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3
Atlanta
police officers charged in drug raid death of
92-year-old woman
2
plead guilty
By
Harry R. Weber
ASSOCIATED
PRESS
11:56
a.m. April 26, 2007
ATLANTA
� Two police officers pleaded guilty Thursday to
manslaughter in the shooting death of a 92-year-old
woman during a botched drug raid last fall. A third
officer still faces charges in the woman's death.
Officer
J.R. Smith told the judge Thursday that he regretted
what had happened.
�I'm
sorry,� the 35-year-old said, his voice barely
audible. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, violation
of oath, criminal solicitation, making false
statements and perjury, which was based on untrue
claims in a warrant.
Former
Officer Gregg Junnier, 40, who retired from the
Atlanta
police force in January, pleaded guilty to
manslaughter, violation of oath, criminal solicitation
and making false statements. Both men are expected to
face more than 10 years in prison.
The
charges followed a Nov. 21 �no-knock� drug raid on
the home of Kathryn Johnston, 92. An informant had
described buying drugs from a dealer there, police
said. When the officers burst in without warning,
Johnston
fired at them, and they fired back, killing her.
Fulton
County prosecutor Peter Johnson disclosed Thursday
that the officers involved in Johnston's death fired
39 shots, striking her five or six times, including a
fatal blow to the chest.
He
said
Johnston
only fired once through her door and didn't hit any of
the officers. That means the officers who were wounded
likely were hit by their own colleagues, he said.
Junnier
and Smith, who is on administrative leave, had been
charged in an indictment unsealed earlier Thursday
with felony murder, violation of oath by a public
officer, criminal solicitation, burglary, aggravated
assault with a deadly weapon and making false
statements.
The
third officer, Arthur Tesler, also on administrative
leave, was charged with violation of oath by a public
officer, making false statements and false
imprisonment under color of legal process. His
attorney, William McKenney, said Tesler expects to go
to trial.
Tesler,
40, is �very relieved� not to face murder charges,
McKenney said, �but we're concerned about the three
charges.�
In
Junnier's and Smith's cases, prosecutors asked the
judge Thursday to withhold sentencing until after a
hearing later Thursday in federal court where both are
expected to enter pleas.
U.S.
Attorney David Nahmias told The Associated Press that
the recommended federal sentence for Junnier will be
10 years and one month in prison, and for Smith, 12
years, seven months. The state and federal sentences
are expected to run concurrently.
Both
men could have faced up to life in prison had they
been convicted of murder.
The
deadly drug raid had been set up after narcotics
officers said an informant had claimed there was
cocaine in the home.
When
the plainclothes officers burst in without notice,
police said
Johnston
fired at them and they fired back. No cocaine was
found.
The
case raised serious questions about no-knock warrants
and whether the officers followed proper procedures.
Atlanta
Police Chief Richard Pennington asked the FBI to lead
a multi-agency probe into the shootout. He also
announced policy changes to require the department to
drug-test its nearly 1,800 officers and mandate that
top supervisors sign off on narcotics operations and
no-knock warrants.
To
get the warrant, officers told a magistrate judge that
an undercover informant had told them
Johnston
's home had surveillance cameras monitored carefully
by a drug dealer named �Sam.�
After
the shooting, a man claiming to be the informant told
a television station that he never purchased drugs
there, prompting Pennington to admit he was uncertain
whether the suspected drug dealer actually existed.
The
Rev. Markel Hutchins, a civil rights activist who
serves as a spokesman for
Johnston
's family, said the family was satisfied with
Thursday's developments.
�They
have never sought vengeance. They have only sought
justice,� he said.
Hutchins
said the family is considering civil action against
the police department.
�I
think what happened today makes it very clear that Ms.
Johnston was violated, that her civil rights were
violated,� he said.
Associated
Press Writer Jason Bronis contributed to this report
from
Atlanta
.
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