Jury to continue deliberating Aaron Dean sentencing on Tuesday
FORT WORTH, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – The jury that will decide the punishment for former Fort Worth Police Officer Aaron Dean has retired for the night without reaching a decision after a full day of deliberating.
Dean could get a sentence ranging from probation to 20 years for killing Atatiana Jefferson during a police call to her home.
Monday, the jury met for seven hours and will spend the night sequestered in a Fort Worth hotel.
Legal experts we spoke with warn not to read too much into this.
It took about 14 hours for a verdict so sentencing they believe will take time.
But, legal experts also believe at that there's at least some division among jurors over whether Dean should serve serious time in prison.
Dean sat in the courtroom all day after a weekend in jail while outside, Atatiana Jefferson's loved ones gathered for a moment of silence and a prayer.
Around 5 p.m., the judge overseeing Dean's trial announced that the jury determining Dean's punishment would resume deliberations Tuesday following seven hours without a decision.
"The fact that they've been deliberating all day shows that they are still divided,"said criminal defense attorney Toby Shook, who defended Amber Guyger during the former Dallas Police officer's murder trial.
He believes the manslaughter conviction handed down last week to the former Fort Worth police officer was likely a compromise between jurors who wanted either murder or acquittal.
From his experience, Shook believes those same jurors remain apart, either arguing for a sentence that could be a short as probation or pushing for as much as 20 years in prison.
"I'm sure there's some that want to send him to pen time and others saying it's got to be probation," Shook continued.
Jurors have asked to see body cam video from the 2019 shooting when Dean fired a shot through a bedroom window in the home where Jefferson lived with her mother.
Officers were responding to neighbor's call about an open door and possibly a burglary, but the 28-year-old victim was inside playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew.
The case and the trial have civil rights groups demanding justice for the Black victim of a white police officer.
Notably, here are no Black jurors.
"They haven't sent out any notes saying that they are hung, so they're still working and communicating in a positive manner so there's still a good chance that I think they are going to come back with a verdict," Shook said.
The jury will reconvene at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. If they do eventually become deadlocked, the judge could choose a whole new jury just to determine Dean's punishment.