Jury still out in city slaying
Negii Coffee, 39, is accused of shooting John Bruno, 33, in 2004. Coffee's trial began Aug. 10; the jury has been deliberating since late Monday.
The Patriot-News
August 19, 2009
By Daniel Victor
of The Patriot-News
A jury was unable to reach a decision after a full day of deliberations Tuesday in the trial of Negii Coffee, who is accused of killing 33-year-old John Bruno in 2004.
The trial began Aug. 10 in front of Judge John F. Cherry, and the jury began its deliberations late Monday.
Families for Coffee and Bruno, both Harrisburg residents, have attended the trial, awaiting a decision through the testimonies and now the jury deliberations.
Assistant District Attorney Fran Chardo sought to prove that Coffee, 39, possessed the gun tied to the homicide at the time of the shooting, and that he told a woman to hide it because he had been shooting it and police would look for it.
Coffee’s attorney, Justin McShane, argued that the investigation was incomplete. He said the prosecution failed to undeniably place Coffee at the scene of the crime, and that another lead was not adequately investigated.
Bruno was shot dead Sept. 4, 2004, inside the New York Fried Chicken in the 1400 block of Market Street in Harrisburg.
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