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Mistrial ruled in Omaha case that sparked courthouse melee

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A mistrial has been declared in an Omaha slaying case that sparked a courthouse brawl.

A judge made the ruling on Friday morning in the trial of Charles Trotter, who's charged with murder in the shooting deaths of Dexter Joseph and Marcel Lovejoy in an apartment on Jan. 3, 2015. A new trial is scheduled to begin June 13.

The fight Wednesday involved family and friends of Trotter, Joseph and Lovejoy. The judge subsequently sequestered the jury, and security was increased.

On Thursday a witness who'd been in the apartment when Joseph and Lovejoy were shot replied "I don't remember" to several questions about what happened. He gave the same reply when a prosecutor asked whether he'd been threatened not to testify completely.

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