SAN JOSE (CA)
Patch
[video]
By Sheila Sanchez
A jury has acquitted a San Francisco man accused of beating a priest at the Los Gatos Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in May 2010.
On Thursday afternoon, the panel found William Lynch, 44, not guilty of one count of felony assault with intent to cause great bodily injury and one count of elder abuse under circumstances likely to produce great bodily harm or death. He had pleaded not guilty to both charges.
The jury hung 8-4 on a lesser misdemeanor crime of an assault on Father Jerold Lindner and it’s not clear if the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office will refile charges related to that lesser offense or appeal.
Outside the San Jose Hall of Justice, Lynch said he was happy with the verdict and surprised by the outcome of the highly emotional trial.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.