Accused gunman in Goforth slaying has no recollection of that day, defense says

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Photo: Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle

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Caption

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Shannon Miles leaves the courtroom after his trial was moved to later this year.

Photo: Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle

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Montgomery County DA Brett Ligon took over the Deputy Darren Goforth case Tuesday, April 18, 2017.

Photo: Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle

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Shannon Miles (left) listens to his attorney Anthony Osso after Montgomery County DA Brett Ligon took over the Deputy Darren Goforth case. (Steve Gonzales/Chronicle)

Photo: Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle

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TIMELINE: The Dep. Darren Goforth Case

Aug. 28, 2015: Deputy Darren Goforth was fatally shot 15 times outside a Chevron station in Cypress while refueling.

TIMELINE: The Dep. Darren Goforth Case

Aug. 28, 2015: Deputy Darren Goforth was fatally shot 15 times outside a Chevron station in Cypress while refueling.

Photo: handout

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Aug. 29, 2015: Shannon Miles, 30, faces capital murder charges in Goforth’s killing.

Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

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Photo: Marie D. De Jesus, Staff

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Aug. 29, 2015: “Police Lives Matter” is used during a vigil held at the Chevron station where Goforth was shot and killed.

Photo: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle

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Aug. 31, 2015: Shannon Miles appears in court on capital murder charges. He is being held without bond.

Photo: Pat Sullivan, STF

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Sept. 4, 2015: Services for Goforth are held at Second Baptist Church in Houston.

Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

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Sept. 15, 2015: A park at 9118 Wheat Cross, down the street from where Goforth was killed, is renamed in his honor.

Photo: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle

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Photo: James Nielsen, Associated Press

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Sept. 21, 2015: The defense team claims Goforth was meeting with a woman at the time of his death. If this is true, they argue, then Goforth was not acting in an official capacity at the time and the charge should not be capital murder. less

Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

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Oct. 9, 2015: Harris County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Craig Clopton is relieved of duty after admitting to engaging in “consensual sexual conduct” with the woman who stepped forward as a witness in the Goforth case. less

Photo: Melissa Phillip, Staff

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Oct. 19, 2015: District Judge Denise Collins recused herself on her own accord, but did not give a reason.

Photo: Lisa Falkenberg

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Feb. 9, 2016: Miles is declared incompetent to stand trial and committed to a Vernon state mental hospital for 120 days in an effort to restore competency. The transfer could take more than three months because of limited space in facilities. less

Photo: Cody Duty, Staff

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Feb. 10, 2016: Deputy Marc DeLeon is fired for lying about his relationship with the female witness in the Goforth killing.

Photo: Kevin Fujii, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

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Feb. 12, 2016: Deputy J. Goodrich is fired for inappropriate communication with two witnesses in two different incidents, including the female witness in Goforth’s killing.

Photo: Kevin Fujii, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

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Photo: Cody Duty, Houston Chronicle

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Feb. 16, 2016: Black Lives Matter activists call for a formal apology from Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman and District Attorney Devon Anderson for the comments they made regarding the Black Lives Matter movement after Goforth’s death. less

Photo: Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle

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Photo: Marie D. DeJesus | Houston Chronicle

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July 21, 2016: The termination of Craig Clopton, a former HCSO homicide Sgt. who was fired last year for having sexual contact with a witness in the fatal shooting of Deputy Darren Goforth, is upheld by a civil service commission. less

Photo: Melissa Phillip, Staff

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Shannon Miles, the man accused of gunning down Harris County sheriff’s deputy Darren Goforth in 2015, has no recollection of what he was doing the day of the shooting, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Miles, 32, appeared in court Tuesday as state District Judge Susan Brown appointed Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon as the special prosecutor in the capital murder case.

Ligon will be assisted by prosecutors in his office as well as prosecutors from the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office, headed by Jack Roady.

NEW ATTORNEY: Special prosecutor appointed in Shannon Miles case

Miles, 32, is accused of ambushing Goforth at a gas station in August 2015.

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg last week asked for a special prosecutor to handle the capital murder case because Ogg’s chief of staff represented two witnesses who had information in the case.

After the brief hearing, Ligon said he expects to make a decision about seeking the death penalty after Labor Day.

Defense attorney Anthony Osso is expected to give Ligon mitigation evidence the week before to try to sway the decision away from death.

JURY READ: Man charged with killing sheriff’s deputy deemed competent for trial

On Tuesday, Osso said Miles, a schizophrenic, has no recollection of the day of the slaying, which is hindering the defense.

Osso said he is meeting in May with experts on insanity to determine whether it is a viable defense.

brian.rogers@chron.com
twitter.com/brianjrogers

Scroll through the gallery above to see a timeline of the case involving the shooting death of Harris County Deputy Darren Goforth