Hung jury in bicyclist manslaughter case

NEWPORT BEACH — The trial of a man accused of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in the death of a bicyclist resulted in a hung jury, a court clerk said Friday.

The Harbor Justice Center jury deadlocked in the case of Jose Luis Huerta Mundo, 38, of Anaheim. It was not immediately known how many jurors were in favor of conviction or how many were opposed.

A new trial date was set for Nov. 23.

Mundo pleaded guilty to driving without a license Nov. 9, but chose to take the manslaughter charge to a jury.

Police said Mundo was driving his landscaping truck on Spyglass Hill Road in Corona del Mar on July 15 when he made an illegal left turn, blocking the right lanes off a blind curve, prosecutors argued.

Cyclist Michael Nine, 43, of Santa Ana, was riding downhill and could not stop in time. He collided head-first with the truck. He later died of his injuries.

Nine, who lived in Santa Ana, was married with two children.

If convicted at a new trial, Mundo faces a year in jail. Mundo, who is believed to be in the country illegally, also faces deportation. He has previously been deported.

The defendant has four convictions on his record — four for driving without a license and one for not registering his vehicle.

—Sarah Peters