TALLAHASSEE - Attorneys for Adrian McPherson said Friday they will seek a plea agreement to end all charges against the former Florida State quarterback after a jury failed to reach a verdict in his misdemeanor gambling trial.
St. Petersburg lawyer Grady Irvin Jr. said McPherson, 20, needs to get on with his life and find a school where he can play.
Irvin wants to work out a plea agreement that also would cover felony charges scheduled for trial next month.
A six-member jury failed to reach agreement on the misdemeanor gambling charges after deliberating more than nine hours over two days. One juror said the vote was 5-1 for conviction and the holdout refused to explain.
Leon County Judge Tim Harley declared a mistrial after jurors repeatedly said they were hopelessly deadlocked.
Prosecutors say they are ready for another trial, but Irvin said he hopes to work out an agreement that "will make this entire circus disappear over time."
Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman said she was disappointed by the jury's failure to reach a verdict but noted it was "a heck of a lot better than a not guilty verdict."
The daughter of a former FSU quarterback, she said the new trial will be "a whole new ballgame."
"How many times will they try it before they come to the conclusion that they need to move on?" Irvin complained when advised that prosecutors want another trial.
Irvin said he already has been talking to prosecutors about a plea agreement on the felony charges connected with a stolen check McPherson is accused of cashing. It was a police investigation of the stolen check that led investigators to the gambling charge.
Irvin said he hopes the gambling charge can be disposed of with some sort of pretrial diversion program that would mean the dismissal of the charge if McPherson completes a year of probation without further difficulties.
Chief Assistant State Attorney Tony Guarisco said he is unaware of any plea negotiations. He said he does not think McPherson would qualify for pretrial diversion programs because he faces multiple bad check charges, felony charges associated with the stolen check and the gambling charge.
A conviction on a gambling charge likely would make McPherson ineligible to participate in college sports and would probably make him unable to play professional ball as well.
McPherson was accused of betting on a number of games during the fall of 2002 but was not accused of helping throw a game in which he played. FSU coach Bobby Bowden testified that McPherson easily could have thrown an interception when brought into a losing game but did not.
Irvin said he believes police and prosecutors relied on rumors and went after McPherson and not others who were gambling because he was a big target.
"If prosecutors continue, the sad reality is things can't move forward and it will be at the expense of a 20-year-old kid," Irvin said.
McPherson and his parents had little to say as Irvin entertained questions from a room filled with reporters.
Asked how he felt watching Bowden testify, McPherson said "it was difficult, he wouldn't look in my direction."
McPherson said he is "really stressed out. The last seven months, I've had people show up at my job, at my house. My family is stressed out; my lawyers are stressed out. I just want to get on with the rest of my life."
