Jury deadlocks in Williams trial

WARREN -- A Trumbull County jury was deadlocked after more than two days' worth of deliberations in the manslaughter trial of Robert C. Williams of Warren. A mistrial was declared.
The jury did return a guilty verdict on a charge of having weapons under disability, which carries a penalty of six to 12 months in prison. He will be sentenced Nov. 7 on that conviction.
Common Pleas Court Judge Peter Kontos, who presided over the trial, revoked Williams' bond, and he is being held in the Trumbull County Jail. He had been free on bond since before the trial began.
The charges stemmed from the shooting death of Orson Provitt, 29, of Jackson Street, who was killed April 30 at the Golden Stallion bar in Warren Township.
Williams admitted shooting Provitt but said he did so in self-defense.
David Toepfer, an assistant Trumbull County prosecutor, said he respected the job the jury had done in deliberating from Friday afternoon until late Tuesday.
"We will review the case and decide what to do next," Toepfer said of whether Williams will be retried on the manslaughter charge. It would have carried a jail sentence of three to 10 years.
The manslaughter charge also contained a specification that the crime was committed with a gun, which would have added a mandatory three years, Toepfer said.