A burglary defendant in Fresno who was freed because a jury mistakenly signed a not-guilty form in his trial on Wednesday was killed a few hours later in a fight. After the jury error, the flabbergasted judge said he had no choice but to order Bobby Lee Pearson, 37, released because the verdict had already been put on the record. It was too late when the judge learned that the jury stalled on an 8-to-4 vote in favor of guilt. Changing the verdict form and retrying Mr. Pearson would have exposed him to double jeopardy. After his release, Mr. Pearson went to his sister’s home, where the Fresno police chief, Jerry Dyer, said he got into a fight with her boyfriend, Willie Gray, 35. Mr. Pearson was found dead, and Mr. Gray was arrested.