This is not Throckmorton's first court appearance. He was found not guilty on two counts on another more high profile case in 2006.
In 2006, Throckmorton was the defendant in a murder trial. Prosecutor was Maggie Fleming. Defense Counsel was Manny Daskal. Evidence came out in trial during testimony that caused the preliminary trial to go in Throckmorton's favor. Defense prevailed.
The following is from an article in the Times-Standard from 2006 by Chris Durant. There are at least 2 other similar reports, one from the Northcoast Journal.
EUREKA -- A jury returned not guilty verdicts on two counts against Michael Kenneth Throckmorton Thursday, but he still remains in custody at the Humboldt County Jail awaiting a District Attorney's Office decision on whether to file lesser charges.
Throckmorton, 24, was found not guilty of second degree murder and not guilty of attempted murder.
He allegedly killed Robert Peter Wyland, 58, and stabbed David Wayne Harris, 46, March 4 outside his Fieldbrook home.
Preliminary hearing testimony revealed the men may have been at Throckmorton's home in relation to a dispute between Throckmorton and his landlord.
Throckmorton's attorney, Manny Daskal, said the District Attorney's Office may now file voluntary manslaughter, attempted manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon.
He said Throckmorton will remain in custody at least until his next court appearance, Jan. 3., when Daskal will ask for a bail reduction.
Superior Court Judge Christopher Wilson asked the jurors how they voted in the lesser charges.
The foreman stated they voted eight to four for a voluntary manslaughter charge, nine to three for an attempted manslaughter charge and eight to four for an assault with a deadly weapon charge.
So John, I was in court today on another case, and I got to talk to Ms. Pizzo and another DA about the case. The Jury officially hung yesterday with a very favorable vote of 11-1 in favor of Guilty. There were reported tape recordings of threats to the victim, but one Juror decided the evidence was not enough. Jury Trials can always be challenging and in particular here in Humboldt county (as this above article notes). This is especially true in DV cases. Jackie Pizzo continues to work hard and is a dedicated young prosecutor. She has actually won a felony DV case against Arnie Klein, although the Judge reduced it later at sentencing.
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