A Killeen murder trial came to a screeching halt this week with the state’s sudden motion to dismiss, filed over Monday’s lunch break, which then was granted by the judge.

Demetrius Lavar Jones Jr., 26, of Fuquay-Varina, N.C., was indicted on a murder charge on Oct. 30, 2024, as a co-defendant in a 2021 shooting that resulted in the death of Army Sgt. Francine Martinez in Killeen. After being booked into the Bell County Jail on Nov. 15, 2024, he was held with a bond of $500,000, until he was released following Judge Wade Faulkner’s order to dismiss. Jones no longer was in custody as of Tuesday morning.

The Bell County District Attorney’s Office will present the case to another grand jury.

“The state was unable to proceed to a trial without the essential witness being available to testif

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