Jacob Cronick

ESCANABA — A man who shot his ex-father-father-in-law will not be tried again after a mistrial was declared in his case, the Delta County Prosecutor’s Office said Friday.

Jacob Cronick, of Bark River, was tried in Delta County Circuit Court in March on two felony charges, including assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and felony firearm.

The case was ultimately declared a mistrial as the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.

A pre-trial conference in preparation for a second trial was scheduled for Monday, April 28, but the case has since been removed from the court’s schedule as it was dismissed.

According to court documents, the prosecutor’s office decided not to pursue the case further after “careful consideration.”

“Following the jury trial, with the outcome of a hung jury that required the court to declare a mistrial, the People diligently pursued information to make a decision on how to proceed forward. With this information, the People considered all options thoughtfully and thoroughly. After such careful consideration, the People have decided to not pursue the matter to trial again,” Wickman said in a motion.

The shooting took place on Jan. 21, 2024, when Cronick’s ex-wife, Alexandria “Alex” Parrotta, came to Cronick’s residence to retrieve some of her belongings from his garage with some other people. An altercation broke out, which resulted in the shooting.

The alleged victim, Eric Parrotta, was shot in the abdomen by Cronick following a dispute over Eric being on his property.

Cronick and Eric did not like each other and were not on good terms, evidenced by cell phone footage captured by Cronick and one of the men who accompanied Alex to the property, as well as surveillance footage from a home security camera positioned to see the driveway. During the incident, Eric was told he was not welcome on Cronick’s property.

The altercation became physical, with multiple individuals involved. The shooting itself took place after the men had separated.

After the five individuals left the property, Cronick grabbed his phone and called 911. He left the gun inside the house, unloaded and waited for officers to arrive. He explained to responding officers that it was in self-defense and was later arrested after officers obtained a search warrant for the surveillance footage.

The case ultimately went to trial, but after one week of trial proceedings, the case was declared a mistrial.

Jury deliberations began on a Friday morning just before noon, and continued into the evening. Just before 8 p.m., the court officer received a note from the jury informing the court that the jury was polarized and deadlocked, adding that they believed no argument would change their minds.

Delta County Judge John Economopoulos adjourned for the evening and instructed the jury to come back Saturday morning to continue its deliberations. The jury could not make a determination and stayed deadlocked through the afternoon on Saturday. After more questions and deliberations, the jury was still deadlocked and could not come to a unanimous verdict. The foreperson confirmed to Economopoulos it would be impossible for the jury to reach a unanimous verdict. Just before 5 p.m., Economopoulos declared a mistrial. Following the mistrial, Wickman said she began collecting information and was not decided on whether or not to retry the case. Ultimately, however, her office decided to not bring the case back to trial.