Prosecution's request for stay granted in evidence tampering case against former WilCo Sheriff, county attorney

AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- In the midst of the third day of proceedings, the criminal trial for former Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody and assistant county attorney Jason Nassour came to a halt, while a higher court decides on a question involving federal privacy laws.

"The state has been looking forward to having a full and fair trial… [However], the state can’t continue at this time,” the prosecution said Thursday morning.

Chody and Nassour are facing felony evidence tampering and conspiracy charges, connected to allegations that the pair acted to prevent investigators from seeing video recorded by a reality television show crew during a traffic stop that led to the in-custody death of Javier Ambler in March 2019.

Prior to the trial, state district judge Karen Sage issued a ruling blocking prosecutors from introducing some evidence because of the federal Privacy Protection Act. According to Sage's ruling, under the PPA, Chody and Nassour weren't allowed to seize the crew's footage and had to let them leave the crime scene with their belongings.

Prosecutors have appealed that ruling to the 3rd Court of Appeals. An initial request for a stay in the case was denied Wednesday afternoon; Thursday, Sage agreed to grant the stay.

According to prosecutors, Sage's ruling means that "parts of the indictment are preempted by federal law and that the State cannot prosecute its case on those parts of the indictment."

"I'm going to exclude you from jury service until the issues get resolved," Sage told the jurors before sending them home indefinitely. "You are still on the jury; you are just going on a little hiatus."