WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas — Former Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody appeared in a Travis County courtroom on Monday.
Chody, along with former assistant county attorney Jason Nassour, faces charges for involvement in the Javier Ambler case, when Ambler died in custody five years ago.
Jury selection is expected to begin on Aug. 12, with Chody's trial expected to begin the following day. Chody and Nassour have both pleaded not guilty to charges of tampering with physical evidence and conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence.
Former Williamson County deputies Zach Camden and J.J. Johnson were acquitted of manslaughter earlier this month following the March 2019 incident when a Taser was used on Ambler multiple times. Video from the incident showed Ambler shouting he couldn't breathe and that he had a heart condition. Ambler died moments later.
During the 22-minute chase, Camden and Johnson had crews from "Live PD" with them as they chased Amber into Travis County before Ambler crashed his car. The chase started because Ambler failed to dim his headlights.
"Live PD" production company Big Fish Entertainment said it had destroyed the footage that showed Ambler's death, which led to an evidence tampering investigation.
Chody and Nassour are accused of entering an access agreement with the production company “to destroy raw unaired audio and video footage” and the charges alleged that they “performed an overt act” the night of Ambler’s death. That act allowed the video to be taken away from the scene “knowing that an in-custody investigation or official proceeding was pending or in progress involving the death of Javier Ambler."
For insight on the case, KVUE spoke with criminal defense attorney Brad Vinson, who said Williamson County has a major issue with the "Live PD" contract.
"We currently have a pending federal suit against Williamson County right now because of a 'Live PD' arrest, and Williamson County has been so reluctant and fought us at every turn on everything that we're asking for," Vinson said. "We believe that there's going to be some grand jury records regarding Chody, regarding Nassour, questions that we had asked to the district attorney in a deposition about whether or not there were kickbacks or remunerations – that those questions weren't able to be answered because of the fact that they pertain to grand jury proceedings. So I think what's left to be discovered even after this trial is just how far this goes."
During a hearing, Judge Karen Sage said she ruled the act of releasing the video was required under federal law.