Thread: TX: IA Guilty of Capital Murder for Officer's Death

myfoxhouston.com

Illegal Immigrant Guilty of Capital Murder for Officer's Death
Last Edited: Thursday, 08 May 2008, 6:06 PM CDT
Created: Thursday, 08 May 2008, 12:43 PM CDT

HOUSTON -- Less than six hours after jurors began deliberating the fate of an illegal immigrant accused of murdering a Houston police officer on Thursday, the jury said they have reached a verdict.

Jurors convicted Juan Leonardo Quintero-Perez of capital murder shortly before 6 p.m. They began deliberating the illegal immigrant's fate shortly after noon Thursday.

The case went to trial on April 28 after prosecutors rejected the suspect's offer to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence without parole.

Quintero, 34, faced a charge of capital murder in the death of Officer Rodney Johnson. Investigators say Perez shot Johnson during a traffic stop in 2006, shooting the officer four times in the head after being arrested for driving without a license.

Danalynn Recer, an attorney for Quintero-Perez, says the Mexican citizen confessed to the killing and accepts responsibility for his actions. She said he would agree to all the evidence against him if offered life without parole.

But Harris County prosecutors said Saturday they will proceed with the trial.

"We trust the judgment of 12 citizens to determine the appropriate punishment for the man who executed Officer Johnson," assistant district attorney Denise Bradley said.

Quintero-Perez is plead not guilty by reason of insanity when he was formally arraigned in April.

Police said Johnson, 40, was shot after Quintero-Perez pulled a gun from his waistband as he sat handcuffed in the back of the patrol car. Johnson apparently missed the gun when he patted down Quintero-Perez, authorities said.

Johnson's shooting renewed criticism of the Houston Police Department's policy that only allows officers to ask about immigration status after arresting a suspect.

Critics of the policy say it encourages illegal immigration by creating so-called "sanctuary cities" and it ties officers' hands in enforcing the law.

Quintero-Perez was deported in 1999 after being convicted a year earlier of indecency with a child.

A grand jury indicted Robert Lane Camp in February for allegedly helping Quintero-Perez return to the U.S. after being deported in 1999 on a conviction for indecency with a child.

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/myfox/pages ... geId=3.2.1

BROKE THE LAW CROSSING THE BORDER WAS DEPORTED BEING WITH A CHILD, AND NOW HE COMMITS MURDER AND THEY WANT HIM TO SERVE LIFE .. HE SHOULD FACE A FIRING SQUAD AT SUNDOWN ..

Police said Johnson, 40, was shot after Quintero-Perez pulled a gun from his waistband as he sat handcuffed in the back of the patrol car.

That should net him the death penalty. Hell no to life without parole!

life without parole we pay for.. F _ _ _ mexico

I'm surprised Bush hasn't already attempted to overturn the verdict! Maybe after the wedding he can give it his full attention.

fry the scumbag.

i thought all peace officer murders in Texas meant AUTOMATIC death penalty. guess i need to do some looking into this, for i could have sworn the state legislature passed something on this a few years ago


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5764421.html
houstons newspaper story on verdict

Defense attorneys said this man wanted to die by police gun fire, let's give him his wish now.

Cold blooded cop killer AND a child molester rolled into one ! The only debate there is which method of execution to use. The problem there is, he'll be on death row for years, at our expense, while all of his appeals run out. Too bad he won't be released into the general population of the prison system. They know how to take care of child molesters.

HOLD ON FOLKS. He was just found guilty-sentencing will be next Tuesday. He could still get the death penalty.

Sure am glad the jury did not fall for the temporary insanity defense. Every illegal fearing arrest would then claim they were temporarily insane for shooting police officers during traffic stops.

More info...

May 8, 2008, 11:57PM
Quintero convicted of capital murder in death of HPD officer


By BRIAN ROGERS
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

A steady stream of tears ran down the face of Rodney Johnson's widow Thursday afternoon as she sat almost motionless and listened to each juror say Juan Leonardo Quintero was guilty of killing her husband — a Houston police officer.

A police officer herself, Joslyn Johnson waited until the last juror said he was sure he wanted to convict Quintero of capital murder before breathing a sigh of relief.

"I'm happy," she told family and supporters as she made her way out of the courtroom Thursday evening.

Jurors deliberated more than five hours before convicting Quintero, who stood stonefaced as state District Judge Susan Campbell read the jury's verdict. Quintero had admitted to shooting the officer and had hoped the jury would find him not guilty by reason of insanity.

Quintero was in the country illegally when he shot Johnson in September 2006, enraging advocates of stricter immigration enforcement. A federal grand jury indicted the owner of a landscaping firm who hired Quintero, accusing him of harboring an illegal Mexican immigrant. Quintero had worked for Robert Lane Camp for at least 11 years, according to an affidavit.

Quintero's wife, who was also in the courtroom, declined to comment.

The jury is expected to begin hearing testimony Tuesday in the punishment stage of the trial. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Quintero, 34, or he could receive life in prison without the possibility of parole.


Two scenarios
During closing arguments Thursday, prosecutor Denise Bradley and fellow Assistant District Attorney John Jordan argued that Quintero killed Johnson because he feared spending 10 years in federal prison for re-entering the United States after being deported in 1999.

"Fear turned to anger, and he assassinated Rodney Johnson as (Johnson) was filling out paperwork," Jordan said.

But defense attorney Danalynn Recer, who maintained that Quintero was not guilty by reason of insanity, told the jury that Jordan's scenario did not make sense.

"There's no way Mr. Quintero-Perez logically, rationally decided to shoot officer Johnson," said Recer, founder and executive director of a Houston anti-death penalty organization, Gulf Region Advocacy Center. "It's a puzzle that we have to put together."

Two psychologists and a neuropsychologist said a childhood fall caused brain damage that caused Quintero to perceive Johnson as a threat and take unreasonable action.

Johnson pulled Quintero over for speeding on the afternoon of Sept. 21, 2006, and arrested him for not having a driver's license.

Investigators have said Johnson missed a gun tucked in Quintero's waistband during a pat-down search.

While Johnson was outside the patrol car, Quintero pulled the slide back to load a round in the chamber of his 9 mm semiautomatic pistol, Jordan said.

"He had time to chamber a round," Jordan said, pointing to Quintero and holding an unloaded gun.

Jordan pulled the slide back and released it three times, letting the sound echo through the courtroom.

"A police officer knows that sound."

He said Quintero thought about his options and lay in wait for Johnson to return.

Jordan went on to say Quintero shouted racial epithets at Johnson, who was black, as he died.

"How dare you?" Jordan said. "How dare you make it racial, as you take his life."

Defense attorney Recer said the prosecution's explanation didn't make sense.

"Officer Johnson was a hero. He was a family man," Recer said. "We have an explanation. It's just not the quick, easy, bumper-sticker explanation the prosecution wants you to believe."


Had been drinking
Recer said she worked to figure out what was wrong with Quintero and what he was thinking. "Because he sure wasn't thinking like any of us," she said.

She said Quintero's "bad brain" has an overactive threat-detection system, usually assuaged by drinking about 24 beers a day. But on that day, Quintero had about six beers.

Quintero acknowledged in a videotaped statement that, although his hands were cuffed behind his back, he shot Johnson while locked in the back seat of the patrol car.

brian.rogers@chron.com

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5764421.html