Man who fatally shot Dallas police officer, security agent at Home Depot in 2018 is sentenced to life without parole
Dallas TX Jan 18 2021 Armando Juarez, who shot and killed Dallas police Officer Rogelio Santander Jr. in April 2018, pleaded guilty Friday to capital murder and was sentenced to life without parole.
Juarez fatally shot Santander and wounded his fellow Officer Crystal Almeida and security guard Scott Painter at the Home Depot store near Forest Lane and North Central Expressway on April 24, 2018.
Juarez fled, resulting in a high-speed chase. He shot at two other police officers before he was arrested.
The Dallas County district attorney’s office had sought the death penalty until it learned that Juarez was intellectually disabled.
Some Dallas police officers showed up in person to see Armando Juarez sentenced for fatally shooting Officer Rogelio Santander. Others watched the proceedings virtually.
In recent weeks, defense attorneys had submitted evidence that a psychologist had diagnosed an intellectual disability in their client, making him ineligible for the death penalty under a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Attorneys did not provide details in court about Juarez’s mental disability. Messina Madson, part of the defense team, said that information was confidential.
In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that executing mentally disabled people violated the Constitution’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment.” The decision changed how Texas courts evaluate defendants.
Juarez agreed to life without parole in exchange for admitting his guilt. He waived all appeals and his right to a jury trial.
In addition to drawing life for killing Santander, Juarez was sentenced to life for shooting Almeida, up to 20 years for shooting Painter and to two life sentences for firing at the two other officers during the chase.
‘You get to rot in prison’
Almeida, who spoke at the hearing Friday, said she and Santander had become “inseparable” friends in the police academy.
Almeida said that her wounds required a life-saving brain operation, other surgeries and facial reconstruction, and that the shooting also caused vision loss in her left eye, hearing loss, vertigo, short-term memory loss, anxiety attacks and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Because of all this, I can no longer be the police officer I once was,” Almeida said, fighting back tears. “I also lost my best friend.”
Almeida said Juarez was lucky not to get the death penalty.
“I wish you would,” she said, appearing on a computer screen from another room while Juarez was in the courtroom.
Before Almeida spoke, state District Judge Brandon Birmingham made sure she could see Juarez on the screen.
“If I could, for punishment, I’d want them to take your eye and hearing away just like you took mine,” Almeida said. “At the same time, I’m glad you get to rot in prison.”
Almeida added that she didn’t plan to forgive Juarez, who hung his head while she spoke.
“It’s going to take a long time before that happens,” she said.
In a message to department personnel this week, Interim Police Chief Lonzo Anderson acknowledged that the sentencing hearing would bring back tough memories for officers. Several officers attended Friday’s hearing in person, while others watched online.
“Let us be hopeful that justice will prevail, and that the Santander family can find some sense of closure as we keep them in our thoughts and prayers,” Anderson said.
A lawsuit filed by the Santander and Almeida families is pending against Home Depot and two security officers who worked at the store the day of the shooting.
The lawsuit, filed in May 2019 in Dallas County, alleges negligence by the company and states that security guards didn’t properly search or detain Juarez.
When Almeida and Santander arrived at the Home Depot that day, they “were under the belief that Juarez had been appropriately detained, searched, and pat-down for weapons,” according to the suit.
