Aaron Dean to begin serving 11-year sentence for shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson
FORT WORTH, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — After receiving a prison sentence of 11 years, 10 months and 12 days in prison for the shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson, Aaron Dean has been taken to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility to begin serving his time.
The Tarrant County Sheriff's Office confirmed that Dean was transferred Wednesday to the James "Jay" H. Byrd Unit in Huntsville where he's currently undergoing diagnostics.
Dean learned his fate Tuesday afternoon at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center. The sentence offered some relief to Jefferson's family.
They got a conviction, they got a prison term.
But there's one thing Jefferson's family wanted from the trial that they did not get—an apology from the former police officer.
"He tried to play excuses and come up with a story that didn't fit what we saw," Jefferson's sister, Ashley Carr, said.
Outside the home where Jefferson was killed back in 2019, the family's attorney, Lee Merritt, said the trial made history in Tarrant County.
"We are hoping that this 12-year sentence will be a deterrent for other police officers going forward, that they will think twice before they engage in dangerous, reckless behavior directed at a citizen," Merritt said.
According to court records, a notice of appeal has already been filed in Dean's case.
The ex-cop would have been eligible for bond during the appeal if he was sentenced to under 10 years, but he will now have to stay in prison until at least half of his nearly 12-year sentence has been served.
