A mistrial was declared by the judge in a 2023 fatal stabbing case that occurred in the Midway District and a new trial date was set for August 5. The jury was deadlocked at 11-1 in the case of Armando Manuel Parras accused of murdering Joshua Goodman at a McDonald’s restaurant.
San Diego Superior Court Judge David Berry declared the mistrial after the jury deadlocked for four days in deliberations in the case of the stabbing the morning of Aug. 30, 2023.
The Peninsula Beacon reported:
Parras is accused of ambushing Goodman as the victim rode a bicycle in the parking lot of the Midway Drive restaurant. Police said the defendant was a passenger in a minivan that pulled into the lot, where he allegedly exited the vehicle and began chasing Goodman, before catching up and stabbing him.
After the alleged attack, investigators said Parras jumped back into the van, which headed west on Midway.
In testimony that preceded the dispute among the jurors, witnesses said that it was common knowledge in the homeless community that Goodman and Parras didn’t like each other and that the victim had a history of drawing a firearm in certain situations.
The court also was told that Parras helped a homeless woman recover her bicycle after she claimed Goodman stole it from her. Two people testified that they grabbed the bike from Goodman, which caused him to yell out a warning to watch out for him if they returned to Ocean Beach.
Parras pleaded not guilty and remains behind bars. The defense argued that the defendant was afraid of Goodman.
Brittany Wolf, 36, the driver of the minivan, is serving an 8-month jail term for accessory after the fact to murder. She is set to be released July 10.
The mistrial was declared after members of the jury panel complained that one juror refused to deliberate. They had sent a note to the judge asking for the juror to be replaced by an alternate. But Judge Barry said he found no grounds for juror misconduct.
The Beacon:
In a rare move, Berry asked jurors on April 29, the day he declared the mistrial, to testify in open court about their conduct during deliberations. The man who angered his fellow jurors denied accusations that he wasn’t deliberating. He said several jurors disagreed with him, but he insisted he was discussing the case. He claimed he didn’t know why there was a problem.
The other jurors, when queried by Berry, expressed their frustration. One said the juror in question refused to say anything. Another wondered about his mental health. Still another said the man turned his chair away from the other panelists to face the wall on their final day of deliberations.
Before declaring a mistrial, Berry said he could find no grounds to exclude that juror. He also told the attorneys he had carefully reviewed an appeals court opinion that overturned a conviction in a trial in which a judge removed a juror.
