Court Status Hearing Slated In Case Against WilCo Sheriff Chody

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — A status conference related to evidence tampering charges tied to an in-custody death against outgoing Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody and the county's former general counsel is scheduled for Monday, court officials said.

A Williamson County grand jury on Sept. 28 indicted Chody on charges related to video of an in-custody death of a man who officers used a stun gun on multiple times during a taping of the now-canceled reality show "Live PD." Javier Ambler died on March 2019 after deputies pulled him over for failing to dim his headlights as he passed them on a roadway, which led to a 22-minute chase that ended in Travis County.

As seen in video footage that later emerged, Ambler complained of an inability to breathe before losing consciousness as cameras for the now-defunct "Live PD" partially featuring the work of Williamson County deputies. Prosecutors in Williamson and Travis counties later charged additional video was summarily destroyed as investigations into the matter heightened before the grand jury indictment.

Related stories:

• WilCo Sheriff Chody Indicted Over In-Custody Death Video
• Possible Evidence Tampering Probed In WilCo In-Custody Death
• WilCo Seeks To Cut General Counsel's Job
• Gleason Ousts Chody In WilCo Sheriff's Race

The Williamson County District Courts office on Wednesday alerted to the scheduling of a status conference related to the cases against Chody and Jason Nassour. The hearing will take place via Zoom at 9 a.m., and can be publicly accessed via the Texas Judicial Branch portal.

A so-called status conference is a meeting between the judge and lawyers for each represented party in a pending legal matter. The purpose of such a gathering is to determine how the case is progressing. At the conference, the judge may ask about the nature of discovery that has been conducted, explore whether a settlement has been discussed and other pre-trial matters.

Chody lost to his Democrat rival, Mike Gleason, in his quest to retain his seat in the Nov. 3 election. The outgoing sheriff served a single term in office.