No decision was made Friday after prosecutors waiting to begin the trial for Aaron Dean, a former Fort Worth police officer charged with the murder of Atatiana Jefferson, asked for the trial date to be moved up to March.
A hearing on the motion was held in Tarrant County on Friday, but the judge made no decision.
Fort Worth Police Officer Aaron Dean was charged with murder after shooting 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson through a window in her home while responding to an open structure call in October 2019. Two days after the shooting Dean resigned from the department. He was later charged with murder and released on a $200,000 bond.
During pretrial motions in December, 297th District Court Judge David Hagerman granted a request from defense attorneys to reset the start date from Jan. 10 to May 16 after they say two essential witnesses were unavailable in January.
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Prosecutors are objecting to the four-month delay and are now asking that the trial be moved to March. Defense attorneys on Friday said their witnesses were also not available in March.
ATATIANA JEFFERSON
In a petition filed Jan. 12, prosecutors said, "The four-month continuance granted by this court exceeds that which was required by defendant’s motion for continuance and unduly delays justice."
Jury selection is currently scheduled for May 9 with the trial scheduled to start seven days later on May 16. Prosecutors asked Friday that voir dire be moved to March 14 and for the trial to begin on March 21.
A trial date had originally been set for Nov. 29, 2021, but Dean's defense team said then that they wouldn't be ready for it and the trial was pushed into January. It was moved again due to witness schedules.
Defense attorneys for Dean have also filed a motion to request a change of venue for the trial. Defense attorneys have asked that the trial be moved out of Tarrant County, arguing Dean cannot receive a fair trial due to pre-trial publicity.
There was no ruling Friday on the motion to move the trial or on the motion to change the date.
NBC 5's Frank Heinz, Lili Zheng and Alanna Quillen contributed to this report.
