For the second time, a federal jury has deadlocked in the case of a Granger man accused of robbing a Wapato bank of thousands of dollars.

The case has been reset for trial in September.

The latest jury, sitting in U.S. District Court in Yakima, had been deliberating since Wednesday

afternoon over whether to convict or acquit Charles Gipson.

Jurors went home for the night, then told Judge Lonnie Suko about 10 a.m. Thursday that the panel had reached a stalemate. The trial started Monday.

Central Valley Bank in Wapato reported in March 2007 that a man armed with a handgun robbed the bank, getting away with more than $98,000 from the vault. Gipson’s defense attorney, Ken Therrien of Yakima, said the bank ended up accounting for slightly more than $83,000, adding he was unaware that the money had ever been recovered.

The case was unusual because of the amount of money taken and because the single customer in the bank at the time had to release the tellers from the vault.

Gipson was arrested in May 2007 after a teller identified him as the robber. The teller said she recognized him because he had overdrawn his account three months before.

A Wapato police sergeant testified at trial that he initially thought the suspect might be one of his cousins who lives in Wapato. Some witnesses agreed, then wavered on the identity, Sgt. Larry Ehrhardt testified.

According to court records, FBI agents found that Gipson and his girlfriend, co-defendant Elizabeth Lowe, had traveled to Seattle soon after the robbery to pay off $8,000 on her home mortgage. The place was scheduled to be sold at auction the next day.

But Therrien argued that the jury had reason to doubt the strength of the government’s case against Gipson.

He has always maintained his innocence, and none of the robbery proceeds were found with him, Therrien told the jury. In

addition, witnesses first identified the sergeant’s cousin as the suspect.

The first jury deliberated for about the same length of time before deadlocking in January.

Gipson has been in custody for more than a year.

Lowe was charged with making false statements and participating in a conspiracy to launder money. Her trial is set for Sept. 2.