Judge removed from Karmelo Anthony self-defense case
A Texas court removed Judge John Roach from Karmelo Anthony’s case after defense attorneys questioned his impartiality, but a new judge has now rejected Anthony’s bid for a new trial. Anthony, who is challenging his 35-year sentence in the killing of Austin Metcalf and has claimed self-defense, argued that constitutional errors tainted his original trial.
A Texas judge denied Karmelo Anthony’s request for a new trial Saturday after his legal team argued that courtroom limits, hearings conducted outside Anthony’s presence and the treatment of an unwritten understanding between his former attorneys and prosecutors violated his rights.
Retired District Judge Michael Chitty issued the ruling after considering Anthony’s motion, the court record, evidence and arguments, along with legal briefs and applicable case law, according to the order. Chitty did not explain the reasoning behind his decision in detail.
The ruling keeps Anthony’s murder conviction and 35-year prison sentence intact for now, though his case will continue through the direct appeals process.
Chitty presided over two days of testimony in McKinney, Texas, after Judge Sid Harle earlier this week removed Judge John Roach, who oversaw Anthony’s murder trial, from any remaining trial-court proceedings.
Accused killer Karmelo Anthony leaves jail after posting bond. (KDFW)
Harle determined that an objective observer could reasonably question whether Roach appeared impartial after he publicly stated that the jury “got it right” and defended several decisions he made during the trial.
The new-trial hearing focused largely on an oral agreement between Anthony’s original defense lawyers and prosecutors that was intended to keep potentially harmful character evidence about both sides away from the jury.
Former lead defense attorney Mike Howard testified that he understood the agreement to allow Anthony to testify if he stayed focused on the confrontation under the tent at a Frisco track meet.
File photo of Austin Metcalf, a junior at Memorial High School in Frisco, who was stabbed in the chest allegedly by 17-year-old Karmelo Anthony, a student-athlete from Frisco Centennial High School. (Courtesy Jeff Metcalf)
On the final day of trial, prosecutors told the defense that the agreement would not apply if Anthony took the stand and that the defense had opened the door to character evidence. Howard said the dispute led to a heated break in the proceedings and made Anthony unwilling to testify.
Under cross-examination, Howard acknowledged the lawyers never expressly agreed on whether a testifying defendant was covered by the arrangement. He also said he could not say whether prosecutors acted in bad faith.
Former defense attorney Toby Shook gave similar testimony Friday, saying the original defense team understood the agreement to include Anthony’s testimony about the confrontation. The position prosecutors took caught Shook off guard because the defense had always expected Anthony to take the stand in support of his self-defense claim.
Supporters of Karmelo Anthony assemble outside of Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, TX, Wednesday, August 19, 2026. Anthony was convicted of the murder of Austin Metcalf in June, but a motion is before the court today recuse the judge who presided over that case. (Derek Shook for News Outlet)
The defense also introduced a training presentation that lead prosecutor Bill Wirske had used in continuing legal education courses on self-defense. One slide advised defense lawyers that the client “(probably) needs to testify.”
During a break, the defense updated Anthony and explained that Roach said he could not enforce the unwritten agreement, Shook testified. That left Anthony unsure whether testifying would allow prosecutors to introduce character evidence the agreement was meant to keep out.
Wirske disputed that the agreement was broken. He said the lawyers never discussed the details of what it would allow if Anthony testified and that prosecutors remained willing to honor it. The state feared testimony from Anthony or his mother could inadvertently open the door to character evidence, Wirske said.
Chitty also considered claims that courtroom-access restrictions violated Anthony’s Sixth Amendment right to a public trial and that jury instructions limited jurors’ ability to consider self-defense.
Anthony, 19, was convicted in June of stabbing and killing 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during an altercation at a Frisco track meet. A Collin County jury sentenced Anthony to 35 years in prison.
