From [HERE] Ashley Carr closed her eyes as a judge read.

The 10 minutes seemed to drag as state District Judge David Hagerman explained the factors he considered in deciding Wednesday whether to delay the murder trial for her sister’s killer a third timein six months.

It’s already been nearly three years since former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean, 37, fatally shot Atatiana Jefferson in her home in October 2019 while her 8-year-old nephew was nearby. A jury will decide whether Dean, who is white, committed murder by shooting the 28-year-old Black woman.

Jefferson was fatally shot after a neighbor called a nonemergency line to request a welfare check on the home because the front door was open and lights were on about 2:30 a.m. Oct. 12, 2019.

Body-camera footage shows that Dean walked around Jefferson’s house and entered the fenced yard without announcing his presence and identifying himself as law enforcement. Dean turned to face a window, yelled at Jefferson — who was inside — to put up her hands and fired a single shot in a matter of seconds.

A murder warrant explained that the boy, who was in the room with Jefferson when she was shot, told a forensic interviewer that he and his aunt were playing video games together about 2:30 a.m. Saturday when she heard noises outside their home in the 1200 block of East Allen Avenue.

Jefferson, 28, took her handgun from her purse and pointed it “toward the window” before she was shot, the nephew said, according to the arrest-warrant affidavit.

The 8-year-old saw his aunt fall to the ground. She was pronounced dead at 3:05 a.m.

Jefferson’s nephew told officials that his aunt had grabbed a handgun and pointed it toward the window because she heard noises outside.

Former Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and former police Chief Ed Kraus said that was irrelevant because Jefferson was entitled to defend herself. Kraus said at a news conference that it “makes sense that she would have a gun if she felt that she was being threatened or there was someone in the backyard.”

That sentiment was echoed by an attorney for the victim’s family. Lee Merritt said Jefferson had every right to defend herself because the officers did not announce themselves as law enforcement.

“It’s only appropriate that Ms. Jefferson would have a gun,” Merritt said, noting that she had a license to carry the legally owned firearm. "When you think there’s someone prowling around in the back at 2 in the morning, you may need to arm yourself. That person could have a gun.” [MORE]

After a three-day hearing this week, Hagerman granted Dean’s request to delay the trial again — this time because his lead attorney is seriously ill and because prosecutors turned over voluminous records in late April.

Earlier in the day, Hagerman denied Dean’s request to move the trial out of Tarrant County. Defense lawyers Miles Brissette and Bob Gill had sought to prove Dean could not possibly get a fair and impartial jury in Tarrant County by showing more than 100 local TV news reports about the case.

Carr and relatives rejoiced then. Two women hugged and cried, and a bailiff brought them a box of tissues. [all white!]

They were expressionless when Hagerman announced he would reschedule the trial to June. They left the courtroom quietly; the judge’s gag order prohibits anyone involved in the case from speaking to media.

Prosecutor Dale Smith, visibly frustrated, said loudly, “I’ve got no more business with this court today,” before walking out of the courtroom.

Jury selection, which was scheduled to begin Monday, will now start June 20. Testimony will begin June 23 with or without lead defense lawyer Jim Lane.

“This court, this case, will not be held hostage indefinitely,” Hagerman said.

Lane, who did not participate in the hearing this week, has been sick since mid-March and has not been able to work on the case, the defense team said. They did not reveal Lane’s illness, but notes from his doctor that were sealed from public view describe his condition as “severe, debilitating and possibly even dire,” Hagerman said.

Brissette and Gill are highly experienced, Hagerman noted, and can try the case without a third attorney or can hire another lawyer to replace Lane, he said. Brissette and Gill, along with Lane, represented former Balch Springs officer Roy Oliver, who was convicted of murder in 2018 and sentenced to 15 years in prison for the shooting death of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards. Oliver is white and Edwards was Black.

Hagerman also scolded prosecutors for not turning over raw information from psychological testing sooner, although Smith argued that the final findings were provided to defense lawyers earlier. But Hagerman said that isn’t good enough for the defense team to have it evaluated by their own experts.

“The state is substantially blamed. … They cannot, now, in good faith shrug their shoulders,” Hagerman said.

Coverage not inflammatory

In determining that the trial would stay in Fort Worth, Hagerman found that local news coverage about the case was pervasive and prejudicial — but not inflammatory. Texas law requires all three factors be met to move a trial outside of the county where the crime occurred.

Dean’s lawyers failed to show how many potential jurors were exposed to the reports, Hagerman said. They could have provided ratings and other analysis to give an idea of how many people in the region consumed the media but did not, Hagerman said.

Neither of Jefferson’s parents are alive to see the trial. Her father, Marquis Jefferson, and mother, Yolanda Carr, died within three months of her killing.

Dean’s trial had previously been delayed twice since November, frustrating Jefferson’s family and community members. After defense lawyers said some of their key witnesses were unavailable in January, the judge said he would not grant another delay.