SAN ANTONIO – A jury found 36-year-old Gabriel Moreno not guilty Wednesday of beating and suffocating 35-year-old Jose Luis Menchaca, whose body was later dismembered and whose limbs were burned.
Jurors deliberated for six hours over two days before returning the verdict. Moreno appeared surprised when the verdict was read by the jury foreperson, but Moreno's lawyer said the verdict wasn't unexpected to his client.
"I'm not surprised," said defense attorney Albert Gutierrez. "This is the second time we've been through it, and all we've ever asked for was a fair trial and I think we got it this time."
Moreno's first trial ended in a mistrial in February.
After four days of deliberations, the jury was deadlocked with 11 voting for guilty and one juror voting not guilty.
"I don't know that we could have done anything differently," prosecutor Matthew Ludowig said after Wednesday's verdict.
Ludowig speculated that the jury may have had some concerns over the credibility of the state's witnesses. Several of the witnesses admitted that they had drug issues and criminal records.
Among the witnesses was Candie Dominguez, 39, who was the girlfriend of Daniel Lopez, a co-defendant in the case.
Dominguez testified that she saw Moreno participate in Menchaca's beating and that it was in retaliation for a drug deal between Lopez and Menchaca that went bad.
She admitted witnessing the beating, and said that after the beating, she cut Menchaca's limbs from his body and burned them on a backyard barbecue grill.
Dominguez made a plea deal. In exchange for her testimony against Moreno, she faces a maximum of 30 years in prison.
"These people are people who did terrible stuff, and I don't know why the jury did not find them credible," Ludowig said. "But we respect their verdict."
Lopez was convicted of murder in June and was sentenced to life in prison.