Defense attorney Anthony Osso insists the alleged romantic relationship between a woman and the deputy matters in his client's case. (Photo: KHOU) 
 
 Editor’s Note: We want to let you know this is the first time we’ve reported these claims about Deputy Darren Goforth and another woman. And we’re doing it now only because the attorney for the deputy’s alleged killer is making the alleged relationship part of his defense strategy. We understand that all sides in this case have a job to do. But like many of you, we feel this is just another sad turn in an already tragic story. 
 
 HOUSTON — The attorney for the man accused of the execution-style murder of a Harris County Sheriff’s deputy insisted that an alleged romantic relationship between a woman and the victim matters to his client’s case. 
 
 “It’s extremely important to our case,” said defense attorney Anthony Osso. “My concern about the relationship is what took place while he was at the Chevron station.” 
 
 Surveillance video captured the moment of Deputy Darren Goforth’s murder. Prosecutors say it shows Shannon Miles shooting the married father of two at close range and then standing over his body and emptying the clip. In all, Goforth was shot 15 times. 
 
 Harris County Sheriff Deputy Darren Goforth. (Photo: HCSO) 
 
 Investigators have said Goforth had stopped at the station to refuel his patrol unit. But Osso claims he has evidence that the deputy was there for the sole purpose of meeting the woman, and believes his death should not be considered a capital offense. Court documents reveal a female witness to Goforth's murder claims she had a 15-month romantic relationship with Goforth. 
 
 “In order for a case to be considered a capital murder in Texas when it involves a police officer shooting, the officer, or deputy in this case, has to be in the lawful discharge of an official duty,” said Osso. 
 
 KHOU 11 News legal expert Gerald Treece said Osso’s claims were baseless and part of a long-held strategy for attorneys reaching for some type of a defense. 
 
 “It just doesn’t matter,” Treece said. “The first trick of every defense lawyer is to blame the victim.” 
 
 A spokesman for the sheriff’s office insisted that Goforth was on duty at the time of the shooting and that all of his actions at the gas station were in the scope of his normal work responsibilities. 
 
 Defense attorney Anthony Osso told reporters Monday that he will use that information to convince jurors that Goforth was not on official duty and that his client should not face capital murder. 
 
 Some people think the defense is just trying to muddy the water. 
 
 “I just want to say it’s BS, though,” Ken Stolte said. “If I was on the jury, I would definitely see through that and it would come out bad for them.” 
 
 “It is sickening for the wife and children,” Linda Johnston said. 
 
 "(Goforth’s) personal life is not for us to judge. Does anyone deserve to be shot in the head and then while lying on the ground shot another 15 times?” Kathy Driskell commented on the KHOU 11 News Facebook page. 
 
 Others say Osso is just doing his job. 
 
 “As a lawyer in the United States of America, (Osso’s) job is to get his client off,” Gerald Taylor said. 
 
 As for Osso: “I’m just going to go on what the facts are,” he said. “I’m just going to tell you that we have an issue. And it’s a legal issue that we have to raise.” 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://on.khou.com/1FbU66X 

 Defense: Goforth was meeting a woman at the time of his death 
 
 The lawyer for a man accused of killing Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth last month said the slain lawman had a reason to be at a Chevron station that night other than filling up his patrol car. 
 
 "My understanding is that he was at this station meeting with this young lady who has been identified as a witness," said Anthony Osso, who is representing Shannon Miles, charged with capital murder in the case. 
 
 RELATED: Judge limits access to records in deputy's shooting 
 
 Standing outside his downtown Houston office, Osso said determining why Goforth was at the Chevron is crucial. For the killing to be considered a capital murder in this case, it would need to involve a deputy acting in the "lawful discharge of an official duty," Osso said. 
 
 If Goforth was there to meet with the unidentified woman, rather than to gas up his patrol car, that could prove critical to the defense, Osso said at the press availability. 
 
 "From my client's standpoint, this would no longer be a capital murder but it would be murder," Osso argued. "I want to get (the death penalty) off the table." 
 
 RELATED: Eyewitness comes forward in deputy's slaying 
 
 Osso has seen the security video taken from the scene that night but has agreed not to discuss it. He is seeking all the gas records for Goforth over the past 12 months until Aug. 28 when he was gunned down in what authorities called an ambush outside the Chevron station on Telge at West. 
 
 Sheriff's officials said Goforth, 47, was on duty and stopped at the station to fill up his patrol car following a routine accident investigation. 
 
 An ongoing case 
 
 Osso acknowledged there is not a lot of case law on the books about what exactly defines a "lawful discharge of an official duty." 
 
 "This could be a highly litigated issue," he added. 
 
