Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 28, 1990                   TAG: 9007280270
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                LENGTH: Medium

A MISTRIAL WAS DECLARED FRIDAY IN RAYMOND

The prosecutors' decision following a jury deadlock on eight sex counts ended the longest, costliest criminal case in U.S. history.

"It is clear to me that the jury will not reach a verdict in this case on any of the counts," Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg said.

Votes on seven of the eight counts leaned toward acquittal. Deputy District Attorney Joseph Martinez said Buckey would not be tried again.

"The community has had enough. We gave it our best shot," Martinez said. "These kids cannot be McMartin kids for the rest of their lives. It's been a horrible experience."

Buckey said he would not be happy until Weisberg makes a final ruling Wednesday on whether to abide by the prosecution motion to dismiss.

"No one has won in the McMartin case, one or two," Buckey said. "I was innocent coming in and I'm still innocent because I wasn't found guilty."

The lack of resolution was another bizarre development in the McMartin case, which has consumed seven years of court time and cost more than $13.5 million.

During a news conference, District Attorney Ira Reiner conceded there were "fundamental problems with the evidence in this case that go back six or seven years."

But he said he did not regret going through with the second trial.

"The parents felt it was important there would be a resolution," he said. "I think it's clear now there cannot be."

Defense attorney Danny Davis said the ordeal would never be over for the parents.

"It's a horrible predicament to . . . consider it didn't happen and they bought into a circus," he said.

Even one of the most outspoken parents, who had demanded the retrial, said she had tired of the battle.

"I really wasn't surprised," Jackie McGauley said of the mistrial. "People are real divided on this issue. . . . I feel such relief that it's over. I'd like to get on with the work of seeing that the justice system is changed to accommodate children."

The jurors were unanimous on one thing: That the case should not be tried again.

"There are too many questions, too many gaping holes and it's too much time to spend," said juror Michael Carapella, 25, a musician.

Jury Foreman Richard Dunham told the judge that an extra week of deliberation, which came after the panel reported earlier deadlocks, only resulted in splitting jurors further.

The jurors took the same route an earlier jury took last January, choosing not to decide because they could not agree whether Buckey was guilty or innocent of molesting three young girls as long as 10 years ago at his family's Manhattan Beach preschool.