Man charged in officer's death was twice deported

[peejay 327]

Man charged in officer's death was twice deported

By SUSAN CARROLL and JAMES PINKERTON

HOUSTON CHRONICLE

May 31, 2011, 7:25PM

The suspected drunken driver accused of killing a Houston police officer on Sunday is an illegal immigrant from Mexico who twice tried to lie his way into the United States by claiming to be a U.S. citizen, records show.

Johoan Rodriguez, 26, is accused of driving through police blockages on the 610 North Loop freeway where officers were investigating an accident and striking HPD officer Kevin Will.

Prosecutors said Will, 38, was killed instantly, and his body was dragged along the freeway. Police found a small bag containing of cocaine in Rodriguez's pocket and preliminary blood tests showed his blood alcohol content was .238 — nearly three times the legal limit, officials said.

When Rodriguez was questioned by police, he seemed disoriented and intoxicated, Harris County Assistant District Attorney Beth Shipley said at Rodriguez's probable cause hearing.

"He could not tell the officer anything about the crash, and claimed he did not remember being in a crash," Shipley said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Gregory Palmore said Tuesday that Rodriguez is an illegal immigrant from Mexico who was deported in 2005 and 2006.

Federal court records show that Rodriguez tried to enter the U.S. through the Brownsville Port of Entry by falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen on Dec. 29, 2005. Just days after he was deported back to Mexico, he tried again to get in, this time through the Hidalgo Port of Entry, records show. He again claimed to be a U.S. citizen, born in Houston, and showed a Texas driver's license to support his claim, according to records.

Rodriguez is being held without bail on three felony counts of intoxication manslaughter, evading arrest and drug possession. Immigration officials have filed paperwork to detain Rodriguez if he is released from local custody.

Will's death is the latest in a string of incidents involving illegal immigrants that have resulted in serious injury or death for Houston police officers. Gary Blankinship, president of the Houston Police Officer's Association, said rank-and-file union members were "outraged" by Will's death at the hands of an immigrant who had been previously deported.

"Well, it's dejavu," he said. "... I'm not too sure what the answer is, but it's certainly disheartening when you keep seeing police officers killed in the line of duty by illegal aliens.“

In September 2006, Houston Police Officer Rodney Johnson was shot and killed by Juan Leonardo Quintero, an illegal immigrant from Mexico he had arrested during a traffic stop. Quintero had been deported once before after charges of indecency with a child and said he shot Johnson because he was "scared" after he was arrested. Quintero was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison.

His death and a personal crusade by his widow, HPD Sgt. Joslyn Johnson, fueled calls for greater local police involvement in immigration enforcement.

"I just wish our government would take the initiative and do something about this," Joslyn Johnson said on Tuesday.

On March 5, 2009, Wilfredo Alfaro, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, shot Houston police officer Rick Salter with a Glock pistol as officers broke through the door at his home on East Avenue O. Alfaro was ordered out of the U.S. by an immigration judge in March 2001, returned illegally and was arrested three times before the shooting.

The day after Salter was shot, former Houston Mayor Bill White requested that the city receive expedited approval to participate in ICE's Secure Communities program, which automatically checks the immigration history of all suspects booked into jail.

Will is survived by his wife — who is six months pregnant — and two stepchildren, ages 6 and 10.

A visitation for Will's friends and family will be Wednesday at the Klein Funeral Home, 16131 Champion Forest Drive. The time is pending. Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Champion Forest Baptist Church, 15555 Stuebner Airline Road. A private burial service will follow.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7589109.html

[natty bumppo 297]

bump to top of page ....

[peejay 327]

bump to top of page ....

I wonder why Obama didn't mention stuff like this while he was cheerleading for his undocumented Democrats during his illegal alien amnesty speech in El Paso recently?

[ready4ONE 5,400]

I wonder why Obama didn't mention stuff like this while he was cheerleading for his undocumented Democrats during his illegal alien amnesty speech in El Paso recently?

Isn't the larger question why Bush didn't find a final solution to permanently remove this joker? Oh, no, forgot Obama probably bought him the booze and cocaine...

Seriously though sad story neither Democratic or Republican.

[slim 1,530]

Bring our boys home from Iraq and Afghanistan, guard the border, and stuff like this won't happen anymore. Well, not by illegals, anyway. Drunk drivers will still kill cops, they'll just be citizens or LPRs and then it's perfectly acceptable.

[peejay 327]

Isn't the larger question why Bush didn't find a final solution to permanently remove this joker? Oh, no, forgot Obama probably bought him the booze and cocaine...

Seriously though sad story neither Democratic or Republican.

** Bush. That is past history. Bush isn't president anymore and has been gone 3 years. Meaning that...the problem is owned by Obama.

IMO Obama has dropped the ball and made the situation worst than when Bush left office. He basically dismantled a big portion of immigration and workplace law enforcement and habitually harps about amnesty. WoW! What a deterent. In other words...what a frigging joke.

[Zero Sum 305]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxZASSqP0h4

[Zero Sum 305]

On the topic though... this disgusting excuse for a human needs to be put down.

[peejay 327]

On the topic though... this disgusting excuse for a human needs to be put down.

It sounds like this guy has mental health issues. Where is your empathy and compassion?

[justashooter 430]

I'm sure his pregnant wife will be posting soon enough asking about how to get him released from jail and how to avoid having him deported again...

[luckytxn 2,264]

Houston is still a sanctuary city.

A prayer was sent to his and his families way when I read this yesterday.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

So how did he get in the 3rd time? Seems like the system was working up until then.

[Darnell 8,478]

i thought usa did biometrics on everyone that was deported? Surely this guy was checked in secondary the last time he crossed the border.

Maybe we should start tatooing something useful on all that are deported ?

[peejay 327]

So how did he get in the 3rd time? Seems like the system was working up until then.

It seems this guy finally figured out that floating across the river on an innertube at midnight was the ticket. You know...EWI (Entry Without Inspection).

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Easy solution: every illegal alien that is being deported gets his deportation number branded on the sleeve, so small that it could be covered by a watch band. If he's being caught again, after a deportation and a second illegal entry, his forehead is branded DEPORTED like the skin of a cattle.

Think I'm joking? Nope, I'm dead serious. I'm all for second chances, but not for third ones.