Karmelo Anthony’s defense rested Friday after former members of his trial team testified about an unwritten agreement that became a central issue in his effort to overturn his murder conviction.
Anthony, 19, was convicted in June of murdering 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during a confrontation at a high school track meet in Frisco in 2025. A Collin County jury sentenced him to 35 years in prison, The Dallas Express reported.
Retired District Judge Michael Chitty is presiding over the hearing on Anthony’s request for a new trial at the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas.
Visiting Judge Sid Harle granted the defense’s motion to recuse District Judge John Roach Jr. from the remaining proceedings after concluding that a reasonable observer could question Roach’s impartiality, as The Dallas Express previously reported.
Defense Focuses On ‘Gentlemen’s Agreement’
The new-trial hearing has centered on an oral “gentlemen’s agreement” between prosecutors and Anthony’s original defense team to keep potentially damaging character evidence about both Anthony and Metcalf away from the jury.
Former defense attorney Toby Shook testified on Friday that the defense understood the agreement to allow Anthony to testify about the confrontation under the tent at the track meet.
Shook said prosecutors raised concerns on the final day of trial, arguing that the defense had opened the door to character evidence by mentioning Anthony’s participation in a chess club during opening statements.
According to Shook, prosecutors said the agreement did not cover Anthony if he took the stand. The disagreement became heated, Shook testified, and Anthony ultimately decided not to testify.
Shook said he believed Anthony’s testimony was particularly important because the defense was relying on self-defense. He testified that Anthony feared prosecutors would “find a reason to open the door” to evidence that the agreement was intended to exclude, Fox News Digital reported.
Lawyers Disagree Over Whether Agreement Covered Testimony
Former lead defense attorney Mike Howard testified Thursday that he also understood the agreement to permit Anthony to testify as long as his testimony remained focused on the confrontation at the track meet.
Howard said prosecutors surprised him when they later argued that the agreement would not protect Anthony if he testified.
Under questioning, however, Howard acknowledged that the attorneys never expressly agreed that the arrangement covered a testifying defendant. He also said he could not determine whether prosecutors acted in bad faith.
Lead prosecutor Bill Wirskye has maintained that the agreement was mutual but did not apply to Anthony’s testimony.
Shook acknowledged Friday that the two sides could have had different understandings of the agreement.
He also testified that Judge Roach told him the court could not enforce the unwritten agreement because there was no mechanism to do so.
Self-Defense Argument at Center of Dispute
Anthony’s attorneys have argued that the dispute over the agreement influenced Anthony’s decision not to testify and substantially weakened his self-defense claim. Shook agreed that the defense believed Anthony’s testimony could have helped persuade jurors to consider a lesser charge, including manslaughter.
The defense also presented a self-defense training presentation previously used by Wirskye. One slide advised defense attorneys that a client “probably needs to testify” in such cases.
Anthony’s new attorney, Russell Wilson, has argued that the circumstances surrounding the agreement and other off-the-record proceedings deprived Anthony of a fair trial.
The defense has also raised concerns about restrictions on public access to the original proceedings and the handling of evidence outside the normal court record.
Prosecutor Defends Trial Procedures
After the defense rested shortly before noon Friday, prosecutors called Wirskye as their first witness.
Wirskye testified that the case generated significant security concerns, including threats, doxxing and swatting incidents involving Anthony, the Metcalf family, attorneys, judges and potential witnesses.
He said those concerns contributed to decisions to handle some filings outside the court’s standard online system and to impose security restrictions.
Wirskye also defended the agreement to keep character evidence from the jury, saying prosecutors and defense attorneys adopted it to ensure a fair trial and prevent inflammatory information from influencing jurors. The agreement kept allegations involving Anthony’s history and allegations concerning Metcalf and his twin brother out of the original trial.
Some of that information was revealed during Thursday’s hearing, including allegations involving violence, racial slurs and other conduct involving the teenagers. The court has not made findings regarding those allegations.
Judge Faces Monday Deadline
Anthony’s request for a new trial also challenges limits placed on public access to the courtroom, arguing they infringed on his constitutional right to an open trial. His attorneys further contend that the jury instructions prevented jurors from fully weighing his claim that he acted in self-defense.
Retired Judge Michael Chitty is expected to decide whether to grant the motion by Monday. If he does not issue an order granting a new trial within the statutory deadline, the request will be automatically denied, and Anthony’s direct appeal will proceed.
Anthony remains incarcerated while serving his 35-year prison sentence.
Provided by Dallas Express
