JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — A judge in Jefferson Parish declares a mistrial for the man accused of fatally shooting another man during an argument that sparked between them as they waited in a long line at a Metairie gas station in the days after Hurricane Ida.
As The Times-Picayune reports, jurors deliberated for six hours following a three-day-long trial of 20-year-old Walter Sippio of New Orleans, however, they could not agree whether or not Sippio acted in self-defense when he shot Dwayne Nosacka, 36, of Metairie.
"They couldn't reach a verdict. They were deadlocked," Sippio's defense attorney, Eusi Phillips told the newspaper Wednesday.
After Judge Donald "Chick" Foret of the 24th Judicial District Court declared a mistrial the prosecution and defense agreed to meet again on Friday to set a new trial date for Sippio who is still held in jail on $750,000 bail.
The fatal shooting
In the days following Hurricane Ida making landfall on August 29, 2021 gasoline was in short supply across the region. This led to incredibly long lines at the few gas station pumps that had gas.
Authorities say on Sept 3, 2021, Dwayne Nosacka, a father of two, was in his vehicle waiting for gas in one of those long lines at a Chevron gas station on Clearview Parkway near I-10 Service Road when Walter Sippio cut the line in front of him.
Nosacka angrily confronted Sippio for jumping the line. The argument escalated when Sippio retrieved a gun from his car and pointed it at Nosacka and pulled the trigger, fatally wounding Nosacka.
Witnesses drove after Sippio as he fled the scene and followed him down the service road before losing him on Interstate 10 according to investigators.
Deputies were on the search for Sippio. A few days later Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto reported that Sippio later turned himself in to police custody along with the weapon used in the shooting.
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