The brother of the man who was murdered at the Green Parrot Cafe in 1992 said he won't be surprised if prosecutors drop the murder charge against Aaron Galli.
"It'll upset me, though, because I won't feel justice is being served," Chris Pocock said Friday. "Even though Aaron was not the trigger man, I feel he is just as guilty in my brother's death."Earlier this year, a jury convicted Aaron Galli of murdering Merritt Riordan. But because of new credibility problems with the state's key witness, the conviction was overturned and a new trial ordered. Prosecutors say they haven't decided if they'll proceed with the new trial but have hinted they could drop the murder charge because he was sent to prison Friday to serve a one-to-15-year sentence for an unrelated robbery.
Once someone is acquitted, he cannot be tried again for the same crime. However, should new evidence surface, prosecutors could file a new charge.
"Behind every cloud there is a silver lining. If this is going to be a cloud on our family and we feel we're not getting justice . . . we'll just have to buck up and deal with it and go on with our lives," Pocock said.
"If you don't get judged here on Earth . . . I think the judgment hereafter will be a lot stiffer."