Jurors to receive nearly $27K payout from Travis County after case was dropped

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas - After three days of work in a criminal case that took years to wrap up, 12 jurors and two alternates will each be getting nearly $27,000 from Travis County. The county is on the hook for nearly $375,000. 

It all stems from a case prosecutors ultimately had to drop.

It was a case that seemed like it would never end.

The backstory:

"This is one of the worst malicious prosecution cases that we've come across," said Ryan Johnson, a partner at Cherry Johnson Siegmund James Lawfirm representing Nassour & Chody.

It stems from the evidence tampering case against former Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody and county attorney Jason Nassour. This was in connection with the 2019 in-custody death of Javier Ambler.

Ambler's arrest and death were recorded during a taping of the reality show "Live PD." He was tased while going through heart failure.

Travis and Williamson County district attorneys went on to accuse Chody and Nassour of destroying or concealing the recordings of his death. Both have denied any wrongdoing.

The Williamson County Sheriff's Office had an agreement with "Live PD's" parent company that the raw video would be deleted 30 days after it was recorded.

Prosecutors argued that Nassour and Chody should have seized the footage of Ambler’s death before it was deleted. Chody and Nassour argued that doing so would have violated federal law.

They said that the footage could have legally been obtained through a subpoena, a process they say was incorrectly filed by the Travis County DA.

"They basically failed what a first-year law student would understand how to do. And so that's embarrassing, and they tried to blame the county attorney, and they tried to blame the sheriff for doing their job, and ultimately it didn't hold up, and their case fell apart as it should," said Johnson. 

On July 1, the Travis County District Attorney's Office dropped the charges against Chody and Nassour. An appeals court ruled that the state could not move forward with presenting evidence which prosecutors say was needed to prove their guilt.

"When the charges were dismissed, I think that the main feeling was relief, um, some vindication, but, but they want to hold these people responsible because not only did they run their lives, they wasted millions of dollars in taxpayer money on a case that had absolutely no foundation," said Johnson.

Dig deeper:

Chody and Nassour are now seeking justice, and have filed a civil suit Friday against Williamson and Travis counties. DA’s Jose Garza and Shawn Dick were also named.

The lawsuit claimed a staggering abuse of power, a politically motivated prosecution that dragged on for almost six years, taking taxpayer resources and destroying the lives of two innocent men.

"They're trying to get your careers back. They've lost millions of dollars in their own income and their ability to provide for their families. They don't want this to happen to anyone else again. And I think they want more than anything else, accountability," said Johnson.

FOX 7 Austin reached out to the Travis and Williamson County DA's offices earlier this week for comment, but have not heard back.

Juror payout

What's next:

As for the 12 jurors and 2 alternatives, they are in for a big payout.

According to court order, each person is entitled to at least $20 for his or her first day of service and at least $58 thereafter.

Evidence was first presented in August 2024, but the trial was halted on August 15 when prosecutors filed an appeal.

For 457 days over nearly two years, the court instructed jurors to maintain impartiality just as if they were on overnight recess.  

Under a court order signed on July 13, each juror and alternative is owed a total of $26,700 for their service.

Crime and Public SafetyWilliamson CountyTravis County