Jury deliberations are scheduled to continue today in the case of a Penn Hills man on trial for homicide for the second time.

But the stakes for Jerry Gaines are not as high as they were in October, the first time he faced a jury trial for the death of Lance Howard, 27, of Larimer.

Mr. Gaines, 22, was acquitted of first- and third-degree murder after his first trial, but the jury deadlocked on the charge of voluntary manslaughter -- leaving that as the most serious charge for which Mr. Gaines can be convicted this time around.

Mr. Howard was shot four times with his own Glock pistol after an apparent struggle near Westinghouse Park in North Point Breeze on Sept. 6, 2006, and later died at West Penn Hospital.

Witness Terrance Williams initially told police he was there and testified at the first trial that Mr. Gaines was fighting with Mr. Howard around the time of the shooting. But last week he said his previous testimony was a lie and was held in contempt of court by Common Pleas Judge David R. Cashman. His prior testimony was read for jurors as they tried to parse through which time Mr. Williams told the truth.

In his closing argument yesterday, defense attorney Patrick Nightingale said one half of Mr. Williams' flip-flopping testimony was the only proof prosecutors had of Mr. Gaines' presence at the scene. Also, he said, the commonwealth did not prove Mr. Gaines didn't act in self-defense during the fight.

Mr. Nightingale summoned co-counsel Michael Moser and the two men acted out their version of the shooting -- with Mr. Moser playing the victim. They grappled before Mr. Nightingale seized the imaginary firearm and said "Boom boom, boom boom," play shooting Mr. Moser twice on the left side, then twice on the right. Mr. Nightingale contended that Mr. Gaines had to act quickly as Mr. Howard, the aggressor and much larger man, was winning the fight.

Deputy District Attorney Chris Avetta responded in his closing by saying Mr. Williams' initial statement to police and testimony were to be believed, and that he probably reversed himself because he was afraid of being labeled a snitch.

Mr. Avetta also attacked the self-defense argument by saying that once Mr. Gaines wrested the gun away, he had no need to fire.

"He's the one who can leave," Mr. Avetta said. "But he's angry. ... Lance Howard never had a chance."