Mistrial declared in Currie murder trial

District Judge David Barker declared a mistrial in a murder case this morning after a key prosecution witness violated a court order.

Barker excused the jury in the case of Keith Currie and said the selection of a new panel will begin Monday.

The mistrial occurred after prosecutors called their first witness, Gregory Isaacs. Moments earlier, Barker had ruled that Isaacs could not tell the jury that he had seen Currie smoking marijuana before the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Andrew "Kyle" Taylor in October 2006. Isaacs, Taylor's best friend, never previously told authorities about the defendant's marijuana use.

While testifying this morning, Isaacs said he saw Currie "rolling up a blunt" in his car. A "blunt" is a slang term for a cigar stuffed with marijuana.

Defense attorneys immediately objected and moved for a mistrial.

During his opening statement Wednesday, defense attorney Dayvid Figler said 21-year-old Currie, a paraplegic, was defending himself when he shot Taylor.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.