THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 21, 1995 TAG: 9511210262
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
A man who was found guilty in July of murder and then granted a mistrial because of a juror's mistake has been acquitted of all charges by a different jury.
Jurors found Bryce Evans not guilty late Friday night of first-degree murder, conspiracy and use of a firearm after five hours of deliberation.
Evans and a co-defendant were charged with the July 30, 1993, drive-by shooting of Timothy Robinson in the 400 block of S. Main St. in the Berkley neighborhood.
Robinson, 29, was shot seven times with two semiautomatic weapons and died almost immediately, court records show.
On July 17, a jury found Evans guilty of the murder and was preparing to impose a sentence of up to life in prison.
But Circuit Judge Luther Edmonds tossed out the verdict and declared a mistrial after learning that a juror failed to reveal under oath that her husband had been a crime victim: He was blinded when he was shot in the head last year.
The problem in the July trial occurred during jury selection, when the jury panel was asked as a group whether they had any friends or relatives who were the victims of violent crime. It was during this process that the woman failed to reveal the attack on her husband.
Jonathon J. Johnson, Evans' co-defendant, was found guilty of murder and use of a firearm after a three-day trial in April 1994.
Jurors recommended 23 years in prison. A witness in that trial told police that he watched Johnson and Evans drive up in a white Thunderbird, shoot the victim repeatedly, then speed away, records show.
Evans maintained his innocence during both trials. He said he was with his girlfriend during the time that the victim was killed. He drove to New York the next day, he said. by CNB