May 21, 2008, 12:00AM
Quintero's life sentence shocks victim's family


By BRIAN ROGERS and DALE LEZON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

TOOLS
Email Get section feed
Print Recommend
Comments (14) Yahoo! Buzz

RESOURCES

Officer's wife reacts to verdict, houston,local news,quintero,houston chronicle,chron.com,texas,rodney johnson, Joslyn Johnson reacts to a jury's decision that Juan Leonardo Quintero should spend the rest of his life in prison rather than go to death row for murdering her husband in 2006. Video by Meg Loucks. Pool footage by KTRK. May 20, 2008. Quintero sentenced to life in prison, local news,houston,rodney johnson,houston chronicle,chron.com,quintero,texas,hpd, Jurors sentenced Juan Leonardo Quintero to life in prison for the murder of Officer Rodney Johnson. Johnson's sister, Susan, gave a victim's statement. Pool footage provided by KTRK. May 20, 2008.HPD funeral, houston chronicle,rodney johnson,hpd,local-news, Friends and family gathered to mourn the death of HPD officer Rodney Johnson.Opening arguments in Quintero trial, houston,texas,chron.com,houston chronicle, The death-penalty trial of Juan Leonardo Quintero opened this morning. Quintero is on trial for killing a Houston police officer in 2006. Pool video footage courtesy of KTRK TV 13. Quintero's confession, houston,chron.com,texas,houston chronicle, Jurors in the death-penalty trial of Juan Leonardo Quintero watched a videotape this morning in which he acknowledged shooting Houston police Officer Rodney Johnson. Video courtesy of KHOU-TV
From shooting to sentencing — images from the case
Good lawyering or a change in political climate? One juror said Juan Leonardo Quintero's life still has value.

Another said a convicted cop killer, even one in the country illegally, deserves mercy.

Neither sentiment offered much consolation to family members of murdered Houston police officer Rodney Johnson, who were stunned Tuesday when a jury spared Quintero and sent him to prison for life with no chance of parole.

Asked by state District Judge Joan Campbell if he had anything to say before he was sentenced, the 34-year-old Quintero replied, "I'm sorry."

Johnson arrested the landscaper from Mexico during a Sept. 21, 2006, traffic stop. The 12-year police veteran didn't notice Quintero was hiding a gun, which, while handcuffed in the patrol car's back seat, he used to shoot Johnson seven times.

Quintero's lawyers had argued unsuccessfully that he was criminally insane and incapable of knowing his actions were wrong.

"I believe he has value," said juror Letty Burkholder, of Houston. "He's loved by many of his family and friends, and that was number one. I felt like he has potential."

The decision shocked Johnson's family. His sister collapsed in the lobby of the Harris County Criminal Justice Center, his mother-in-law shouted in the street. Johnson's widow sobbed in disbelief.

"My husband's life meant nothing — that's what I felt," said Joslyn Johnson, also an HPD officer.

"If any case ever warranted the death penalty, this certainly did," she said. "The city lost a hero. I lost my husband."

In front of the courthouse, her mother blasted the jury's decision.

"We wanted the death penalty," Lorraine Crawford said. "He's not sorry. He would do it again."


'Not a life without value'
The decision came in the second day of deliberations for the jury, which convicted Quintero of capital murder on May 8. His defense team praised jurors for careful consideration of "all of the evidence."

"This is not a life without value," defense attorney Danalynn Recer said later. She also said a life sentence would help both families because it ends the case, rather than subjecting them to years of appeals.

She said Quintero's remorse, mental health and family relationships were mitigating factors with jurors, who discussed the case with her afterward.

Assistant District Attorney Denise Bradley called it a sad day for law officers.

Speaking outside the courthouse, Bradley said she was disappointed with the verdict but respected it.

"We take solace in the fact that Mr. Quintero will spend the rest of his life behind bars," fellow prosecutor John Jordan said.

Most of the jurors chose not to comment. One of two who spoke to reporters agreed that Quintero deserves to live. She said there were sufficient mitigating circumstances to opt for life in prison.

"I still feel we came to the right decision," said Tiffany Moore, a 38-year-old marketing director from Houston. "We could never bring Rodney back. I feel very sad for the family, losing a loved one."

She said she wept while Rodney Johnson's sister, Susan Johnson, read a victim impact statement after the verdict.

"You are a murderer, plain and simple," Johnson told Quintero while staring at him. She also belittled the defense team, accusing them of manipulating the system, especially with the insanity defense.

She later collapsed on the floor in tears as the family left the courthouse.

The officer's brother, David Johnson, wanted to see Quintero sentenced to death.

"He shot him four times in the back, three times in the head," Johnson said. "I can't believe that. What's mitigation?"


Previous DWI convictions

Gary Blankinship, president of the Houston Police Officers' Union, shared the family's disappointment in the sentence.

"To say the least, we are shocked by the (sentence). We felt that the case met every criteria for a death penalty sentence," Blankinship said.

Quintero's relatives left the courtroom without commenting. His wife appeared to be weeping as family members shielded her with their arms as she left the room.

Jurors were told that Johnson searched Quintero before placing him in the car but missed a 9 mm pistol in his waistband.

Quintero was stopped while driving home after work with his two stepdaughters and a co-worker. He was drinking beer while driving a truck that belonged to his employer, landscaper Robert Lane Camp, testimony showed.

Camp has been indicted on federal charges of harboring an illegal immigrant. Johnson's family also has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Camp and his company. Camp and his attorney could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Jurors began deliberating at noon Monday and were sequestered overnight.

In arguing for the death penalty, prosecutors pointed out that Quintero had several DWI convictions and was deported after pleading guilty to indecency with a 12-year-old girl in 1999.

The jury did not hear any details of that crime.


What prison life will hold

Quintero's first stop will be Huntsville's Byrd Unit, where his criminal history, psychological makeup and work skills will be evaluated before he's shipped to his permanent maximum security home.

On the prison system's six-point classification scale — ranging from G1 trusties to administrative segregation, the worst of the worst — the killer will be classified as a G3. As such, he will be required to work but will be strictly limited in where he can work.

Never will he be allowed to work off-prison — in a prison farm field, for instance — except under armed guard. While his work assignment is contingent on Byrd Unit findings, such inmates typically start off as field hands. They are required to rise at 4 a.m. and work through midafternoon.

Quintero will be housed with other G3 offenders in a cellblock or prison dormitory within the main building.

He will be allowed four hours of group recreation Mondays through Fridays, and seven hours on Saturday and Sunday.

He will be allowed weekend visits from his family and others on a 10-person visitation list, said prisons spokesman Jason Clark. Quintero will be eligible to participate in prison education programs. Recreation and other privileges can be reduced if he violates prison rules.

Chronicle reporters Allan Turner and Rosanna Ruiz contributed..

brian.rogers@chron.com

dale.lezon@chron.com