Felony charge dismissed against the wife of Rocky's killer
An aggravated perjury charge against Clinton Owen Thompson's wife was dismissed within hours of his guilty pleas Thursday morning to manslaughter for killing a Wichita Falls man and aggravated assault for a road rage incident, court records show.
The Wichita County District Attorney's Office opted not to prosecute the perjury charge against Misti Dawn Thompson, 45, who was accused of lying on the stand during her husband's road rage trial last year, court records show.
At the request of the DA's Office, 89th District Judge Charles Barnard signed the order of dismissal filed Thursday afternoon. Aggravated perjury is a third-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
On July 5, a Wichita County grand jury indicted Misti on the perjury charge in connection with her testimony May 25, 2022.
The DA's Office alleged she lied when testifying that John King, who Clinton pointed a gun at Aug. 6, 2017, during a road rage incident south of McNiel Middle School, had followed Misti to her father-in-law's home and her mother-in-law's flower shop that day.
In addition, her false statements eroded King's credibility during the road rage trial, according to allegations in the indictment.
A judge declared a mistrial when a jury deadlocked May 26, 2022, in Clinton's trial. He was to be retried Monday for aggravated assault.
The dismissal of the perjury charge against Misti was not part of the plea deal struck for Clinton, 44, in the last few days.
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He pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and to the lesser offense of manslaughter for the shooting death of husband and father Rocky Buckley July 26, 2012, in the driveway of Clinton's home.
Barnard sentenced him to 15 years for manslaughter and five years for the road rage incident. His sentences are to run concurrently.
Clinton was being held Friday in the Wichita County Detention Center, pending his transfer to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, according to online jail records.
The resolution of the Buckley's case brought long-awaited justice to family members, who have been seeking justice since his death in 2012.
A Wichita County grand jury declined to indict Clinton in 2012 for any charge related to the homicide. Clinton claimed he shot in self-defense. He and Buckley had been friends and were in a dispute at the time of the killing.
Buckley's family asked Wichita County DA John Gillespie to take up the case when he came into office in 2019.
Subsequently, Clinton was indicted on a charge of manslaughter in April 2019 and then a charge of murder in November 2019.
More: Sheriff: 2012 manslaughter suspect caught by surprise
Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News in Wichita Falls, covers education, courts, breaking news, investigative projects and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Felony charge dismissed against wife of Rocky's killer
