CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- The retrial for Richmond police officer David Cobb begins Monday morning in Chesterfield County. Cobb is charged with murdering Paterson Brown Jr. at a car wash in the county.
Cobb's first trial ended in a mistrial after the jury could not return a unanimous verdict on the second-degree murder charge.
The judge said the 12-person jury remained "significantly divided" after nearly eight hours of deliberations.
Cobb admitted to shooting and killing Brown on October 17, 2015, at the Sunoco gas station on Midlothian Turnpike. Cobb's lawyers said the police officer, who was off duty at the time, acted in self defense.
The investigation revealed Brown entered a car owned by Cobb's girlfriend while it was parked at the gas station. Brown drove it through the car wash.
In his first trial, Cobb admitted to shooting and killing the teenager, but only because he thought Brown had a weapon and was a threat to himself and others.
"My intent was not to kill Brown," Cobb said on the stand during his first trial. "My intent was to stop a threat."
He said he only pulled the trigger after Brown reached across his waist and ignored his repeated orders to stop moving.
Brown had marijuana in his system that day, according to a forensic expert.
After identifying himself as an off-duty Richmond Police officer, Cobb said Brown yelled out 'I don't f*** with the ops."
Cobb testified that he recognized that phrase as a common saying among Blood gang members due to his experience as a gang specialist.
Cobb told the jury that he asked a car wash attendant to call 911 in order to have Chesterfield County officers on scene and take over.
He said he only pulled the trigger after Brown reached across his waist and ignored his repeated orders to stop moving.
"I didn't want to be a causality," Cobb cried, "I didn't want to be a victim."
Prosecutors said Brown was unarmed and believe the officer's intentions were to prevent the teen from stealing the car.
Cobb's new trial is set to last five days.
We have more details on his first trial here.
