About the only piece of evidence the prosecution didn’t have in the murder case against 20-year-old Patrick Fluker was an eyewitness testifying that he was seen shooting 29-year-old Tiffany Mendez in the head.An Allen Superior Court jury was unable to agree on a verdict in the case against Sergio Sandoval, accused of neglect of a dependent in the January 2009 injury of his daughter.
According to court documents, water pipes in the mobile home shared by Sandoval, his girlfriend and their two children had frozen. To fill a bath for the girls, Sandoval filled a 5-gallon bucket from a different faucet with hot water and poured it into the tub.
Prosecutors allege the injuries indicate the girl was dipped into the tub, but defense attorney Nikos Nakos is arguing that the girl climbed into the tub before Sandoval could add the cold water.
Sandoval immediately took the toddler to the emergency room. She was later admitted to the burn unit at St. Joseph Hospital. Sandoval gave multiple explanations as to how the child came into contact with the scalding water, according to court documents.
After jurors deliberated for more than seven hours Wednesday and failed to reach a verdict, Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull declared a mistrial and ordered a new trial.
