Accused killer to face new jury after mistrial in fatal stabbing at Midway McDonald’s

Police tape lines the McDonald s parking lot in the Midway where a man was fatally stabbed in August File photo courtesy of OnScene TV SAN DIEGO A judge has set a new trial date after a jury could not come to a verdict in the circumstance of a man accused of murder in a stabbing at a McDonald s restaurant Armando Manuel Parras appeared last week before San Diego Superior Court Judge David Berry and waived his right to a speedy trial in the death of Joshua Goodman who was stabbed the morning of Aug Berry scheduled the new trial for Aug vacating a June date he set last month after declaring a mistrial in the matter Jurors had deadlocked - following four days of deliberations It was unclear whether they were leaning in favor of conviction or acquittal The panel was disgruntled accusing a male juror of refusing to deliberate The other jurors sent a note to Berry saying that the man didn t want to explain his opinions or discuss the occurrence and inquired the judge to replace him with an alternate He declined to do so saying there was no indication that the juror had committed misconduct Deputy District Attorney Seralyn Fields sought the juror s dismissal but defense attorney Monica Ruiz craved Berry to keep him on the jury In a rare move Berry questioned jurors on April the day he declared the mistrial to testify in open court about their conduct during deliberations The man who angered his fellow jurors denied accusations that he wasn t deliberating He mentioned several jurors disagreed with him but he insisted he was discussing the episode He claimed he didn t know why there was a challenge The other jurors when queried by Berry expressed their frustration One revealed the juror in question refused to say anything Another wondered about his mental soundness Still another mentioned the man turned his chair away from the other panelists to face the wall on their final day of deliberations Before declaring a mistrial Berry commented he could find no grounds to exclude that juror He also advised the attorneys he had systematically reviewed an appeals court opinion that overturned a conviction in a trial in which a judge removed a juror Parras is accused of ambushing Goodman as the victim rode a bicycle in the parking lot of the Midway Drive restaurant Police explained the defendant was a patron in a minivan that pulled into the lot where he allegedly exited the van and began chasing Goodman before catching up and stabbing him After the alleged attack investigators revealed Parras jumped back into the van which headed west on Midway In testimony that preceded the dispute among the jurors spectators mentioned that it was common knowledge in the homeless society that Goodman and Parras didn t like each other and that the victim had a history of drawing a firearm in certain situations The court also was advised that Parras helped a homeless woman recover her bicycle after she claimed Goodman stole it from her Two people testified that they grabbed the bike from Goodman which caused him to yell out a warning to watch out for him if they returned to Ocean Beach Parras pleaded not guilty and remains behind bars The defense argued that the defendant was afraid of Goodman Brittany Wolf the driver of the minivan is serving an -month jail term for accessory after the fact to murder She is set to be issued July