No third trial for Serb

TAMPA — Federal prosecutors say they won’t seek a third trial against Branko Popic, accused of lying on immigration forms about his involvement in a Serbian military.

Two previous trials ended with hung juries, after one jury split 11-1 for conviction and a second jury split 11-1 for a not guilty verdict.

“The government will not proceed on this case,” a courtroom clerk said after a hearing Thursday morning before U.S. District Judge James S. Moody Jr. “A motion will be filed once the final authorization is given.”

Popic, 59, was the first Serbian to be tried in Tampa federal court as part of a sweep by the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to find soldiers involved in the massacre of Srebrenica, where more than 12,000 Bosnian Muslims were executed. The local defendants, who all live in St. Petersburg, aren’t accused of direct participation in war crimes, but prosecutors say they may have served in units that were involved.

None of the men to stand trial so far have been convicted.

-- Times Staff