The case has been defined by racial tension in the Riverhead courtroom. Family and supporters of John White, who is black, sat together on the right side of the courtroom while the Cicciaros, who are white, sat with their friends on the left.
A Suffolk County jury late Saturday night convicted John White of manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon in the 2006 killing of an unarmed teenager.
John White, who faces a maximum of 12 to 22 years in prison for shooting Daniel Cicciaro Jr. in the face during a tense confrontation with White’s son, Aaron, will remain free on bail until he is sentenced Feb. 21.
About an hour before the verdict, the judge told the jury that she would have them return to court for a Sunday session, encouraging them to reach a verdict “if at all possible,” and admonishing them that if they could ultimately not reach a verdict, it would go before a jury “that would not be any different from you.”
The verdict came shortly after the jury told the judge they were “having difficulty” reaching a unanimous verdict on their fourth day of deliberations, with one juror sobbing and trembling in open court. The jury’s repeated notes to the judge indicated they were torn about what White believed when four friends intended to break into his Miller Place home.