Former Mesquite officer indicted for shooting truck owner
A Dallas County Grand Jury indicted a former Mesquite police officer on a charge of aggravated assault by a public servant for shooting a man wrongfully suspected of burglary.
Former Officer Derick Wiley was responding to reports of a vehicle burglary on Nov. 8 and found Lyndo Jones. Wiley said he thought Jones was trying to break into a truck, but the truck actually belonged to Jones. After a confrontation, Wiley shot Jones several times. Jones was unarmed.
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Jones survived the shooting and spent several days in the hospital. He was briefly charged with evading arrest and handcuffed to his bed until Mesquite PD ultimately decided to drop the charge.
Wiley was later fired from the Mesquite Police Department after the police chief said he violated department policy.
“We believe that it was the correct decision,” said attorney Lee Merritt, who is representing Jones. “This was, I believe, a more difficult decision to arrive to without the proper guidance from the District Attorney's Office by filing criminal charges in advance.”
Attorneys for Jones have been critical of District Attorney Faith Johnson for opting not to file criminal charges before the grand jury hearings that were held last month. FOX 4’ cameras were rolling as Wiley, a former 10-year veteran patrol officer, waited outside the grand jury room.
Jones' attorneys say Wiley's body cam video, which reportedly captured the shooting, should have been enough for the DA to file criminal charges.
“We can say it was enough to indict this officer,” Merritt said. “Clearly, it was enough to get this officer fired by his department. It was enough to get the false charges against our clients dismissed.”
Johnson says the video will not be released to the public.
“The body camera will not be released before the trial,” she said. “Again, we don't want to taint the jury pool.”
Jones is back in the hospital with complications after doctors removed a third bullet from his body. Merritt says it now appears he has blood in his lungs. He learned of the former's officer's indictment while he was in the hospital.
“He's still on the mend. We talked to him about the indictment a bit earlier, and he wasn't too thrilled about it to be quite honest,” said Justin Moore, Jones’ criminal attorney. “He believes that Faith Johnson should've issued an indictment himself and not punt to the grand jury.”
The DA says Wiley has hired an attorney, but it is unclear who is representing him at this time. He turned himself in to police and was later released after posting a $300,000 bond.
The Mesquite police chief plans to hold a news conference on Thursday to address the indictment.
If convicted, Wiley faces between five and 99 years in prison.