Former Officer Derick Wiley Aggravated Assault Trial Ends In A Mistrial
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The jury in the aggravated assault trial of former Mesquite Police officer Derick Wiley was unable to reach a verdict and the case has ended in a mistrial.
The jury deliberated all day Wednesday and most of the day Thursday before letting the judge know they could not reach a verdict.
The judge said after eight days of testimony and hours of deliberations, he did not believe a jury could come to a unanimous verdict and declared a mistrial.
Wiley's attorney told CBS 11 the jury was split 8-4 for acquittal.
"Well, he gets to go home today, not facing prison, that is some relief," said defense attorney Kathy Lowthorp. "It would've been the right answer that this should've been not guilty."
"We respect the jury's decision," said Mike Snipes, Assistant District Attorney. "Judge (DA Faith) Johnson will make a decision in the coming weeks (on whether or not to retry the case). Thank you very much."
The jury was tasked with deciding if the officer violated law by using deadly force in the shooting or if his actions were reasonable.
Wiley faced five to 99 years in the shooting of Lyndo Jones.
The Dallas County DA's office released the following statement Thursday afternoon:
The DAs Office respects the jury's decision. We want to thank them for their service. We appreciate their time and diligence in listening to the evidence presented.
"My office remains committed to fighting for justice no matter who is accused of a crime. Let there be no doubt, that this office will never show any special consideration for anyone regardless of the position they hold in society. Our track record makes it abundantly clear with every case we handle that we will continue to fight for the citizens of Dallas County," said Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson.
On November 8, 2017, Officer Wiley was accused of shooting Jones twice in the back following a patrol stop and subsequent check of Jones and his vehicle which was stopped in the 1300 block of south Town East Blvd. Wiley ordered Jones out of the vehicle and onto the ground. Jones claimed he feared for his life and ran. Wiley said he thought Jones might have a weapon and shot him, although no weapon was ever displayed.
The District Attorney's Office wants to commend the trial team that included lead prosecutor Assistant District Attorney Bryan Mitchell, ADAs George Lewis, Mischeka Nicholson, Jason Hermus and Doug Gladden from the Appellate Division for their hard work and dedication on this case.
In November 2017, Wiley ordered Lyndo Jones to get out of his truck and threatened to shoot him. The whole incident was captured on body cam and shown during the trial.
The two men got into a tussle while Jones was on the ground. As Jones tried to get away, Wiley shot him twice.
Prosecutors told the jury Wiley's actions as a police officer were unbecoming of an officer and that he used deadly force for no reason.
"The fact the defendant was a police officer does not excuse him for his unreasonable actions that day when he shot Lyndo Jones," said prosecutor George Lewis. "This was not a reasonable use of force by this defendant."
The defense said the officer should not be punished for doing his job.
"Please send a message to law enforcement. Send a message to this county that law enforcement does matter. And if more officers are backed up when they're right then maybe when people are wrong, we will prosecute them. Maybe this will tone down some of the shootings that we have in our own county," said defense attorney Kathy Lowthorp.
There were references to police shootings by both sides. The primary focus of the jury is the fired Mesquite officer who faces an aggravated assault charge that could put him in prison if convicted.