Devonte Amerson with members of his family moments after his release (Courtesy of Mano Amiga)
After seven years of delays, the murder charges against Devonte “DJ” Amerson were dismissed this week in Hays County. County officials held Amerson for almost six years in the Hays County Jail and, even after he made bail in December 2023, insisted he would face trial. A trial never came.
Amerson’s only comment thus far amounts to six words: “On the 2,674th day, God did!” His supporters have been somewhat more verbose. His mother, Chelesta Amerson, released a statement saying, “My son has missed birthdays, milestones, and precious time with his children. But he has also shown this community what resilience looks like. The system tried to silence him – but DJ kept speaking truth, and now the world is hearing it.”
Hays County officers arrested Amerson and his childhood friend, Cyrus Gray, in March of 2018 for the shooting death of Texas State student Justin Gage, which had happened two years earlier. Gray and Amerson weren’t able to raise the $250,000 bonds necessary to make bail and spent years in jail awaiting trial. Gray’s trial in the summer of 2022 demonstrated the weakness of the county’s case. Prosecutors had no eyewitnesses, video, fingerprints, or DNA connecting Gray to the murder. The case was declared a mistrial.
Gray was released on bond months later and the charges against him were dropped in July of 2023. Amerson finally made bond that December and expected the charges against him to be dropped as well. But in January, Hays County announced plans to go forward with a trial, even after the District Attorney’s Office admitted that it had lost important evidence in the case.
Amerson’s supporters credit his new attorney, Chris Self, for filing a speedy trial motion to pressure the county into making the decision to dismiss. “This was a case based on sheer coincidence and built on illegally obtained evidence,” Self said. “I am grateful that the government finally saw this case for what it was and let it go.”
Self’s co-counsel, Brad Haggard, noted that the charges against Amerson were dismissed “without prejudice” – meaning that the DA’s office can refile them at a later date if it chooses. That was the case with Cyrus Gray as well, but advocates are optimistic the county is permanently abandoning the charges, even though they’ve been unable to hold anyone accountable for Justin Gage’s murder.
The social justice organization Mano Amiga was the first to publicize the Amerson and Gray cases, and the group has steadily supported the men in court appearances and press events. Mano Amiga’s Eric Martinez said the cases are an example of how race, class, and proximity to power put some people in jail and let others go free.
“DJ’s story is not just about one man,” Martinez said. “It’s about how our legal system punishes poverty, weaponizes race, and draws out pain over years until families are worn down. But DJ never gave up – and neither did we.”