David, 36, could say today whether he will try again to indict the sheriff's deputy who shot and killed a Wilmington college student in a raid Dec. 1.

David announced Monday that a New Hanover grand jury had indicted Cpl. Christopher Long, 34, on a charge of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Durham native Peyton Strickland, 18. But on Tuesday, Judge Ernest Fullwood rescinded the indictment after grand jury foreman John Hatton said he had marked the wrong box on the indictment form.

David trekked to Raleigh on Wednesday and met for about two hours with several of the state attorney general's top prosecutors. He also met with Strickland's parents, said Don Beskind, a family friend and law partner of Strickland's father, Don, a Raleigh trial lawyer.

David, whom voters elected two years ago, scheduled a news conference today in Wilmington. He is expected to announce whether he will drop or revive the criminal case against Long.

"I am committed to following the law in this case and seeing the process through," David told reporters Wednesday in Raleigh. "... Now we have to review our options given that the unexpected just happened."

David has several options and as much time as he needs. Under state law he can:

* Drop his effort to prosecute Long, a 10-year veteran who told investigators he shot at the unarmed Strickland during the raid when he mistook the bang of a police battering ram for gunfire.

* Ask a new grand jury to indict Long on a second-degree murder charge.

* Ask a grand jury to indict Long for manslaughter, a lesser charge with milder penalties. Grand juror Sharika Hankins told The News & Observer that a manslaughter charge might have been more acceptable to a grand jury.

Several legal experts said they consider manslaughter David's likeliest choice, given his testimony Monday at Long's first court appearance. David said the deputy had fired when no other officers on the heavily armed raid team thought it necessary, that Long's use of force was not justified and that it was reckless.

Under state law, voluntary manslaughter is the killing of someone without showing malice. Involuntary manslaughter is the killing of someone that results from, among other things, "reckless or careless conduct."

If convicted of involuntary manslaughter, Long could avoid a prison sentence. Instead, he could serve intense probation, including electronic house arrest.

David also could bypass the grand jury and ask a magistrate judge to file a criminal charge based on the prosecutor's evidence, but that is unusual in big cases. Leaving the decision to a grand jury gives the district attorney an indication whether a trial jury might convict, legal experts say. It also helps insulate the prosecutor from claims that he either covered up for a rogue cop or overreacted for political purposes.

Until Sheriff Sid Causey fired him Friday, Long was part of the sheriff's Emergency Response Team. UNC-Wilmington police had called in the team to secure Strickland's rented home. The campus police planned to arrest Strickland, a Cape Fear Community College student, on charges that he and two friends had beat and robbed a UNCW student of two Sony PlayStation 3 video game consoles Nov. 17.

Thinking he had heard hostile gunfire after Strickland approached the front door, Long shot him dead through the door, David said Monday.

Others involved in the case also could play a decisive role:

* New Hanover's two simultaneous grand juries are not scheduled to meet again before their terms expire at month's end. But under state law, Fullwood or another judge could, on his own or at the district attorney's request, order the grand jury to reconvene before it dissolves so that it can deal with "a matter requiring grand jury action."

* The original grand jury could ask the district attorney to come back with a proposed indictment on a lesser charge.

* The grand jury could file its own "presentment," which requires the district attorney to investigate a possible charge.

First, those involved in the case -- and the public -- will watch David's next move.

"He's a good prosecutor," said Wake District Attorney Colon Willoughby, a friend of David's. "I firmly believe he'll do the appropriate thing based on the facts and the law, regardless of the political consequences."

(Staff writer Mandy Locke contributed to this report.)

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.