After nearly four days of deliberations, a jury told a judge on Nov. 13 that they were “hopelessly deadlocked” on charges involving the attempted murder of a woman at Sunset Cliffs after she witnessed the slaying of a man in Chula Vista.

The jury foreman told San Diego Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein the jury was leaning 7-5 towards convicting Michael Pedraza, 33, of shooting Mya Hendrix, who was 19 years old at the time, on April 11, 2018. She suffered a spinal injury that required her to use a wheelchair.

Some members of the seven-man, five-woman jury said some votes were also 8-4 for conviction out of the five votes taken during deliberations on charges of kidnapping for robbery involving Mya and also on the murder charge in the death of Mario Serhan, 59.

Pedraza will face a second trial which Goldstein set for June 3, 2024. Pedraza remains in jail without bail.

Mya Hendrix testified on Oct. 30 and identified Pedraza as the one who shot her three times. After she was in a vehicle with others and saw Serhan shot to death, the group decided to kill her because she was a witness, said Deputy District Attorney David Grapilon.

She said the group took her to the Sunset Cliffs area and forced her out of the car at gunpoint near Point Loma Nazarene University. She said she walked down some stairs, pleading for her life, at gunpoint, before being shot three times at 2:30 a.m. The neck wound caused her paralysis.

Some of the jurors afterward discussed their impasse with attorneys in the hallway. Several said they had difficulty with the kidnapping for robbery charge because Hendrix initially went willingly with the group until they began stealing her belongings.

“I found her believable,” said one juror.

“There was no question she was kidnapped,” said another juror.

One juror said he didn’t think Pedraza was the one who shot Hendrix. Other jurors said they doubted Hendrix’s memory of the events because of her trauma.

Two co-defendants have been sentenced to life terms in prison. Cesar Alvarado, 44, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, attempted murder of Hendrix, and other charges, and was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. He is awaiting a transfer from county jail to prison.

Britney Gisselle Canal Llamas, 35, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and attempted murder of Hendrix and was sentenced to 30 years to life. She is confined at the Central California Women’s Facility.

Francisco Diego Aranda, 34, pleaded guilty to robbing Hendrix and was sentenced to five years in prison. He was not with the others when she was shot and when Serhan was killed.

The group was in Chula Vista when someone spotted Serhan in his car and mistakenly thought Serhan was an undercover police officer. Llamas was driving and followed him for about a mile.

Alvarado is believed to have shot Serhan in the head while he was driving and he crashed into a storage garage.

The jury did convict Pedraza of kidnapping for the robbery of Matthew Miller in a San Ysidro motel room when he tried to return Pedraza’s wallet which he found on the ground. Miller was beaten up, threatened, and taken to Imperial Beach before he was released.

The jury also acquitted Pedraza of attempted murder of Derek Grover who was stabbed in the leg at a park that same weekend.

Pedraza testified on Nov. 7 and denied the charges. “I don’t hurt people,” he told jurors. The prosecutor asked him if it was true his nickname was “Monster,” and he said yes. He is a former shipyard worker.

“Are you guilty of anything in this case?” asked Grapilon.

“I’m not sure,” said Pedraza.

Grapilon told jurors in his closing argument that Pedraza is still guilty of first-degree murder and special circumstances of murder during a kidnapping.

Pedraza’s attorney, Jill Cremeans, argued for acquittal on all counts and insisted “he did not shoot Mya.”