A judge today declared a mistrial in the murder trial of Jimmel Horton.

The order declaring the mistrial, however, does not mean Horton will have the charges lodged against him in the 2013 murders of Chris Harrison and Monte Hines dropped.

That is because the mistrial in question involves a conflict of interest between the attorney representing Horton and his law partner who was representing a person the state planned to call as a witness in the case.

Judge Walter H. Godwin Jr. made his order out of the presence of the jury.

In stating his order to the court, Godwin ordered Sammy Webb, who was representing Horton, was not to represent him when the case comes back to court, instead ordering Horton be assigned another attorney.

Godwin also said Webb's partner, Jamall Summey, was to sever his ties to Jimmy Ray Daniels, who Summey was representing on matters not tied to the Horton case and the man the state wanted to call as a witness in Horton's trial.

In the presence of the jury, Godwin thanked them for their service. “I appreciate your patience. The court has declared a mistrial. You need not concern yourself to the reasons why … I assure you, your time was not wasted.”

Godwin instructed the Halifax County Sheriff's Office to return Horton back to custody.

Horton was visibly upset by the decision and could be seen shaking his head and briefly muttering under his breath as he was escorted out of the courtroom.

Judicial District 6 Assistant District Attorney Keith Werner said following dismissal of court, “Basically, we're starting at ground zero.”

Werner said Godwin recognized the conflict on the stand. “It's a setback in the court system in the amount of murder cases we have pending.”

Summey said outside the courtroom he was representing Daniels on misdemeanor charges on the court calendar.

He said he believed Daniels misstated to the court he was somehow involved in the murder. “But he was not involved.”

Webb said he had put two years of work into the case but would not say whether or not he believed there was a conflict in the matter. “The judge said it was a conflict. I just go with the flow.”

The state intended to prove Horton not only killed Harrison in the home invasion on Zoo Road South but also killed Hines, who was thought by investigators to be an assailant in the deadly robbery attempt.