Aaron Dean鈥檚 defense attorneys will take center stage in court Monday, as they try to convince the jury that their client shot Atatiana Jefferson in self-defense.
There鈥檚 no question that Dean, a Fort Worth police officer at the time, shot and killed Jefferson in the early hours of Oct. 12, 2019.
Jefferson left the outside doors to her home open into the early morning hours. A neighbor called a non-emergency number, concerned about the open doors, and asked if someone could check on Jefferson. Dean and his partner responded to the call, and when they went into the backyard, Dean shot Jefferson through her bedroom window, less than a second after commanding her to put her hands up.
Dean鈥檚 trial began last week after repeated delays. The prosecution鈥檚 arguments came first, and they worked to convince the jury that Dean's negligence that night led to murder.
Meanwhile, the defense maintained that Dean shot in self-defense. The shooting was a "tragic accident," but justified, Dean鈥檚 attorneys said.
Dean is charged with felony first-degree murder. If the jury convicts, he could face up to life in prison, according to court documents.
The prosecution rested its case Wednesday after about two and a half days of opening statements and testimony. A few main questions cropped up again and again in the first days of the trial.
1. Does it matter what type of call the police responded to?
Jefferson鈥檚 neighbor James Smith made the call that brought police to Jefferson鈥檚 house. He chose to call a non-emergency number about her open doors, not 911, he said during his testimony Tuesday.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 really sure what was going on. It didn鈥檛 appear to be an emergency,鈥� he said.
Non-emergency calls and 911 calls go to the same people, said Abriel Talbert, the call taker who talked to Smith. She testified Tuesday that when she picked how to categorize the call, she didn鈥檛 choose 鈥渨elfare check,鈥� but what鈥檚 called an 鈥渙pen structure,鈥� meaning a building or home standing open.
Call takers have the training and discretion to categorize calls as they see fit, Talbert said.
"It doesn鈥檛 matter whether they call [in] a non-emergency or emergency,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e go by the details."
Dean and his partner reacted normally to a call that could be dangerous, the defense argued. The police didn鈥檛 know Smith had called a non-emergency number. After looking into the house through the storm doors, Dean and his partner Officer Carol Darch saw open cabinets and clutter and thought the house was being ransacked, Darch testified Tuesday.
Prosecutors insisted that regardless of what they knew, Dean and Darch botched the call. They never tried to call the homeowner, which is proper protocol for open structure calls, according to the prosecution.
2. Did Dean know that Atatiana Jefferson had a gun?
Jefferson鈥檚 nephew, Zion Carr, was 8 years old when he witnessed his aunt鈥檚 shooting. Now 11, he was the first to testify in the trial.
His aunt heard a noise outside and pulled her gun out of her purse before she went to the window, Carr told the court. Then Dean shot her from the outside.
Dean knew Jefferson had a gun, defense attorney Miles Brissette said, because he could see her gun鈥檚 green pointing laser trained on him.
鈥淭hat officer considered that to be deadly force against him and reacted accordingly, and tragically, Miss Jefferson lost her life,鈥� Brissette said.
Dean鈥檚 partner, Officer Carol Darch, testified that she never saw a gun, just Jefferson鈥檚 eyes in the window, 鈥渁s big as saucers.鈥�
Dean also never warned Darch there was a gun before he fired, Darch testified.
There is no evidence that Dean knew Jefferson had a gun, prosecutor Ashlea Deener said in her opening statement. Never-before-released footage from Dean鈥檚 body camera shows Dean going into Jefferson鈥檚 house after the shooting and finding Jefferson in her bedroom.
鈥淲hen we play that video, I want you guys to listen to the sigh and what he said next: 鈥楲ooks like we got a weapon,鈥欌�� she said. Then she gestured back towards Dean. 鈥淭hank God, right?鈥�
When Dean found Jefferson on the ground, he made no attempt to save her life, Deener said.
Deputy Medical Examiner Richard Fries performed the autopsy on Jefferson鈥檚 body. Paramedics didn鈥檛 have much of a chance to save her, he said. The bullet pierced her heart and liver.
鈥淭hese are very devastating wounds. I would not expect somebody to survive them,鈥� Fries said.
3. Does it matter the neighborhood Atatiana Jefferson lived in?
The defense repeatedly brought up high crime levels in Jefferson鈥檚 neighborhood as one of the 鈥渄ata points鈥� Dean may have considered that night. She lived at 1203 E Allen Avenue, south of downtown Fort Worth and east of I-35.
An AC unit at Jefferson鈥檚 house had a cage around it to prevent theft, Brissette said in his opening statement.
Despite neighbors鈥� efforts to improve the area, 鈥渋t鈥檚 still a rough neighborhood,鈥� he said.
The defense pressed multiple witnesses about crime in the area. One of the paramedics who tried to save Jefferson鈥檚 life, Francisco Chairez, took the stand Wednesday. Attorney Bob Gill asked him if he had ever responded to other shootings, stabbings or cuttings in the neighborhood before.
Gill also asked Jefferson鈥檚 neighbor who made the non-emergency call, James Smith, about how he felt about the crime rates in his neighborhood. There could be less crime, Smith said, but he refused to paint his neighborhood with a wide brush.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty plain that there鈥檚 quite a bit of crime over there, isn鈥檛 there?鈥� Gill said.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know the stats, but there is crime over there,鈥� Smith said.
Later, Gill asked again: 鈥淚s there a little crime, or a lot of crime?鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know the stats,鈥� Smith said.
Regardless of what happens the rest of the neighborhood, his block is quiet, Smith said. He鈥檚 lived on East Allen Avenue for 60 years, and many of his family members live on the street, too.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org. You can follow Miranda on Twitter @MirandaRSuarez.
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