Grain rustling trial ends in hung jury

The grain rustling trial against James Hughes of Endicott came to a sudden end Friday when the jury was unable to agree on a verdict.

Hughes was charged with 19 counts of stealing and selling grain from elevators owned by the Whitgro grain cooperative.

Jury foreman George Martin of Pullman sent a note to the court at 4:48 p.m. to report the jury concluded that they could not reach a verdict and believed “further deliberation will not change that.”

Superior court Judge David Frazier declared a mistrial after polling the jurors.

That ended a week-long trial in which Prosecutor Denis Tracy and Se...