Mistrial Declared In Case Against Accused Las Cruces Contractor

Judge Stephen Bridgforth declared an unexpected verdict in the case against Gary Winsor. Today was supposed to be the last day in the accused contractor’s trial, but it was instead declared a mistrial before the jury got a chance to deliberate.

Gary Winsor is accused of ripping off 16 sets of clients between 2002 and 2007 by taking their money then neglecting to finish the construction jobs he was hired to do. The alleged victims were clients of his construction companies, some of which he ran with his late father, Raymond Winsor. Raymond Winsor was also indicted, but died before the case went to trial.

The case was declared a mistrial after a tense cross-examination between Winsor and state prosecutor Rick Wellborn. Winsor’s settled bankruptcy was brought up during the cross-examination. Winsor claimed the bankruptcy kept him from contacting customers with unfinished construction jobs.

However, it was decided during pre-trial hearings that any mention of the bankruptcy would be off-limits. The judge declared a mistrial even before the case reached the closing arguments.

ABC-7 spoke to several of Winsor’s accusers, most of whom reacted with shock and disappointment to the outcome of the four day trial. Many said they felt justice was not served. The state spent thousands of dollars and years of work on this case. One of the accusers was even flown in from Africa to testify.

The defense declined to comment on the verdict on-camera. State prosecutors said they would not give up until a verdict was reached.