Maurice and Emory Felix expected to be freed after hung jury

Maurice and Emory Felix
(On trial for murder)

Wednesday, MAy 14, 2014. AARON HUMES Reporting: Brothers Maurice, 30, and Emory Felix, 27, are expected to be released sooon as Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryl-Lynn Vidal has indicated she would not pursue another prosecution against them for a charge of murder.

They were on trial in the Corozal Town Supreme Court, where a jury of twelve began deliberations at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday after Justice Troadio Gonzalez summed up the case on Tuesday afternoon. They emerged six hours later around 11:04 p.m. announcing that they were unable to reach a verdict.

The brothers were accused of killing mechanic Mitchum Heredia, 29, at his T-Street resident on April 10, 2006.

Main witness Romel Palacio, Jr., had testified that he witnessed the brothers approach Heredia, who was in his Nissan Maxima vehicle, with guns drawn.

One of them spoke to him and then both fired shots to his head and continued to fire, resulting in multiple gunshot wounds.

The Felixes have been tried twice previously.

In October of 2007 a jury found them guilty but the Court of Appeal ordered a retrial after finding a material misdirection of the jury by Justice Adolph Lucas.

A second jury sitting before Justice Herbert Lord four years later was unable to reach a verdict.

For this trial, the prosecutor Sheiniza Smith successfully applied for a change of venue, citing alleged jury tampering in the previous trials to Justice Gonzalez.

Palacio Jr has since died, allegedly at the hands of individuals trying to silence him, and was thus unavailable to testify; however the witness statement he gave police is admitted as evidence.

Romel Palacio’s father, Romel Sr., was also killed several years ago in what was believed to be an attempt to get rid of witnesses.

The Felix brothers took the witness stand as they did previously, and gave alibi testimonies saying that they were elsewhere at the time of the incident.

The Felix brothers are being represented by attorney Arthur Saldivar.

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