FORT WORTH, Texas — Former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean has been found guilty of manslaughter in the 2019 shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson, but the trial isn't over just yet.
On Friday, the punishment phase begins. That's when the prosecution and defense will present evidence and call witnesses to show why Dean should be sentenced to however many years they ask the jury to give him.
Manslaughter is a second-degree felony in Texas, a lesser charge than first-degree murder, but still carries a sentencing range between 2 and 20 years.
Dean could, however, still get probation, according to experts WFAA consulted.
If the jury sentences Dean to 10 years or less and recommends the sentence be probated, then the judge has to grant it. If the sentence is more than 10 years, he has to serve some prison time, experts say.
If the judge orders him into probation, experts say, the judge could also assess up to 180 days in jail, as a condition of the supervision, without anyone's input. The judge could also order Dean into county custody upon sentencing.
While this is the first officer convicted of manslaughter in Tarrant County, the history of convictions in Dallas for officers shows they tend to receive at least 10 years. Amber Guyger received a 10-year prison sentence in the killing of Botham Jean, while Roy Oliver received a 15-year sentence for the killing of a 15-year-old boy.
Dean fatally shot Jefferson at her home in east Fort Worth in October 2019. Jefferson's neighbor had called police to check on her when he noticed her front door was open. Dean and another officer responded to the call as an open structure call, and Dean, while checking on the outside of the house, shot Jefferson through her bedroom window.
Dean testified that he saw someone point a gun at him from the other side of the window, and his attorneys argued the shooting was self-defense.
Prosecutors have argued that Dean violated his training and general orders and did not identify himself as a Fort Worth police officer.
Dean, who resigned from the police department shortly after the shooting, was indicted on a charge of murder. It's not uncommon for a judge to allow jurors to consider convicting a defendant of a lesser charge, and in Dean's case, that included a manslaughter option, which jurors chose.