Death Records Now

Sept. 22, 2006, 7:41PM
Slain officer missed suspect’s gun in search

By MELANIE MARKLEY, JENNIFER LEAHY and ROSANNA RUIZ
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

The Houston police officer who was gunned down by a suspect Thursday after a routine traffic stop apparently missed the man’s weapon in a pat-down search, Capt. Dale Brown told reporters today.

Juan Leonardo Quintero, a 32-year-old illegal immigrant, has been charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Houston Police Officer Rodney Johnson.

Brown said Quintero apparently was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of his arrest.

Brown said that Quintero had a criminal history from 1995 to 1999, convicted for DWI, failure to stop and give information and indecency with a child. His driver’s license was suspended and he was deported to Mexico by immigration officials in 1999, Brown said.

Quintero has been working for a landscaping company in the Deer Park area and was driving a company Ford double-cab pickup when Johnson stopped him for speeding, Brown said.

Quintero, who apparently in the pickup with a co-worker and the two daughters of his common-law wife, was traveling 50 miles per hour in a 30-mile-per-hour zone, he said. He had picked up the two girls from school and was taking them home, he said.

Johnson decided to arrest Quintero because he did not have any identification, Brown said. Although Johnson patted him down before handcuffing him, he apparently missed the 9-mm handgun he concealed under his waistband, he said.

Although Quintero was handcuffed behind his back, Brown said he apparently manipulated his handcuffed hands under his legs to the front of his body so he could fire his weapon. His hands were again behind his back when officers arrived, he said.

The suspect also fired at a wrecker driver who had been called to the scene by Johnson at the time of the arrest. The wrecker driver had spotted Johnson in apparent distress in the front seat of the car and was approaching the police car when the shot was fired. He retreated until officers arrived.

His wife, Theresa Quintero, said he has expressed concern about immigration officials and whether he should return to Mexico.

Theresa Quintero said in an interview today at their home near Hobby Airport that the couple has been married since 1997.

HPD’s Brown said records reflect no arrests for the suspect since 1999, but he said officers were still researching records.

Chief Harold Hurtt defended his policy against enforcing immigration laws, saying the situation points to the need for stronger enforcement at the border since Quintero had been deported.

“If the government would fulfill their responsibility of protecting the border, we probably would not be standing here today,” Hurtt said.

A Harris County prosecutor said in court this morning that, while seated in the back seat, the suspect pulled a 9 mm handgun from his waistband and shot Johnson in the face. The officer was able to push an emergency response button, alerting dispatch of a problem.

When other police arrived at the scene, Quintero remained in the back seat with the gun in his hand, the prosecutor said. Police found bullet casings inside the car.

Quintero kept his head down while waiting to be called before the judge. During a brief hearing, he answered "Yes” when asked whether he understood the charge against him.

Quintero has been charged with capital murder in the 248th District Court, said HPD spokesman John Cannon.

Cannon said the suspect gave "a full confession" to the shooting.

A source familiar with the scene said Johnson was shot four times through the plastic shield separating the front and rear seats. Johnson managed to push his emergency button before collapsing. The 12-year veteran of the department was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The suspect reportedly struggled as officers tried to move him to a different vehicle.

"They finally got him in the other car, but he was scratching and fighting and acting crazy, like he could win in a fight like that," said Clara Rodriguez, who lives nearby.

Johnson, 40, was the first HPD officer killed in more than two years.

"He was very personable," Hurtt said. "We will miss one of our true soldiers in Rodney Johnson."

At least a dozen law enforcement vehicles cordoned off a large area at Randolph and Braniff where the light bar atop Johnson’s patrol car continued to flash long after the shooting. Temporary spotlights illuminated the scene into the evening as evidence technicians scoured the area. The owner of a nearby machine shop was called to the scene because bullets apparently pierced the wall of his building and investigators needed to get inside.

Before the suspect was taken to HPD headquarters, he was stripped of his clothes, which were placed in evidence bags, and dressed in a white jumpsuit. He was then taken downtown in the second of three patrol cars that left the scene shortly after 7 p.m.

‘It just breaks my heart’
As news of Johnson’s death spread, police officers gathered in small groups but said little. One HPD sergeant walked to a patrol car, took out his cell phone and made a quick phone call, taking a long drink of cold water from a bottle.

"Something real bad has happened by the airport," he said.

Rodriguez said that she and her neighbors in the small subdivision between Telephone Road and Almeda Genoa knew Johnson well and that he was well-liked.

"He would always wave and smile when he saw me," Rodriguez said. "He was a real nice guy. All he was trying to do was enforce the rules."

Rodriguez said Johnson stopped her once for speeding when the speed limit was lowered on Telephone Road. She said he politely asked her to slow down and did not ticket her.

"He was just so very nice," she said. "He was not ever mean. It just breaks my heart. I feel so very bad for his wife. He got up and went to work this morning, and this is what happened. This is what happened to one of the people who protects us, who truly took care of us."

Johnson graduated from high school in Oakland, Calif., then enlisted in the Army, serving as an MP until he was honorably discharged in 1990. He served as a corrections officer for the Texas Department of Corrections (now the Texas Department of Criminal Justice) and as a Houston police jailer before attending the police academy and graduating in 1994.

Johnson was assigned to the southeast division that year and to the southeast gang task force in 1996. While on the task force he received two Lifesaving Awards from the department and one Medal of Valor from the state. He was married to Houston police officer Joslyn Johnson. They have three daughters and two sons between the ages of 14 and 19..

i feel for u lady.
i am not american, but i worked very hard to come here legally. spent 9 months to do it. and i pay my taxes,. contribute to social security. and because of my visa i will leave the US.
so im a good guy.
but the illegals? they dont pay taxes, they commit crime, they give us legals a hard time at immigration, while they just waltz in thru the border. and they use up social resources.
and the have the audacity to march for rights? they have no rights! they’re illegals.
anyway, im proud to be in america and contributing to the economy. and unlike the illegals, im leaving.

so, gimme 10 points? please? pleeeease?