A state judge scheduled a second trial for Wahiawa physician Dennis Ayon after the jurors in the first trial said Monday they were deadlocked.
Ayon, 49, was on trial for criminal solicitation to commit murder. He remains in custody unable to post $1 million bail.
In a case of he said versus she said, one of Ayon’s female patients said Ayon tried to hire her to kill his ex-girlfriend and mother of his 5-year-old son because of the legal problems he was having with her, and Ayon’s lawyer said the patient made up the story because Ayon rejected her romantic advances.
The jurors started their deliberation Friday afternoon and then went home for the weekend.
On Monday morning they told the court they were deadlocked but agreed to continue deliberating. Just before noon they again told the court they were deadlocked but again agreed to continue deliberating.
After lunch they told the court they were still deadlocked and that no amount of further deliberation would help them reach a unanimous verdict.
Circuit Judge Richard Perkins excused the jurors and scheduled a new trial for May.
Patient Linda Moore said Ayon propositioned her Nov. 6 in his Kilani Avenue office to kill his ex-girlfriend and later turned over to police a Post-It note Ayon gave her on which he had written his ex-girlfriend’s name, address and telephone number. She said she went to his house with a friend that evening, then met with Ayon’s ex-girlfriend Hea Joung Youm two days later.
It was Youm who called police, who arrested Ayon at his office Nov. 8.
Ayon said Moore was a difficult, high-maintenance patient who often made unreasonable requests.
He showed the jury cards and love letters Moore had been sending him imprinted with her lipstick-covered lips. He also showed the jury a picture of Moore at the beach in a bikini, which he said Moore sent him with one of the cards.
Ayon said the handwriting on the note looks like his, but he doesn’t remember writing it. He also said he doesn’t remember telling Moore he wished his ex-girlfriend was dead, but said he never asked Moore to kill Youm.