The state will not retry Stephen Mobley in the case in which Gregory Watkins was shot nine times at a Brainerd Road convenience store.
The murder charge was dismissed in the courtroom of Judge Barry Steelman on motion of the prosecution.
A jury recently could not come to a unanimous decision in the case and a mistrial was declared.
A defense witness had told the jury he saw a dark-skinned black male jog at a "sluggish" pace away from the Brainerd Conoco in the shooting early on the morning of June 1, 2012. Defense attorney John Wysong said the description was closer to the description of the original person charged, Stephen Hill, than to Mobley, who is lighter skinned.
Dale Mason said he had stopped in the Conoco for beer and cigarettes after going to a sports bar. He said he heard shots outside, and he and the clerk "both panicked."
The witness said after 30 seconds to a minute he saw someone running from the scene. He said the passenger in the vehicle that was shot up then came inside. He said, "She was hysterical. She had a bullet wound in the side area. She fell to the floor."
The woman, he said, was concerned about her male companion, Gregory Watkins, who was dead inside the vehicle.
Attorney Wysong said the girl with Watkins, Lashonda Watkins, from the start identified Hill as the shooter. The state dropped charges against Hill, then arrested Mobley.
The state relied on Constance Taylor, who said she helped arrange a drug deal between Watkins and Mobley - her relative - earlier. She said Mobley was unhappy with the deal and requested to meet with Watkins again. She said she did not know that he was going to shoot and kill him.
Attorney Wysong said Ms. Taylor had lied repeatedly throughout the case, giving several different stories.