A state rep accused of trying to sell his vote on a controversial prevailing wage repeal initiative may be retried after a federal jury could not agree on two of the most serious charges against him.
After deliberating 11 hours, jurors reportedly found Republican Larry Inman not guilty of lying to the FBI, but were hung on the most significant questions of whether the he committed bribery or attempted extortion.
U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker of Grand Rapids declared a mistrial, leaving open the possibility for prosecutors to go after Inman again on the unresolved charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher O'Connor suggested Tuesday that they would pursue another trial, The Detroit News reported.
The attempted extortion and bribery charges carry maximum 20- and 10- year prison sentences, respectively. The charge of lying to the FBI carried up to five years.
