AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Following a week of issues involving jury selection, a mistrial was declared Friday in the murder case of an Austin Police officer facing a first-degree murder charge.
Attorneys for Officer Christopher Taylor requested the mistrial Friday, after potential jurors reported finding envelopes placed on their cars Wednesday. The incidents prompted concerns over jury tampering and intimidation.
Jury selection had already been hampered in the case, after a procedural error Monday led to the dismissal of that day's jury pool. Doors to the courtroom remained locked while the state was conducting jury selection, which would invalidate any decisions made during the trial if the error was discovered after the fact.
A new timeline for jury selection has not yet been set. The judge in the case, Dayna Blazey, expects the trial to last 3-4 weeks.
In a statement, the Travis County District Attorney's office acknowledged the disruption. "Due to the release of Monday’s jury panel because of a constitutional violation, the parties were not able to select a jury this week. The judge will reset the case to a future date, and the state will be ready to try the case then," the statement reads.
Taylor, 31, is accused of fatally shooting 42-year old Michael Ramos during an April 2020 incident involving police in a south Austin apartment complex parking lot. He remains on administrative leave from APD; Taylor is also facing another first-degree murder charge and a deadly conduct charge in connection to a July 2019 shooting involving Mauris DeSilva in downtown Austin.