Former Mesquite Cop Not Guilty of Aggravated Assault for Shooting Unarmed Man He Mistook for Burglar

Ten months after a Dallas County jury said it couldn't possibly determine whether a former Mesquite officer had acted reasonably in opening fire on an unarmed man, a second set of jurors has found him not guilty.Derick Wiley had faced between five and 99 years or life in prison if convicted of the charge of aggravated assault by a public servant.Wiley testified last week that he was sure he would die when Lyndo Jones broke away from him and ran in a dark Mesquite parking lot in November 2017. The former patrol officer fought back tears as he described Jones' behavior as erratic and maintained that his own profanity-laden approach had been necessary to control the man he initially thought was a stranded motorist, then decided could be a vehicle burglar."I thought I was going to die out there," Wiley testified. "His body language just wasn't right."  Continue reading...