A Minnesota judge declared a mistrial in the case of Anthony James Trifiletti, who was on trial for second-degree murder after shooting 39-year-old Douglas Lewis during a traffic incident in May 2020, according to the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office.

Dennis Gerhardstein, public information officer for the county attorney, explained to Blavity in a statement that the office is currently deliberating how it will proceed after the jury could not agree on verdict. 

“After much deliberation, a Ramsey County jury could not reach a verdict in the case involving Anthony Trifiletti. He remains in custody with bail conditions unchanged per the order of a Ramsey County judge,” Gerhardstein told Blavity. “The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office will decide in the coming days whether to pursue a new trial in this matter after we have a chance to better understand the jury’s decision,” he added. 

As Blavity previously reported, Trifiletti allegedly got into an argument with Lewis during a minor fender bender in St. Paul, Minnesota, shooting him four times, claiming he did it in self-defense. 

Trifiletti told police that two men pulled to the side of the road after the accident on May 1 and that he took photos of the damage before asking for insurance information. The two began to argue and eventually got back into their respective vehicles. 

According to the Star Tribune, Trifiletti then “unintentionally” followed Lewis before the two pulled over again. 

No gun was found on Lewis, according to KSTP, but Trifiletti said he saw him reach into his waistband and was afraid for his life before he fired six shots at Lewis. Four shots hit Lewis and he died at a local hospital, according to Fox9. 

Anthony Trifiletti back in court this AM. He remains locked up in Ramsey Co jail. Trifiletti killed an unarmed motorist after a minor crash, claiming self defense. His atty asked for bail to be lowered from $500k so he can go home to his Dad’s house. Judge rejected the argument. https://t.co/FLnOCV9lie

— Paul Blume (@PaulBlume_FOX9) May 21, 2020

Witnesses disputed Trifiletti’s retelling of what happened, specifically refuting Trifiletti’s accusations that Lewis was armed and that he yelled out a gang affiliation before the shooting. 

As the witnesses tried to save Lewis’ life, Trifiletti fled the scene, only returning after calling his father, who advised him to go back to the scene of the crime. 

“White people can get away with killing a Black man by saying they were afraid. He has brought great pain to my family,” Valerie Lewis, sister of the deceased, told the Star Tribune last year. 

The 25-year-old was later charged with second-degree murder and was facing up to 40 years in prison before the mistrial was declared, according to CBS44. 

His trial started last month, and Valerie told Fox9 that she was hoping people would remember her brother. 

“I just want to be acknowledged. I just want everybody, whoever is in that room, I want them to know that yes, we are here. We are here. We are Dougie’s voice. We’re the voice for Dougie. I just want him to tell the truth,” she said.

During the trial, Trifiletti reiterated that he believed Lewis had a gun, attempting to justify his decision to shoot him multiple times. But prosecutors said Lewis repeatedly tried to deescalate the situation before being killed.