Staff Report
A former Austin Police Department officer, along with one other man, have been charged with capital murder in the death of Kyle Victim Services Coordinator Samantha Dean and her unborn child in February.
In a press conference Thursday, the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of former Austin Police Officer VonTrey Jamal Clark, 32, who was flown back to Texas from Indonesia Wednesday.
Clark was booked into the Bastrop County Jail early Thursday on a capital murder charge relating to the deaths of Dean and her unborn daughter, Madeline. Clark is being held in the Bastrop County Jail without bail.
On Thursday, the Austin American-Statesman reported authorities had arrested Kevin Leo Watson, 31, and charged him with capital murder in Dean’s death. Watson had been in the Harris County jail since April on a different charge. Court documents link Watson as one of two men police believed Clark hired to kill Dean. Watson is being held on $1 million bond.
According to the American-Statesman, the second man police believe Clark attempted to hire, Freddie Lee Smith, 29, has not been located.
Bastrop County District Attorney Bryan Goertz said Thursday the state has 90 days to indict both Clark and Watson.
Clark’s return to Texas was completed when Clark was flown from Bali, Indonesia.
Clark fled to the island nation on July 17, and was soon after fired by the Austin Police Department. On Aug. 4, Indonesian officials detained Clark on what was described as “visa-related” issues.
FBI agent Dan Snow said during Thursday’s press conference that the agency used its attaché offices and relationships abroad to bring Clark back. Snow said Clark wasn’t extradited, but that Indonesian officials from the country expelled him.
Snow said the agency went to “great lengths to do what we could” to return Clark to Texas “in the interest of justice.”
“It sends a message that if you’re a violent criminal to the U.S., the FBI has resources to come and get you,” Snow said at Thursday’s press conference.
The jet that ferried Clark left Indonesia early Wednesday and landed at Austin Bergstrom International Airport at 11:45 p.m. Austin time. Clark also faces a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
According to a search warrant that was unsealed last month, Clark had allegedly offered $5,000 to two hit men to murder Dean with Clark present.
The warrant that was unsealed in August also included statements from Aaron Williams, an associate of Clark, who stated that Clark drove Dean to the area where her body was found in Bastrop County. Williams said Dean’s murder, which took place on Feb. 4, was set up to look like a drug deal that had gone badly.
Dean was seven months pregnant when she was killed. Clark believed the baby was his. According to the warrant, Clark “strongly urged” Dean to have an abortion, as he didn’t want to pay child support. Dean refused to have the abortion.
Bastrop County Sherrif’s Office officials said Clark is not on suicide watch, but they added there is extra security at the Bastrop County Jail.
When asked if Clark could have been arrested prior to leaving the country, Goertz said no one “knew he was going to leave the country.” In addition, he said the state wanted to take time to review evidence in order to “get it right.”
“One of the things that comes into play is when the state is in investigation mode, there are no clocks ticking,” Goertz said. “The state proceeds at their own pace; the state wants to get it right.”
With Clark now back in the country, Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett offered “gratitude to law enforcement agencies that continue their diligent work to bring justice to the Dean family.”
“On behalf of the Kyle Police Department, citizens of Kyle, and the victims that Samantha served, we are comforted that progress is being made,” Barnett said.
He added that the department is continuing to cement Dean’s legacy, and that the department will continue to support the Dean family.
“We will be there for the family, and to continue to honor Samantha through the process.”
