Judge Tests Positive for Flu; Mistrial Declared in Jervoris Scarbrough Cold-Case

Mobile County Circuit Judge Michael Youngpeter declared a mistrial in the cold-case murder prosecution of 41-year-old Jervoris Scarbrough, citing illness in the courtroom that the judge called a "manifest necessity" to stop the trial. The ruling came just days after a jury was selected and over the defendant’s objection.

The judge wrote in a one-page order that he and the lead defense lawyer "had been stricken with the flu." The order also noted that "at least one member of the jury is over 75 years of age and the Court will not unduly endanger the health of any member of the jury." A separate posting said the judge tested positive for the flu. The mistrial was declared despite Scarbrough not consenting to a delay.

Prosecutors have charged Scarbrough with murder and first-degree kidnapping in the October 2014 killing of David Patrick Kyles. Prosecutors contend that Scarbrough and others targeted Kyles, that a gunman used a car made to look like a police vehicle with blue lights to pull Kyles over, placed him in handcuffs and then shot him multiple times with a 9 mm handgun. Police investigated Scarbrough shortly after the shooting but did not arrest him until 2022, a gap that places the case firmly in cold-case territory.

Scarbrough denies that he committed the murder, and his lawyers have argued prosecutors lack sufficient evidence tying him to the crime. Prosecutors had sought to jail Scarbrough under Aniah’s Law, the statute that gives judges expanded discretion to deny bail for certain violent offenses, but a Mobile County District Judge, Zackery Moore, denied that request during pretrial proceedings.

The mistrial resets the calendar. The court said a new trial date will be set, and the case will be retried in front of a different jury. With the trial interrupted so soon after selection, attorneys will return to the courthouse to relitigate scheduling, pretrial motions and witness preparation. The interruption also raises immediate logistics for juror management, given the court’s explicit concern about older jurors and health risks.

For community members tracking cold-case prosecutions, the outcome underscores two recurring themes: the challenges of taking decade-old investigations to trial and the practical limits that health and safety place on courtroom continuity. Families of victims and neighbors seeking closure should expect further delays while the court reconstitutes a panel and the parties address any evidence or procedural arguments that had been pending.

What comes next is procedural but consequential: the court must set a new trial date, counsel will decide whether to seek a different judge or revisit pretrial petitions, and both sides will recalibrate trial strategy. Follow court filings and official orders for the precise schedule and any additional explanations the judge provides about the illness that halted these proceedings.