Jury Deadlocks in Retrial of ’07 Homicide

For the second time, a Suffolk Superior Court jury has declared itself hopelessly deadlocked in its deliberations of a Roxbury man accused of a fatal 2007 shooting.

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.

Although Duncan was not involved in gangs, prosecutors say he 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 and defense attorney Barry Wilson scheduled a retrial date for Nov. 14, 2011.