 Officials with the Harris County District Attorney's Office declined to comment on the legal strategy, saying the Goforth shooting was still an ongoing case. 
 
 The deputy remained on the clock and standing beside his patrol car when prosecutors said Miles, 30, came up behind him and began shooting at him. But in an interview, Stanley Schneider, another Houston criminal defense attorney, said that does not automatically make a case for capital murder. 
 
 "Just because someone knows you're a peace officer (at the time of a murder), that is not enough to make it capital murder," he said. 
 
 'Romantic relationship' 
 
 An eyewitness to last month's shooting death told investigators she had been in a "romantic relationship" with the slain lawman for more than a year. 
 
 Schneider said that if lawyers for Miles can prove Goforth went to the Chevron station to meet the woman, it could make a compelling argument that he was not acting in an official capacity at the time of his death. "That's going to be for the jury to decide," he said. 
 
 Osso said his client has not confessed to the shooting and has no connection with Goforth or the woman. 
 
 RELATED: Search warrant outlines discoveries after Goforth shooting 
 
 "I have nothing to suggest they knew each other," he said. 
 
 In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Sheriff Ron Hickman and others suggested a possible link between Goforth's slaying and the Black Lives Matter movement. The group protests alleged police brutality against African-Americans. 
 
 Osso said there's no connection between that movement and his client. 
 
 "I'm not even sure my client knew there was a (Black Lives Matter) movement going on," he said. 
 
 Miles spent four months in a mental hospital in 2012 after being declared incompetent to stand trial in an aggravated assault case. Osso said he is still trying to develop a rapport with his client. 
 
 "I don't ask him really serious questions. They require a yes or no response," he said. "He has to trust me and he doesn't know me." 
 
 <Dylan Baddour contributed to this report. 

 Anthony Osso, the lawyer for accused cop killer Shannon Miles tells reporters his investigation suggests Deputy Darren Goforth was not at gas station to fill up, but instead to meet a woman. If that is the case, the Death Penalty may not be an option if Miles is convicted.Shannon Miles is more than a year away from his murder trial, but already his attorney is trying to get the death penalty off the table. Reacting to the disclosure of an eyewitness who claimed to have a 15-month romantic relationship with the fallen deputy, Osso told reporters if Dep. Darren Goforth was at the Chevron to meet the woman and not fill up his squad car, it may not meet the requirements of a death penalty case.Calling it "a major legal issue," Osso told us, "My concern about his relationship is what took place during the time he was at the Chevron station, why was he there, what was the reason and was it the discharge of an official duty or not."Osso admitted Texas criminal law is not clear on this point, but that he will continue to investigate.The Harris County District Attorney's Office is not commenting.The Harris County Sheriff's Office told us through a spokesman that they have always considered Goforth to be on-duty when he died. The office tells us Goforth had just cleared the scene of a minor auto accident and had 3 hours left on his shift when he was killed.Osso says he has not turned up any connection between Miles, Goforth and the woman who claimed the romantic relationship.Outside of his investigation into any relationship Goforth may have had, Osso confirmed that Miles has not offered a motive or confession to the crime. Osso says since he's been on the case, Miles is no longer speaking with detectives. He also told Eyewitness News his investigation has not turned up any connection between Miles and the 'Black Lives Matter' movement.
– The murder of a state trooper in Texas has just taken an uncomfortable legal turn, as evidenced by this unusual editor's note atop the coverage at KHOU: "We want to let you know this is the first time we've reported these claims about Deputy Darren Goforth and another woman. And we're doing it now only because the attorney for the deputy's alleged killer is making the alleged relationship part of his defense strategy. ... Like many of you, we feel this is just another sad turn in an already tragic story." The reason for the hesitancy: Attorneys for the man accused of gunning down Goforth are making the case that their client should not be eligible for the death penalty—because they say the trooper was meeting a mistress at the gas station where he was killed, and thus not performing "the lawful discharge of an official duty," the Houston Chronicle reports. "From my client's standpoint, this would no longer be a capital murder but it would be murder," says Anthony Osso, an attorney for Shannon Miles. "I want to get (the death penalty) off the table." The woman, an eyewitness to the shooting, has told investigators that she had been in a romantic relationship with Goforth for more than a year, reports the Chronicle. There's no indication that she knew the suspect, only Goforth, says Osso. The Harris County District Attorney's Office is not commenting on the new twist, reports ABC 13. The sheriff's office has maintained that Goforth was at the gas station to fill up his patrol car after dealing with an accident and still had three hours left on his shift. Osso says he's only doing what's necessary for his client. "It’s a legal issue that we have to raise.”