FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – For a second time, jurors have failed to reach a verdict in the trial of a man accused of shooting a Biola Farmer.
George Salwasser Jr. was shot back in May of 2014, when he found a group of people stripping the tires off a stolen truck.
The shooting took place on his property near Howard and shields in Fresno County, with Jose Canas confessing to being the gunman.
The others accused included Maria Mansanalez, Fabian Mansanalez, and Adrian Aceves.
In 2014, one of the detectives, Mark Chapman, testified that Canas confessed to shooting Salwasser after Salwasser caught Canas and Aceves taking the tires off the truck around 6:15 p.m. on May 8, 2014,
According to the Fresno Bee, Chapman testified in front of Judge Wayne Ellison that Salwasser held a gun in one hand and a cellphone in the other when he was shot and killed.
Court documents state the gun belonged to another defendant, Fabian Mansanalez but that Canas was the one who pulled the trigger.
Three of the four accused – Fabian Mansanalez, Adrian Aceves and Jose Canas had criminal records that included drugs, assault and weapons crimes.
Aceves and Fabian’s sister, Maria Mansanalez both ended up accepting plea agreements.
Aceves is serving an 11-year sentence for manslaughter in Salwasser’s death.
After pleading guilty in July 2015 to being an accessory Maria Mansanalez faces up to three years and eight months in prison Her sentencing hearing is pending.
In October of 2015, in his trial, Fabian Mansanalez was found guilty of receiving a stolen vehicle and possession of a gun – not related to the homicide, and received 7 years behind bars.
In 2016, Canas was found not guilty of first-degree murder, but the jury was hung on a second-degree murder charge.
The judge declared a mistrial which allowed prosecutors to retry Canas but only for second-degree murder.
On Wednesday, December 26, 2018, Judge Alvin M. Harrell III declared a mistrial when the jury told him again they were deadlocked.
Click to listen to the report by KMJ’S Liz Kern:
