Erwin jury deadlocks

The jury in the trial of James Erwin, the fourth and final defendant in the Colonies Crossroads corruption trial, have failed to reach a verdict

San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Brian McCarville declared a mistrial Wednesday after jurors reported they could not come to an agreement regarding the charges against Erwin, former assistant county assessor.

Erwin faced sevens counts of bribery, perjury and tax evasion in connection with the development of Colonies Crossroads, the 434-acre retail and residential development next to the Foothill Freeway in Upland.

Erwin and his three co-defendants – Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeff Burum, former Supervisor Paul Biane and Mark Kirk, former chief of staff to one-time County Supervisor Gary Ovitt – were accused of bribing county officials to obtain a $102 million settlement from the county.

That settlement, which the Board of Supervisors approved in November 2006, settled a long-running dispute regarding who would pay for flood control improvements on the Colonies property. It also made development of the project possible.

Prosecutors alleged that Burum arranged for $400,000 in contributions to county officials’ political action committees, payments they said were bribes even though they were made well after the settlement was reached.

Last month, following eight months of testimony, Burum, Biane and Kirk were acquitted of all charges against them.

Despite not getting an acquittal, Rajan Maline, Erwin’s attorney, called the mistrial a vindication for his client.

“I’m very pleased,” Maline said in a telephone interview shortly after the mistrial was declared. “The 10-2 and 9-3 deadlocks clearly show that Mr. Erwin did nothing wrong, that he did not bribe anyone, commit perjury or not pay his taxes. Unfortunately, we had several jurors who followed their own agenda and did not follow the law.

In a statement, Erwin – whose case was heard by a separate jury – repeated the defendants’ oft-stated claim that the case was politically motivated.

“This entire case was a disgrace and it never should have been filed,” Erwin said through a spokesman. “It was politicians spending millions of the taxpayer dollars for political gain.”

A hearing is scheduled to he held Sept. 22 to determine whether the charges against Erwin are refiled or dismissed.