Mistrial declared in Commissioner Tim Boyd’s case

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — A judge declared a mistrial in the case against a Hamilton County Commissioner.

The jury in Commissioner Tim Boyd’s trial deliberated for five hours and then told Judge Andrew Freiberg they were “hopelessly deadlocked.”

Boyd was initially charged with extortion. After hearing the state’s case, Judge Freiberg decided to go with a lesser charge of attempt to commit extortion.

Despite not reaching a conclusion, Boyd’s defense attorney Lee Davis appreciates the jury’s hard work.

“It is not about a win or a loss. What we’ve got is a several day trial, a judge who acquitted Tim Boyd today of the extortion charge, a jury who worked hard to resolve the matters and could not come to a conclusion. We had a split in the jury as to how to resolve it. If necessary, we will go in front of another jury another day, but for right now we want to thank these jurors for their service,” Davis said.

Judge Freiberg says a new date will be set for another trial. He expects that won’t be until 2019.