The state intends to move forward with prosecuting former Texas Rangers player John Wetteland, the Denton County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday. Wetteland’s defense attorney said he is confident the next jury would find Wetteland not guilty.
“We are moving forward,” First Assistant District Attorney Jamie Beck said. “And if that results in some sort of plea negotiation, great. If not, retrial. But we are not dismissing.”
Wetteland, 56, is accused of three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child stemming from alleged incidents in 2004, 2005 and 2006, starting when the accuser was 4 years old. The accuser is a relative of Wetteland’s and alleges Wetteland forced him to perform a sex act on him.
After nearly eight hours of deliberation Friday, 462nd District Court Judge Lee Ann Breading declared a mistrial in Wetteland’s case. The jury was deadlocked with 10 in favor of a not-guilty verdict and two in favor of guilty.
Defense attorney Derek Adame said knowing the state’s case entirely now, the defense feels it would be at an advantage in the next trial.
“We feel very confident going into a new trial,” he said. “We feel very gratified for how hard that jury worked, and the fact that we were that close to not guilty gives us a lot of positive momentum going forward.”
The attorneys have not figured out a timeframe for going forward with a trial, Adame said, but they plan to discuss it by the end of the week.
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BROOKE COLOMBO can be reached at 940-566-6882 and via Twitter at @brookecolombo.
