It was an emotional scene in the St. Charles County Courtroom where Serghei Comerzan was found not guilty of resisting a lawful stop by fleeing and involuntary manslaughter.
This case began in August of 2015 when Trooper James Bava called in a speeding motorcycle. Moments later he was killed in a car crash on Route FF in Audrain County.
Investigation led police to looking at Comerzan who was arrested in November of 2015, and subsequently spent 4 months in jail. He was charged with resisting a lawful stop and second degree murder. In May of 2017 a jury deliberated for 14 hours, and eventually became hopelessly deadlocked leading to a mistrial. That day Audrain County Prosecutor Jacob Shellabarger announced he would take the case back to trial.
The retrial began Friday with prosecutors lowering the murder charge to involuntary manslaughter just before jury selection.
On day 6, and after 10 hours of deliberation the jury returned a verdict of not guilty on both counts.
Charlie James, Comerzan’s defense attorney, complimented his opponent Audrain County Assistant Prosecutor Scott Fox for his performance.
He said in this case the jury made the right decision.