A jury that told a Broward judge they were locked in a stalemate yesterday has aquitted former New York Yankee Jim Leyritz of DUI manslaughter charges.
They did, however, find him guilty of driving under the influence, which carries a maximum sentence of six months in prison.
A week of testimony failed to prove that Leyritz ran a red light the night of Dec. 28, 2007, when he collided with a car driven by Fredia Ann Veitch. Evidence showed that she, too, was drunk, and was not wearing her seatbelt.
Leyritz's attorney David Bogenschutz suggested the light may have been yellow.
His client, 46, faced a maximum of 15 years behind bars on the manslaughter charge. The former major leaguer had been celebrating his 44th birthday with friends on Fort Lauderdale beach when his SUV collided with Veitch's car around 3 a.m.
Prosecutors claim Leyritz's blood-alcohol level was .14 percent three hours after the accident, above Florida's .08 limit. Toxicologist Dr. Stefan Rose claimed Leyritz's alcohol level rose after the crash, when he took a vodka shot to calm his nerves.
Veitch had a blood-alcohol level of 0.18.
Local
The jurors seemed willing to announce they were a hung jury Friday, but judge Marc Gold asked the six people to go back in to the deliberation room and keep trying. The judge had dismissed a charge of manslaughter while impaired Thursday just before closing arguments.
One of the previously dismissed alternate jurors said he would have voted for acquittal on the manslaughter charges, also.
"I can't see that the evidence is there that he ran the red light," said Ralph Brandenburg, who added "a simple recommendation -- not as a juror but as a person -- if you stay away from the alcohol you probably wouldn't have this problem."
