Man arrested in middle of trial for former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean

By Maggie Prosser, Jamie Landers and Krista M. Torralva

FORT WORTH —A spectator at the trial for the former Fort Worth police officer convicted of manslaughter in the shooting death of a Black woman inside her mother’s home was arrested by sheriff’s deputies after refusing to be sworn in as a witness.

Manuel Mata, 42, was taken into custody just before 3 p.m. inside the 396th District Court at the Tarrant County courthouse.

Dean’s defense lawyers tried to swear Mata in as a witness, but Mata refused to take the oath. It was unclear what evidence Mata could have offered in court or why the defense would want him as a witness. There is a gag order in place preventing Dean, the attorneys and those sworn in as witnesses from talking publicly about the case.

“Under what authority, sir?” Mata asked before stating he wanted his lawyer as deputies took him into custody.

State District Judge George Gallagher said Mata was out on bond and declared his bonds insufficient. No additional information was available in Tarrant County jail records. Mata could be heard hollering after he was taken out of the courtroom.

A jury found Dean guilty of manslaughter Thursday for fatally shooting Atatiana Jefferson, 28, when he responded to a call at her mother’s East Fort Worth home. Jurors rejected a murder charge, which could have carried a life sentence. Dean faces up to 20 years in prison. He is also eligible for probation.

Dean, 38, shot Jefferson through her bedroom window from the backyard. A concerned neighbor called a nonemergency police line about 2:30 a.m. Oct. 12, 2019, because the home’s doors were open and the lights were on inside. Jefferson and her 8-year-old nephew were up late playing video games and left the doors open to air out smoke after they burned hamburgers at dinnertime. Jefferson moved into the East Fort Worth home to care for her ailing mother and Zion, whose mother was also in poor health.

Gallagher admonished Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and City Council member Chris Nettles on Friday after they made public comments about the verdict. Gallagher ordered Parker and Nettles to appear in court again Jan. 4 for a hearing to determine whether they can be held in contempt of court. The judge previously admonished the lawyer for Jefferson’s family, Lee Merritt, for his public comments about the case.

CORRECTION, 12:09 a.m., Dec. 17, 2022: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker.