FORT WORTH -- In December, Darrell Roberson fatally shot a man outside his Arlington home after finding the man and his wife in a compromising position inside a pickup.
But Roberson is no longer in trouble with the law.
His wife, Tracy Denise Roberson, is now the one facing criminal prosecution in connection with the killing.
On Wednesday, a Tarrant County grand jury declined to indict Darrell Roberson, 38, on a murder charge in the death of 32-year-old Devin LaSalle.
Instead, the panel on Thursday returned an indictment against Tracy Roberson on a charge of manslaughter, stemming from allegations that she recklessly caused LaSalle's death by falsely claiming that she was being raped, prompting her husband to shoot LaSalle.
Tracy Roberson, 35, was also indicted on a charge of making a false report to a police officer on accusations that she also lied to Arlington police, telling them she was being raped when, officials said, she had actually been having an affair with LaSalle. A warrant for her arrest was issued Thursday.
Legal experts said they have never heard of a case quite like this before but that the legal theory behind it seems sound.
"It certainly is different," said George E. Dix, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin. "But the theory sounds perfectly acceptable to me. That is interesting."
Jason Gillmer, an associate professor at Texas Wesleyan School of Law in downtown Fort Worth, agreed.
"I've never heard of a case like this, but if you think about the theory behind it, it makes sense," Gillmer said. "He is entitled to defend his wife and his family against aggravated assault. If he believes that is what is happening, he is entitled to use force. She didn't intend for her husband to kill her lover, but she recklessly caused it.
"Whether or not a jury will be convinced remains to be seen."
Police have said that, in the early morning hours of Dec. 11, Darrell Roberson called his Arlington home trying to reach his wife more than a dozen times before his 7-year-old daughter finally answered.
A short time later, Darrell Roberson, who had been playing cards in Dallas, headed to his home in the 6100 block of Ivy Glen Drive, police have said.
When he arrived, Roberson saw his wife, clad in a robe and underwear, with a man in a Chevrolet Silverado pickup, police have said. After Tracy Roberson claimed that the man was trying to rape her, her husband fired four shots at the vehicle as the man tried to drive away with his wife, police have said.
LaSalle -- a UPS employee who had recently moved to Mansfield from New Orleans -- was struck once in the head. The father of three was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police have said that in the hours before the shooting, LaSalle received a text message from Tracy Roberson that read: "Hi friend, come see me please! I need to feel your warm embrace! If ur unable to I completely understand!!! Call me," according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Police have said that they do not know how long the couple had been seeing each other.
Arlington police investigated the shooting for several days before arresting Darrell Roberson on a murder warrant. Darrell Roberson, who works for a real estate firm, turned himself in to the Collin County Jail on Dec. 16 and was released shortly after on $100,000 bail.
According to court records, Tracy Roberson had not been taken into custody as of late Thursday afternoon, and it did not appear that she had a defense attorney.
If convicted of manslaughter, Tracy Roberson faces two to 20 years in prison. Making a false report to a police officer is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.
Prosecutor Sean Colston, who is handling the case, said he could not comment on the grand jurors' deliberations because they are secret. Generally speaking, however, he said there are certain defenses to crimes based on what a reasonable person believes at the time of the offense.
"If a person has a reasonable belief that he needs to defend someone based on a fact that later turns out to be false, that does not take away that justification for him," Colston said. "If a person has a reasonable belief that their actions are necessary, they can be afforded self-defense and defense of a third party."
No one answered the door at the Robersons' home Thursday. A neighbor said Darrell Roberson moved out late one night about a week after the shooting. She said she has not seen Tracy Roberson.
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