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Freddie Green, 42, faced charges of murder and felonious assault in connection with the fatal shooting of his father, Sidney Green, 64, on Dec. 2 at a rented home they shared in Lebanon.
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The jury began deliberations just before 11 a.m. Wednesday, the third day of the trial in Warren County Common Pleas Court.
Tepe sent them home at 8 p.m. Wednesday. They resumed deliberations about 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
The jury appealed for the first time to Tepe for direction about 11 a.m. Thursday.
“We are unable to reach a consensus and can’t see progress going forward. What should we do?” the jury said in a note sent to the judge.
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Tepe read them a statement about continuing to work to decide the case.
“It is your duty to decide the case if you can conscientiously do so,” Tepe said, before sending them back for more deliberations.
At 2:30 p.m., the jury again indicated they were deadlocked and asked for the testimony of Lebanon Officer Jeffrey Haller. Tepe allowed the jury to watch a recording of Haller’s testimony, over the objection of defense lawyer Jeff Richards.
Haller took a statement from Green after the shooting.
Reading from the statement on Monday, Haller testified that Green said he waited more than two hours before calling 911.
“He didn’t know what to do and he was scared,” Haller read from a police report.
Green reportedly told Haller he knew his father was dead, couldn’t decide what to do and also considered suicide before calling 911.
Taking the stand on Tuesday, Green admitted he drove to Dayton for heroin during four hours he waited before calling 911.
But Green continued to maintain that he acted in self defense after taking away his father’s 9mm handgun in a bedroom of a rented duplex they shared in Lebanon.
Green said he meant to shoot his father in the shoulder.
There were no other witnesses.
Sidney Green died from a single gunshot wound in the back of the head, fired from two to three feet away, according to evidence presented during the trial.
He was one of six victims of deadly domestic violence in the last half of 2016 in Warren County. Two cases ended as homicide-suicides involving both spouses.
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In the other case, Mercedes Robb, 35, is scheduled to return to Warren County Common Pleas Court for a hearing on Oct. 3.
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On Nov. 3, 2016, she told a 911 operator she shot her ex-husband to protect her children from him. But no evidence has so far been presented supporting that.
The Robbs were locked in a custody battle, and Jason Robb had cited her diminishing mental condition in a motion seeking full custody.
On Thursday, Green was returned to the county jail, where he has been since Dec. 3.
He faces as much as 15 years to life in prison, if convicted of murder. He has been in jail more than eight months awaiting trial,
After the mistrial was declared, Richards asked for a bond reduction.
Assistant County Prosecutor Steven Knippen said Green remained a danger to the community and flight risk and urged Tepe to leave the bond at $1 million.
Tepe said he would give prosecutors a week to decide whether they would retry the case.
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