Illegal immigrant gets 55 years in officer death

Illegal immigrant gets 55 years in officer death

Jun 08, 2012

HOUSTON (AP) - A jury has decided an illegal immigrant who pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter in the traffic death of a Houston police officer should serve 55 years in prison.
Jurors in Houston deliberated about four hours over two days before deciding the penalty Friday for 27-year-old Johoan (YOH'-hon) Rodriguez.

Prosecutors had asked that Rodriguez, who pleaded guilty Monday, get life behind bars. Defense attorneys sought 15 to 25 years.

Officer Kevin Will, a 38-year-old father of 2 whose wife was pregnant, was killed instantly in the 2011 crash.

Prosecutors say Rodriguez's blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit for driving and he'd been speeding when Will was struck. The officer was investigating an unrelated DWI wreck.

Evidence showed Rodriguez has twice been deported to Mexico.

Illegal immigrant gets 55 years in officer death - KFDA - NewsChannel 10 / Amarillo News, Weather, Sports

RELATED ..

Man gets 55 years in DWI death of cop

chron.com

By Brian Rogers

Jurors Friday sentenced Johoan Rodriguez, a Mexican citizen in Houston illegally, to 55 years in prison for the drunk driving crash that killed a Houston police officer last year. He will have to serve at least half of that time before he is eligible for parole.

Rodriguez, 27, pleaded guilty Monday to intoxication manslaughter, after hitting Kevin Will, a 38-year-old officer who was standing on the North Loop investigating a different drunk driving wreck.

Jurors heard almost a week’s worth of evidence before being asked to determine the appropriate punishment.

The defendant cried out and sobbed at hearing the decision while Will’s widow wept.

They deliberated about four hours over two days.

Prosecutors on Thursday said Johoan Rodriguez should spend the rest of his life in prison for causing Will’s death.

Rodriguez’s attorneys asked jurors to sentence him to prison for 15 to 25 years, saying the wreck was an accident.

Rodriguez has admitted to driving past a police barricade on the North Loop in a 2002 Volkswagen Beetle, then going 90 mph for about a mile before hitting Will.

Rodriguez’s blood-alcohol content was .19, more than twice the legal limit of .08. He also had a tiny bag in his pocket with a small amount of cocaine, but none in his system.

His punishment could have ranged from probation to life in prison.

source: Man gets 55 years in DWI death of cop | Newswatch | a Chron.com blog