Deliberations to resume in Central Islip murder trial

After deliberations over two days, the jury in the Lavelle Todd murder trial in Riverhead said Wednesday it could not reach a verdict.

Jurors will resume deliberations Thursday after Judge Martin Efman refused to declare a mistrial.

He told the panel to continue discussing the evidence until it reaches a decision.

"I think you should give it more time," Efman said.

The jury was dismissed for the day at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday and told to return to court at 10 a.m.

Prosecutors say Todd, 20, of Central Islip, shot and killed another Central Islip man, Robert Adams, 18, and wounded two other men at a Memorial Day 2008 party at the Central Islip Recreation Center.

Todd has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder and other charges.

The jury of six women and six men met for five hours on Tuesday and another five hours on Wednesday before sending Efman a note at 2:51 p.m. on Wednesday. "Hung jury," it said.

Efman noted that the jury watched security videos for about two hours on Tuesday, and watched videos and heard readback testimony for several hours on Wednesday.

"The amount of time you've been deliberating hasn't been that long - two-and-a-half to three hours," he told jurors.