”He had a few flashes of brilliance but he was otherwise inept”

We've heard this over and over and over again over the course of Paul Gallegos' tenure. This time it actually made the paper. An amazing feat in its own right.

◼ Hung jury in Curry case; mistrial declared as jurors can't agree on murder count - Thadeus Greenson/The Times-Standard

A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in the murder case of Limmie Greg Curry III after jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked 7 to 5, in favor of acquittal.

...The jury of seven women and five men convicted Curry, 23, of possession of marijuana for sale but the foreman said jurors simply could not agree on whether Curry murdered William Reid on Feb. 3, 2010, at a rural property off State Route 299 near Willow Creek.

..After the mistrial declaration Tuesday, jurors said they worked hard to reach a verdict in the case but ultimately could not come to agreement. They asked to be identified by their juror numbers rather than their names in order to protect their privacy.

”There was not enough evidence to definitively prove Limmie was the murderer -- there just wasn't,” said Juror No. 2. “The prosecution didn't do their job.”

While jurors interviewed for this story universally lauded (Curry's attorney, Jeffrey) Fletcher's performance during the 10-week trial, many were critical of the prosecutor, Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos, who they said seemed ill-prepared.

”He had a few flashes of brilliance but he was otherwise inept,” said one juror, who asked not to be identified.

Echoing comments in Fletcher's closing statement, jurors were also sharply critical of the investigation that lead to Curry and Eddie Lee's arrests, saying it seemed law enforcement honed in on the two suspects and ignored all other leads in the case. Further, jurors said, the investigation seemed incomplete in many ways.