A State District Judge Granted A Continuance This Morning, Delaying Former Balch Springs Police Officer Roy Oliver’s Trial Until August.

Former Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver’s murder trial has been pushed back from June to August 20 after State District Judge Brandon Birmingham granted a continuance at a hearing this morning.

The former Balch Springs Police officer has been awaiting trial ever since being indicted with the murder of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards last July. Today, this defense team successfully argued to the judge that it needed an extension because lead defense attorney Jim Lane needed time to recover after undergoing reconstructive back surgery.

This is now the second time now that Oliver’s trial, which also includes four counts of aggravated assault, has been pushed back. In December, a judge granted a continuance and pushed the trial back from January 22 to June 25.

Jordan Edwards’ mother, Charmaine, testified at today’s hearing about the difficult times faced by her family since Jordan’s death.

“We need closure,” Charmaine Edwards said at the hearing. “Every time they push it back is pushing back the closure.”

It’s been more than a year now since Oliver killed Edwards on the night of April 29, 2017, while responding to a call about a party where underage drinking was believed to be taking place. As it turned out, there were no drugs or alcohol found on the premises. After leaving the scene, officers reported hearing gunshots nearby, and, upon seeing a car full of teens leaving the party, Oliver went to get his assault rifle from his squad car. He then fired his gun in the direction of the car, with bullets striking Edwards. After being rushed to the hospital, Edwards would be pronounced dead later that night.

The initial story told by Balch Springs PD was that the car was “reversing aggressively” toward the officers when Oliver fired his weapon. Police would go on to change their story to note that the vehicle was actually driving away, not toward, Oliver. It was also reported that, after Oliver shot into the vehicle, he flipped off the passengers in the car.

In the wake of the shooting, Oliver was fired from the police department and indicted on murder and aggravated assault charges last July by a grand jury. In June, we reported that Oliver was also charged on unrelated assault charges that stemmed from a incident that took place two weeks prior to Edwards’ killing, when Oliver pulled a gun a woman during a road rage incident that took place while he was off duty.

The Edwards’ family attorney Daryl Washington spoke to Fox 4 News this morning about the judge’s decision to delay Oliver’s trial.

“Needless to say, we are very disappointed about this because there are a number of things are going on,” Washington said. “The kids are having to live this over and over again. Each continuance means opening, and having to close, a wound. The family is having to go through this, and it’s just been very difficult.”