Former Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody will be tried by a Travis County jury on charges of evidence tampering in the case of Javier Ambler II, who died in 2019 after being Tased by Williamson County Sheriff's Office deputies in Travis County.
Chody initially received indictments for tampering with physical evidence from a Williamson County grand jury in September, followed by Travis County in March. However, Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza's office announced June 2 that Williamson County will dismiss its charges against Chody due to their overlap with Travis County's. Both district attorney offices will work together to pursue the charges against Chody in Travis County; Garza swore in three special prosecutors from the Williamson County office June 2 who will aid in the cases against Chody and former sheriff's office lawyer Jason Nassour, who is being tried on related charges.
“What began as a joint investigation will continue as a joint prosecution,” Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick said in a news release. “We look forward to having all the facts being properly provided to the public through the jury trials of Mr. Chody and Mr. Nassour.”
The charges in question relate to events that took place in March 2019, when Ambler was involved in a car chase with Williamson County sheriff's office deputies after failing to dim his lights to oncoming traffic, according to county documents. The chase ended in Travis County when Ambler crashed his vehicle and was Tased four times by deputies before becoming unresponsive. His death was ruled a “justifiable homicide,” according to a report filed with the Texas attorney general’s office. In June 2020, Ambler's death received renewed attention as local and national protests for Black Lives Matter took place, spurred by the death of another Black man, Minneapolis resident George Floyd, who was murdered by police.
