Jurors could not reach a verdict Friday in the trial of a man involved in a shooting after a heavy metal concert at Petco Park last summer.
Ray Pitoau faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon in the August 7, 2017 incident at Sixth and Island avenues near the ballpark.
Off-duty San Diego sheriff's Deputy Jason Philpot, 36, was shot three times. Philpot said he was trying to protect his brother, who had gotten into a verbal confrontation with the defendant.
The jury informed the court around 4:30 p.m. it could not come to a consensus. A status hearing has been scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Philpot, his brother and some friends had attended the Metallica concert as part of a birthday celebration. The group had been drinking and was kicked out of a nearby bar for disorderly conduct before the shooting, according to Pitoau's defense attorney.
Pitoau fled to Mexico after the shooting and was arrested at a home near Tijuana in September 2017.
Philpot testified at a pretrial hearing that he noticed an altercation when his younger brother called out for help.
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“He said ‘Help, he’s going to shoot me’ and the way he was grabbing my arm and the fear in his voice, I knew it wasn’t a joke,” Philpot testified at a pre-trial hearing in June.
Philpot testified that when he saw the defendant holding the gun, he moved to keep the gunman from shooting anyone. That's when Philpot was shot in the chest and the arm.
"I fell down and I remember trying to grab him and take him to the ground as well," Philpot said.
A bystander who was in town for a conference at the San Diego Convention Center was also struck by one of the bullets.
Pitoau pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.
