A Louisville defendant on trial for attempted murder in connection with a shooting that left a man in critical condition in 2021 escaped Thursday while the jury was deliberating his verdict.
Had he waited for the decision, Vernon Jackson would have been able to go home but now he faces escape charges.
After four hours of deliberation, the jury couldn’t come to a unanimous decision and the judge declared a mistrial.
Jackson, who was on home incarceration, was allowed to leave during the deliberations but then cut off his HIP bracelet and escaped, according to Sheriff’s Department Spokesperson Lt. Col. Carl Yates.
Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Annie O’Connell issued a warrant for his arrest.
Jackson was on trial for charges of attempted murder, assault and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun.
The trial started Tuesday and the jury began deliberations about 3 p.m. Thursday.
Erran Huber, a spokesman for the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office, said prosecutors will retry Jackson on the original charges as well as charges involving his escape.
Once arrested, his bond will be set at $250,000. Jackson had paid a $35,000 bond to get released on home incarceration.
Attorney Casey McCall, who represents Jackson, said he would have argued that Jackson be taken off of home interaction given the prosecution couldn’t get a conviction.
On April 9, 2021, Jackson was at a gentlemen’s club at 3608 Seventh Street Road and had just paid to get in when there was a shooting in another part of the club, causing the business to immediately close.
Police have said Jackson became upset because he had just paid to get in and the employee working the door offered to repay him from his own pocket because Jackson’s money had been placed in a locked drop box, but Jackson was still angry.
That is when Jackson “came at” the employee who ran from the business to a nearby gas station with Jackson chasing him, according to police. The employee then began running along Berry Boulevard, as Jackson got into a car and continued chasing him.
As the man ran between two buildings, police say Jackson got out of the car and again demanded his money before pulling a gun and shooting the victim several times in the abdomen and extremities before leaving the scene.
The victim was taken to University Hospital in critical condition with life-threatening gunshot wounds.
Investigators reviewed surveillance video from the gas station with the victim, who was able to identify Jackson as the person who shot him, according to police.
Jackson has pleaded not guilty.
Source: WDRB
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