Former WilCo Sheriff Arrested In Connection To Javier Ambler Case

Austin TX

01 April, 2021

1:56 PM

Description

AUSTIN, TX — Former Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody was arrested and booked into Travis County Jail Friday afternoon in connection with the case of Javier Ambler, who died in 2019, jail records show. Chody was charged with a third-degree felony of tampering with physical evidence in connection to the case. Chody's bond was set at $15,000 and is reportedly no longer in jail, according to jail officials. Following his arrest, the Travis County District Attorney's Office announced Friday afternoon it has issued an indictment against Chody. The charge will be prosecuted by the District Attorney Office's Civil Rights Unit and is pending in the 299th Judicial District Court. The indictment follows a day after Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced the indictment against former Williamson County General Counsel Jason Nassour on the same charge in the case. Ambler, a Black 40-year-old postal worker and father of two, died on March 28, 2019, after being repeatedly tased by deputies after they stopped him for not dimming his lights. In police video, Ambler is heard complaining of an inability to breathe and alerting to a congestive heart failure. The encounter was captured by a video crew from the now-canceled "Live PD" reality show in which Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody participated along with some of his deputies. In September, Chody was indicted by a grand jury on evidence tampering charges in Williamson County in connection with video of the in-custody death, according to a Patch October 2020 article. Former Williamson County deputies James Johnson and Zachary Camden were indicted on second-degree manslaughter charges earlier this week as well. In 2020, Nassour and Chody were both indicted in Williamson County.