Man Awaiting Murder Trial for Six Years Wants Hays County to Make Up Its Mind

Devonte Amerson with members of his family moments after his release (courtesy of Mano Amiga)

It’s been eight months since Devonte Amerson was released from the Hays County Jail on bond. It’s been six and a half years since he and his boyhood friend Cyrus Gray were arrested and charged with the 2015 murder of Texas State student Justin Gage. It’s been almost nine years since Gage’s death. Hays County authorities are still trying to figure out when, or if, to put Amerson on trial.

On Aug. 29, Amerson appeared before District Judge Bruce Boyer for the most recent of a series of court hearings. He and his attorney David Sergi asked that the case against him be dropped or, at least, that he be allowed to remove the ankle monitor he’s worn since being released from jail in December. Neither of those requests were granted. Instead, the brief appearance centered on a trove of evidence in the case that has, seemingly, been lost by prosecutors.

“We filed a motion to dismiss based on spoliation of evidence,” Sergi explained, using the legal term for the intentional or negligent destruction of trial evidence. “The prosecutors have admitted that there are seven pieces of evidence that they can’t find from witnesses that have previously testified. They testified one way in front of the grand jury, they testified another way at Cyrus Gray’s trial.

“In order for us to do the work that we need to do, we need that video. They’ve lost it, either due to negligence or an intentional act – we don’t know. But based on that, we don’t think this case ought to go to trial.”

Prosecutors have asked for more time to produce the evidence. Sergi said that a hearing has been set for Sept. 23 to determine once and for all whether the evidence still exists. It has been described to him as containing interviews conducted in the first days of the investigation into Gage’s murder. “We want to see what was actually said; they don’t have it,” he said. “We know that one of their drives failed. Now, they said that that’s only their internal work drive, it’s not their actual evidentiary drive. But the problem is, they can’t give it to us.”

The notion that prosecutors may have lost evidence first arose in Gray’s murder trial, held in the summer of 2022. At the trial, prosecutors were unable to present eyewitnesses, video, fingerprints, or DNA connecting Gray to Gage’s murder, relying instead on cellphone data that showed him and Amerson traveling near the apartment complex in San Marcos where the murder took place and then out of town afterward. The case was declared a mistrial following four days of jury deliberations. Gray’s bond was reduced several months later, and he was released after having served over four years in jail.

In July of 2023, Hays County District Attorney Kelly Higgins dropped the murder charges against Gray, but “without prejudice,” a legal distinction which allows the D.A.’s Office to refile the charges in the future. Gray has always asserted his innocence and has repeatedly said he would prefer to immediately face another trial in order to clear his name for good.

Over 20 of Amerson’s family members and advocates, including Abundant Life pastor Darius Todd and members of the social justice group Mano Amiga, appeared in the courtroom last week. They want both Amerson’s and Gray’s cases dismissed with prejudice and were disappointed that Judge Boyer didn’t see fit to remove Amerson’s ankle monitor, though he has enrolled in barber school and is working in the real estate business. They are looking forward to the Sept. 23 hearing.

“We’re very much anticipating it,” said Mano Amiga’s Eric Martinez. “After nearly nine years, it’s time to close this chapter and let Devonte move forward with his life.”