McKinney, Texas - Convicted murderer Karmelo Anthony's wish for a new trial is facing several hurdles despite the judge stepping down. Now, legal experts are sounding the alarm on both the prosecution and the defense as the newly appointed judge weighs a formal ruling for a retrial.

After being sentenced in June to 35 years in prison for the murder of Austin Metcalf, 19-year-old Anthony is seeking a retrial, and he has new defense attorneys who are leading the charge. However, the mention of a so-called "gentleman's agreement" between the defense and the prosecution during Anthony's June murder trial has some legal experts scratching their heads.

"I've never heard of that before in a court of law because it's non-existent," former prosecutor Bernarda Villalona said when asked about the gentleman's agreement on a recent episode of ABC's Burden of Proof.

Reports by ABC News and Courthouse News indicate that during the August 20-21 evidentiary hearing for a possible retrial, Anthony's new legal team – led by appellate attorney Russell Wilson – argued that this off-the-record "gentleman's agreement" made between the teen's trial lawyers Mike Howard and Toby Shook and lead prosecutor Bill Wirskye comprised Anthony's constitutional rights to a fair trial and impacted his ability to testify in his own defense during his murder trial.

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The agreement was to keep out character evidence from both the defense and the prosecution. His legal team now alleges that when Anthony was preparing to take the stand, the prosecution threatened to introduce character evidence if he testified because the off-the-record deal never considered a testifying defendant.

Villalona said she feels the off-the-record agreement was a "huge mistake" for the defense and the prosecution: "I'm disappointed on both sides."

The August 20–21 hearing was an evidentiary hearing on the defense's motion for a new trial, which was filed on July 7. The hearing kicked off one day after Judge John Roach was recused from overseeing Anthony’s post-conviction proceedings, with visiting Judge Sid Harle saying Roach's "impartiality might reasonably be questioned" after he made several seemingly non-neutral comments to the media saying the jury got it right.

The new judge overseeing the case, Senior Judge Michael B. Chitty, is expected to make a formal ruling on whether Anthony will be granted a new trial by August 24, per reports by Dallas-Fort Worth's NBC affiliate, NBC 5.

TAG24 News reached out to the Collin County District Attorney's office and the Stand with Karmelo Coalition for more information but did not hear back at the time of writing.

Following Anthony's conviction in June, his family brought on a coalition of prominent Civil Rights attorneys who are representing him pro bono, meaning for free, and "for the public good." His new legal team includes Russell Wilson as lead counsel, who is a former Dallas County prosecutor and criminal defense attorney.

He is joined by a team of appellate and retrial attorneys, including Ben Crump Law's chief of staff, Brooke Cluse, and the president of the Texas NAACP, Gary Bledsoe, among others.

Karmelo Anthony was arrested on April 2, 2025, and charged with first-degree murder for the stabbing death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet in Frisco, Texas – a suburb of Dallas. He was arrested at the scene and charged with murder.

Anthony was released from custody on April 14, 2025, on a reduced $250,000 bond under house arrest. More than two months later, on June 24, 2025, a Collin County grand jury formally indicted Anthony for first-degree murder. Roughly one month later, Judge John Roach Jr., who presided over the initial murder trial, issued a strict gag order disallowing involved legal parties from speaking publicly about the case.

The trial officially kicked off on June 1, 2026, in Collin County District Court. Anthony entered a not guilty plea, with his defense team arguing that Metcalf initiated physical contact by shoving Anthony and that Anthony reacted in the heat of the moment to protect himself rather than out of premeditated malice.

During the trial, Anthony did not testify. On June 9, 2026, after less than three hours of deliberation, the jury found Anthony guilty of murder. He was sentenced the same day to 35 years in prison with eligibility for parole after serving half the sentence. On July 7, Anthony's new legal defense team filed a motion for a new trial along with a motion to recuse Judge John Roach, who oversaw the trial, citing impartiality concerns.

Roach was recused on August 19 and replaced by Judge Michael B. Chitty, who oversaw the evidentiary hearing on August 20-21, and is expected to make a ruling by Monday.