Attorneys representing convicted former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean have been granted access to juror information that will allow them to investigate the panel that found him guilty last month of manslaughter in the October 2019 death of Atatiana Jefferson.
According to a court document filed Thursday by Dean's attorney Robert Gill and obtained by NBC 5, the defense is seeking personal information about the jury, including contact information, to determine if one of them posted a message online seeking opinions about the trial while the trial was still underway.
Defense attorneys said they obtained a copy of the social media post purportedly posted by one of the jurors and offered it for the record as the jury deliberated Dean's punishment.
The defense said the social media post "sought opinions and information from persons outside the jury" and that "if this social media post is attributable to one of the jurors in this case, and the juror received information, the defendant would be entitled to a new trial."
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Dean's attorneys also suggested the jury's unconventional sentence in the case may also be the result of misconduct.
The former officer had been accused of murder but the jury of eight men and six women opted to find him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter and sentenced him to 11 years, 10 months and 12 days in prison, an unusual amount of time that prosecutors and family members guessed may have been symbolic of the age of her nephew at the time of her slaying and of the month and date of her death.
Judge George Gallagher, who presided over both the trial and sentencing, granted the defense attorney's request on Jan. 5, provided that the jury information is destroyed after they have been contacted.
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A spokesperson for the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office told NBC 5 Friday afternoon they were aware of the claim of potential jury misconduct and said that it was handled by the presiding judge.
Earlier this week, Gallagher opted to forgo any punishment against Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and Fort Worth Councilman Chris Nettles for potential violations of a gag order in place during the trial. According to Gallagher, both Parker and Nettles, who had been sworn in as witnesses in the case, apologized for public statements made before the conclusion of the trial.
