DALLAS — One of three men arrested in the shooting death of Andre Emmett, a former NBA player from Dallas, got his charge dismissed from the case, prosecutors said in a court filing this month.
Michael Lucky faced a capital murder charge in the case, but prosecutors said "new information came to light" that led to the conviction of another man in Emmett's 2019 killing.
A jury found Larry Jenkins guilty of capital murder in September.
In the motion to dismiss Lucky's charge, prosecutors wrote:
"After a review of the evidence in this case and in light of the fact that Larry Jenkins was convicted for the role previously thought to have been attributed to Michael Lucky, the state is unable to present a prima facie case at this time for capital murder for Michael Lucky."
A judge granted the motion to dismiss Lucky's charge on Nov. 4.
A third man charged in Emmett's death, Keith Johnson, has yet to stand trial, and it wasn't clear Thursday what the status of his case was.
Emmett, 37, was shot on Sept. 23, 2019 during a robbery while eating Whataburger in his car in the driveway of his Old East Dallas home near Lower Greenville, Dallas police said.
The former Texas Tech University basketball star was taken to a hospital where he later died. .
Police initially said Johnson and Lucky shot Emmett. It wasn't clear what "new information" came to light in the case that led to Lucky's charge getting dismissed.
Jenkins’ attorneys told the court in September that “it starts out with Michael Lucky and it starts out with Keith Johnson” and that their client is getting “thrown in with the rest of the mix.”
Lucky and Johnson were both indicted on capital murder charges in December 2019.
Emmett, a Dallas Carter High graduate, starred at Texas Tech, where he played for Bob Knight and was an All-American his senior year.
In 2004, he was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics as a 35th overall pick in the NBA draft. He was later traded to the Memphis Grizzlies and went on to play for the New Jersey Nets.
He also played for several NBA developmental league teams, including in 2006 with the Dallas Mavericks for the Las Vegas Summer League.
In 2018, Emmett was the second overall pick in the 2018 BIG3 league, a 3-on-3 basketball league founded by rapper and actor Ice Cube. He was entering his second season with the league when he was killed.
