The jury is continuing deliberations in the DUI case for Tony Denunzio, the man who alleges his arresting officer used excessive force during a traffic stop.
Deliberations are scheduled to continue at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the courtroom of Santa Maria Superior Court Judge James Rigali.
Denunzio has pleaded not guilty to charges of driving under the influence, driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or higher, and driving on a suspended license and other charges related to prior DUI convictions. He was pulled over in October 2011 by Santa Barbara Police Officer Aaron Tudor on suspicion of DUI.
After the stop in the Loreto Plaza parking lot, Denunzio got out of his truck, which prompted a physical response by Tudor, who hit, kicked and repeatedly Tasered Denunzio. Some of the confrontation was captured by a dashboard video camera in Tudor’s patrol car.
Tudor and police officials say Denunzio was resisting arrest, while Denunzio and a number of eyewitnesses say he was not resisting and have alleged that Tudor used excessive force.
On Friday, Rigali granted defense attorney Darryl Genis’ motion for acquittal on the second count — driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or higher.
The judge will decide the third count — driving on a suspended license due to a previous DUI conviction — continuing Thursday afternoon, Deputy District Attorney Mai Trieu said.
Jurors deliberated for six hours on Monday, Genis said.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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