FORMER SHERIFF
AUSTIN — The trial of former Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody over allegations he destroyed evidence in the death of man stopped by deputies has been paused indefinitely pending an appellate court’s review.
Chody and former Assistant County Attorney Jason Nassour were charged with evidence tampering following the in-custody death of Javier Ambler. Both were accused of directing the destruction of footage filmed by a crew of the sincecanceled reality show “Live PD” that had been shadowing police when the arrest was made in 2019.
Ambler had complained of being unable to breathe while detained, and later died.
The case was being prosecuted by the Travis County District Attorney’s Office given that Ambler was pulled over in Austin. A jury of 12 plus two alternates were selected on Aug. 12, according to an emailed response to questions from the Taylor Press from a 229th District Court spokesperson.
“We began trial with opening statements this morning,” the spokesperson wrote the next day.
But by Thursday, the case all but fell apart. Travis County Judge Karen Sage — who did not allow live feeds of the trial, according to the spokesperson — granted a stay of proceedings, effectively postponing the trial indefinitely. Allegations of destroyed evidence were called into question given that the footage was in possession of the “Live PD” production team rather than the defendants.
“If we don’t have that piece of evidence, they can’t have a trial,” Daniel W. Betts, a criminal defense attorney in Austin who attended the trial, told the Taylor Press. “They can’t bring in the evidence.”
Betts was not a member of the defense team.
Betts, a Republican, will face off against Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza, a Democrat, in the Nov. 5 general election.
Betts added that because the film footage was in the hands of the television production team rather than the defendants, it essentially rendered moot the destruction of evidence accusation.
“Because of federal copyright law, that tape wasn’t in the possession of Williamson County,” he said. “Even if they (Chody and Nassour) ordered it destroyed, it was no lawful order.”
The District Attorney’s Office has filed an appeal of the judge’s decision to order the stay. Sage told jurors before dismissing them she was uncertain when proceedings might start again.
Betts was critical of Garza, who was elected in November 2020.
“This is going to be a loss,” he said of the Chody/Nassour case, positing it as one of “a string of high-profile cases in which they had no conviction.”
A telephone message left for Garza’s office was not immediately returned.
Ambler was pulled over for failing to dim the headlights of his vehicle after a 22-minute police chase that started in Williamson County. The deputies who made the arrest were acquitted in March of the death of Ambler, who was shot by a Taser.
Williamson County officials previously agreed to a $5 million settlement for Ambler’s family.
“That case was already litigated,” Betts said before taking Garza to task again. “He feels something must be done because a Black man has died, but this has nothing to do with that. To re-litigate the issue on a tangential case is a disservice to the family.”
Garza served as executive director for the Workers Defense Project — a nonprofit representing low-wage workers in the construction industry — before being elected as the district attorney for Travis County.
