WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A federal jury says it's deadlocked in a civil trial involving the fatal shooting of an unarmed nurseryman by a Florida sheriff's deputy.
Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley told the five-man, four-woman panel Wednesday that they should continue deliberating whether Sgt. Michael Custer justifiably shot 24-year-old Seth Adams five years ago. They have deliberated about 12 hours over three days.
Custer says he fired after Adams attacked him and appeared to retrieve a weapon from his truck. Adams' parents say the evidence shows Custer is lying.
Custer was working in plainclothes and supervising surveillance on a gang of ATM thieves. He was parked at One Stop Garden shop where Adams lived. Adams was shot shortly after he arrived home from a bar and encountered Custer on May 16, 2012.
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