WFAA – (WBAP/KLIF)- Jim Lane was set to be in court Monday for a long delayed trial of former Fort Worth police officer Arron Dean. Dean faces murder charges in the shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson, shot inside a family home following a welfare check as the home’s door was reported open at night.
The trial of Dean had been postponed or delayed several times, due to Lane’s health and the Covid 19 pandemic. Jury selection is still officially scheduled in Dean’s case Monday, and it was widely expected defense would petition the court for a change of venue, given wide press coverage concerning the case.
Lane is reported as having fallen prior to Thanksgiving, and was briefly placed in hospice care ahead of his death.
Dean was a Fort Worth police officer at the time of the shooting. He’d responded to the home she was in on an “open structure” call when he shot and killed her through a window.
Lane had practiced law for decades in Texas and had served as a captain in the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General Corp, according to his website.
Lane, whose office was in Tarrant County, practiced in criminal defense, military court martial defense, personal injury representation and aviation pilot FAA enforcement actions.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Lane was born in Uvalde, but spent much of his childhood visiting family in Tarrant County. Lane earned a bachelor’s degree at Texas Christian University and earned a law degree from Baylor University.
Lane is survived by his wife, son and brother.
It is unclear if any motion will be filed to delay the proceedings after Lane’s death.
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