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Illegal Alien Cop Killer Could Face Death Penalty
Penny Starr
Senior Staff Writer
(CNSNews.com) - A Harris County, Texas, jury begins deliberations today in the punishment phase of the capital murder trial of illegal alien Juan Leonardo Quintero - he was convicted May 8 of killing Houston, Texas police officer Rodney Johnson after Johnson stopped Quintero on a routine traffic stop in September 2006.
Quintero, who had a previous conviction of driving while intoxicated and received deferred adjudication for indecency with a child before being deported to his native Mexico in 1999, slipped back into the country that same year. In 2006, when Johnson arrested him for driving without a license, Quintero retrieved a hidden gun and shot the 12-year police veteran seven times as he was filling out paperwork in the front seat of his vehicle.
Before convicting Quintero, the jury rejected the defense's claim that a childhood head injury and excessive alcohol consumption since the age of eight led to the killing.
Lead defense attorney Danalynn Recer, who also is the founder and executive director of the Gulf Region Advocacy Center, which represents indigent persons charged with capital crimes in the state courts of Texas and Louisiana, argued that Quintero was "not guilty by reason of insanity."
"There's no way Mr. Quintero ... logically, rationally decided to shoot Officer Johnson," Recer said. "It's a puzzle that we have to put together."
"Officer Johnson was a hero," Recer said in her closing remarks. "He was a family man. We have an explanation. It's just not the quick, easy, bumper-sticker explanation the prosecution wants you to believe."
Johnson, who was 40 when he was gunned down, was described by colleagues, family and friends as a dedicated father and husband. Before joining the Houston police force, he was a corrections officer with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and served in the U.S. Army.
He was survived by his wife of seven years, Joslyn, who also is a police officer, three daughters and two sons.
Make media inquiries or request an interview about this article.
E-mail a comment or news tip to Penny Starr
Quintero, who had a previous conviction of driving while intoxicated and received deferred adjudication for indecency with a child before being deported to his native Mexico in 1999, slipped back into the country that same year. In 2006, when Johnson arrested him for driving without a license, Quintero retrieved a hidden gun and shot the 12-year police veteran seven times as he was filling out paperwork in the front seat of his vehicle.
Before convicting Quintero, the jury rejected the defense's claim that a childhood head injury and excessive alcohol consumption since the age of eight led to the killing.
Lead defense attorney Danalynn Recer, who also is the founder and executive director of the Gulf Region Advocacy Center, which represents indigent persons charged with capital crimes in the state courts of Texas and Louisiana, argued that Quintero was "not guilty by reason of insanity."
"There's no way Mr. Quintero ... logically, rationally decided to shoot Officer Johnson," Recer said. "It's a puzzle that we have to put together."
"Officer Johnson was a hero," Recer said in her closing remarks. "He was a family man. We have an explanation. It's just not the quick, easy, bumper-sticker explanation the prosecution wants you to believe."
Johnson, who was 40 when he was gunned down, was described by colleagues, family and friends as a dedicated father and husband. Before joining the Houston police force, he was a corrections officer with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and served in the U.S. Army.
He was survived by his wife of seven years, Joslyn, who also is a police officer, three daughters and two sons.
Make media inquiries or request an interview about this article.
E-mail a comment or news tip to Penny Starr
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