By Katie Wermus
AP Fellow
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The murder trial of former police officer Aaron Dean in the fatal shooting of Atatiana Jefferson has been delayed by a Texas judge Wednesday. The trial will now start in May because experts weren't available to testify at the start of the trial.
Dean's trial was set for January 10, but the defense asked for a motion to push back the date because two experts were no longer able to testify in January. The defense met with Judge David Hagerman in his chambers to talk about the facts they believe the experts will be able to prove.
Prosecutors were not present in the meeting to allow the defense to talk freely about parts of its strategy for the trial, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
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Judge David Hagerman decided there were no replacements for the experts and that they would be valuable to the defense. Hagerman granted their motion and set the trial to start in May, KDFW reported.
"This is not an indefinite delay, but the court is of the opinion that denial of the defense's motion for continuance would be an abuse of discretion and would result in an unfair trial and denial of the defendant's rights under the 4th, 6th and 14th amendments," he said.
This isn't the first time Dean's case has been delayed. His trial was initially set for November 1 but his case was one of several that were pushed back because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dean is charged with murder in the death of Jefferson. A neighbor called the nonemergency line to alert authorities that the front door of a nearby home was open. Dean was responding to the wellness check when he shot and killed Jefferson through a back door window of her mother's home.
"I want closure, accountability, justice and everything the family wants and what Atatiana Jefferson deserves," Natasha Ellison, a friend of the Jefferson family, told KDFW.
Jury selection is scheduled to start on May 9 with opening arguments scheduled to start on May 16.
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"No further continuances will be granted in this case," Hagerman said.
Any further pretrial motions, including a defense request to move the trial out of Tarrant County, are tentatively scheduled to be heard on May 2.
Dean, 37, resigned from the city police force two days after shooting Jefferson. He was charged with murder and released on a $200,000 bond.
Following the shooting, Fort Worth police released body camera footage that showed Dean walked around the side of the house, pushed through a gate into the fenced-off backyard and fired through a window a split-second after shouting at Jefferson to show her hands.
Dean, who is white, was not heard identifying himself as police on the video. The city's police chief at the time, Ed Kraus, said Dean acted without justification and that there was no sign he or the other officer who responded even knocked on the front door. Kraus said Dean would have been fired if he had not quit without giving a statement to investigators.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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