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HELENA — A deliberate homicide charge against a Helena man who said he shot a burglar in his home has been dropped.

The trial of James George Stiffler ended with a hung jury Feb. 11, and he will not be retried on the charge per a ruling filed around 2 p.m. today.

Lewis and Clark County Attorney Leo Gallagher filed a motion to dismiss the felony charge. District Judge Kathy Seeley, who oversaw the trial, accepted the motion.

The jury was deadlocked after about 11 hours of deliberation when the nearly two-week trial ended.

Stiffler's defense attorneys did not object to the state's motion, according to the filing.

Stiffler shot and killed a man he testified broke into his home, ransacked the residence and threatened him on May 22, 2013.

His defense attorneys argued the self-defense shooting was a justified use of force, and that the man brought his death upon himself.

Prosecutors contended it was the murder of a man, Henry Thomas Johnson, who posed no threat at the time because he was climbing out of a window in an attempt to escape.

A status conference in the case slated for Thursday has been canceled.

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