declared Monday in the trial of a Tucson man charged with first-degree murder in an 11-year-old case.
Jurors were unable to reach a unanimous decision after deliberating two days in the Joseph Javier Romero case.
Skeets A. Matthews, 43, was shot twice by a .40-caliber gun on June 23, 2000, and died in a mobile home park in the 1600 block of East Roger Road.
Deputy Pima County Attorney Casey McGinley told jurors last week that Tucson police were unable to identify any suspects until 2007 - when a cold-case team looked at a cellphone found under Matthews' body.
The detectives linked the phone to Romero and, later, to a gun they believed was the murder weapon. Romero, 28, was arrested last fall.
Assistant Pima County Public Defender Dawn Priestman told jurors during her opening statement that DNA on the phone and gun not only came from Romero, but from unknown people as well, people who could also be considered suspects. She also said unknown people left blood and a hat near the scene, and witnesses say two men who were seen fleeing the area were short, but her client is over 6 feet tall.
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Pima County Superior Court Judge Deborah Bernini presided over the trial.
A status hearing on the case is scheduled for Aug. 24. Romero remains in jail on $750,000 bail.
Contact reporter Kim Smith at 573-4241 or kimsmith@azstarnet.com
