HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Helena judge has declared a mistrial in the case of an Augusta-area landowner charged with killing his neighbor during a confrontation at a locked gate in October 2013.

Jurors told District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock on Friday that they could not reach a unanimous decision on the deliberate homicide charge against Joseph Campbell. Campbell said Timothy Newman pointed a gun at him and he shot him in self-defense.

Afterward, Assistant Attorney General Dan Guzynski said he did not see any reason why they would not re-try the case.

The six-man, six-woman jury began hearing testimony on Feb. 15. Prosecutors sought to portray Campbell as a neighborhood bully who threatened people with guns over the years. Campbell testified he and his wife were terrified as Newman followed them on an all-terrain vehicle to the spot where the shooting occurred.

 

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