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Jury selection begins for trial of Omar Soto-Chavira, accused of killing commander in SWAT standoff
LLubbock

Jury selection begins for trial of Omar Soto-Chavira, accused of killing commander in SWAT standoff

  • January 12, 2026

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Jury selection will begin Monday for the man accused of killing Lubbock County SWAT Commander Joshua Bartlett during a standoff five years ago.

Omar Soto-Chavira is charged with capital murder in the 2021 incident. Police say Soto-Chavira barricaded himself in a Levelland home and fired multiple gunshots at law enforcement as they arrived. Bartlett died at the scene.

Soto-Chavira was supposed to face a Lubbock jury last year after a change of venue order but was then declared incompetent to stand trial.

If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

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