A Suffolk Superior Court jury today declared itself hopelessly deadlocked in its deliberations regarding a Roxbury resident accused of gunning down an innocent man during a 2007 shooting that prosecutors say was gang-related.

SHAWN “SHANKS” DAUGHTRY (D.O.B. 5/14/80) of Roxbury, was charged with first-degree murder for the Sept. 20, 2007, shooting death of 29-year-old Urel Duncan. Duncan was sitting outside a Codman Park residence with friends when two men approached the group and opened fire, killing him and wounding another.

Duncan was not involved with gangs, prosecutors said, and was targeted because of where he was – in the Academy Homes housing development – not who he was.

DEMETRIUS WARDSWORTH (D.O.B. 12/26/88), who was arrested with Daughtry less than an hour after the shooting, was convicted of Duncan’s murder last year and is serving a life term. Prosecutors said the pair were on a mission to retaliate for an earlier shooting they believed had been perpetrated by someone associated with Academy Homes.

Assistant District Attorney Gretchen Lundgren, Victim-Witness Advocate Jennifer Stott, and defense attorney Barry Wilson will return to courtroom 906 of Suffolk Superior Court later this week to set a new trial date.