Ice cream man murder case ends with mistrial
TAMPA, Fla. - A judge declared a mistrial in the ice cream man murder trial on Friday.
The jury deliberated for a day and a half and couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict. Michael Keetley was facing two counts of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder in the shooting spree that left two brothers dead and four others severely injured on Thanksgiving Day 2010.
Prosecutors said Keetley, known in the neighborhood as “Mike the ice cream man” was out for revenge after he was a victim himself of a robbery and shooting in his ice cream truck ten months earlier.
But the defense said the surviving victims early on were not able to identify Keetley from a police photo pack and pointed the finger at the wrong man.
After a judge declared a mistrial, prosecutors indicated they will retry the case. A new trial date has been set for June.