Retrial begins of Texas man accused in chokehold killing

HOUSTON – The husband of a former sheriff’s deputy is standing trial again on a murder charge in the strangling of a man he and his wife confronted outside a Houston-area restaurant.

Terry Thompson is charged in the killing of 24-year-old John Hernandez, who died when Thompson put him in a chokehold after finding him urinating outside a Denny’s restaurant in Crosby in 2017. Thompson’s first trial in June ended in a mistrial. His retrial began Tuesday.

Prosecutors say Thompson was the aggressor in the confrontation, but his attorneys say he acted in self-defence.

Thompson’s wife, Chauna, was fired from the Harris County sheriff’s department after Hernandez’s death. She is also charged with murder and is scheduled for trial in April 2019.