Allegheny County

Mistrial declared in case of Pittsburgh restaurant owner

PITTSBURGH — Well-known Pittsburgh restaurant owner, Adnan Pehlivan, is still an innocent man, after a jury couldn’t come to a verdict in his retrial. It ended in a mistrial.

The jury sent the judge a message saying, “We are unable to reach a unanimous decision on all the charges.”

Pehlivan’s defense attorney, Lee Rothman, told Channel 11, “when someone is on trial to the degree that Mr. Pehlivan has been on trial, in the public eye within the city, no one really wins.”

It’s the second mistrial for Pehlivan, after the first one also ended with a hung jury.

“People seem to want to suggest there is guilt, but twice now, there are 12 members of the community who have viewed the evidence,” Rothman added.

This time around, it’s unclear how the jury was split, or what they differed on.

“We were able to again create doubt in members of the jury’s mind, and we are pleased in that. We would have liked a unanimous verdict,” he said.

Pehlivan is accused of sexually assaulting a woman after meeting her at Kopy’s bar.

The jury viewed surveillance video from that night, where Pehlivan is seen sticking his hand into the woman’s purse, showing her magic tricks, and eventually following her home.

He claims she invited him to her house, but prosecutors said Pehlivan broke into her bedroom window and began sexually assaulting her.

The victim says she was able to fight him off.

“Different minds differ on different subject matter, and we are grateful my client is still innocent in the eyes of the law,” Rothman said.

The District Attorney’s office has several months to decide if they want to try the case a third time. They do not have a statement at this time.