Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 26, 2006 16:27:03 GMT -5
Rosenthal steps up in officer's death----DA says meeting slain policeman's
family persuaded him to take case
As a community today mourns an officer killed in the line of duty, Harris
County's district attorney is preparing for his courtroom face-off with
the accused gunman, an illegal immigrant whose capital murder case is
being monitored by the Mexican government.
Saying he was motivated by a meeting with Rodney Johnson's family after
the officer was killed, Chuck Rosenthal said Monday that he is "coming out
of retirement" to lead the prosecution against Juan Leonardo Quintero.
Rosenthal said he doesn't yet know whether he will ask a jury to send
Quintero to death row. He won death sentences in 14 cases as a prosecutor
before moving up to the top job in 2001.
Police have said they obtained "a full confession" from Quintero, who was
still locked in the back seat of Johnson's patrol car along with a pistol
when officers arrived after the shooting Thursday.
State District Judge Joan Campbell ordered Monday that Quintero, 32,
remain in custody without bail. His attorney, Jim Leitner, did not comment
after the hearing.
Rosenthal said he could not recall the last time he helped prosecute a
case, but guessed that it has been several years.
He said the police officer case is somewhat "bizarre" because Quintero is
accused of committing murder even though he was in a situation where he
could not escape.
The slaying took place near Hobby Airport after Johnson, a 12-year Houston
police veteran, stopped Quintero on a traffic violation. Johnson, 40,
arrested Quintero because he had no license or any other form of
identification, police said.
He patted Quintero down and handcuffed him, police said, but missed a 9 mm
pistol hidden in Quintero's waistband.
The officer, shot 4 times in the head, was pronounced dead at Ben Taub
Hospital. Rosenthal said he met Johnson's family there. Johnson and his
wife, Joslyn, also a Houston police officer, have five children.
The suspect's wife, Theresa Quintero, attended Monday's hearing, but
declined to comment except to say she feels remorse for Johnson's family.
Representatives from the Mexican Consulate also attended the hearing. The
Mexican government, through its consulate office in Houston, continues to
monitor Quintero's case and has offered him legal help.
"We're involved from day one," said Carlos Ignacio Gonzlez Magalln, consul
general of Mexico in Houston, "all the way through, regardless of the
outcome, when a sentence is meted out. Then if the lawyers think there is
grounds to appeal, which is almost always the case, then we assist further
till the very end."
Houston lawyer Danalynn Recer, who represents Mexican nationals charged
with capital murder, has signed onto the case, Leitner said.
Magalln sidestepped the mounting pressure on Police Chief Harold Hurtt
regarding the department's policy of not making immigration checks during
traffic stops. Although Magalln would not state his position on the issue,
he stressed that he routinely urges Mexicans here, regardless of their
legal status, to cooperate with law enforcement officers.
At Grace Community Church on the Gulf Freeway, officials are preparing for
thousands of guests for today's daylong visitation.
The public is welcome to pay respects today and Wednesday, said Sgt.
Michelle Sandoval, a police department spokeswoman.
(source: Houston Chronicle)
family persuaded him to take case
As a community today mourns an officer killed in the line of duty, Harris
County's district attorney is preparing for his courtroom face-off with
the accused gunman, an illegal immigrant whose capital murder case is
being monitored by the Mexican government.
Saying he was motivated by a meeting with Rodney Johnson's family after
the officer was killed, Chuck Rosenthal said Monday that he is "coming out
of retirement" to lead the prosecution against Juan Leonardo Quintero.
Rosenthal said he doesn't yet know whether he will ask a jury to send
Quintero to death row. He won death sentences in 14 cases as a prosecutor
before moving up to the top job in 2001.
Police have said they obtained "a full confession" from Quintero, who was
still locked in the back seat of Johnson's patrol car along with a pistol
when officers arrived after the shooting Thursday.
State District Judge Joan Campbell ordered Monday that Quintero, 32,
remain in custody without bail. His attorney, Jim Leitner, did not comment
after the hearing.
Rosenthal said he could not recall the last time he helped prosecute a
case, but guessed that it has been several years.
He said the police officer case is somewhat "bizarre" because Quintero is
accused of committing murder even though he was in a situation where he
could not escape.
The slaying took place near Hobby Airport after Johnson, a 12-year Houston
police veteran, stopped Quintero on a traffic violation. Johnson, 40,
arrested Quintero because he had no license or any other form of
identification, police said.
He patted Quintero down and handcuffed him, police said, but missed a 9 mm
pistol hidden in Quintero's waistband.
The officer, shot 4 times in the head, was pronounced dead at Ben Taub
Hospital. Rosenthal said he met Johnson's family there. Johnson and his
wife, Joslyn, also a Houston police officer, have five children.
The suspect's wife, Theresa Quintero, attended Monday's hearing, but
declined to comment except to say she feels remorse for Johnson's family.
Representatives from the Mexican Consulate also attended the hearing. The
Mexican government, through its consulate office in Houston, continues to
monitor Quintero's case and has offered him legal help.
"We're involved from day one," said Carlos Ignacio Gonzlez Magalln, consul
general of Mexico in Houston, "all the way through, regardless of the
outcome, when a sentence is meted out. Then if the lawyers think there is
grounds to appeal, which is almost always the case, then we assist further
till the very end."
Houston lawyer Danalynn Recer, who represents Mexican nationals charged
with capital murder, has signed onto the case, Leitner said.
Magalln sidestepped the mounting pressure on Police Chief Harold Hurtt
regarding the department's policy of not making immigration checks during
traffic stops. Although Magalln would not state his position on the issue,
he stressed that he routinely urges Mexicans here, regardless of their
legal status, to cooperate with law enforcement officers.
At Grace Community Church on the Gulf Freeway, officials are preparing for
thousands of guests for today's daylong visitation.
The public is welcome to pay respects today and Wednesday, said Sgt.
Michelle Sandoval, a police department spokeswoman.
(source: Houston Chronicle)