HOUSTON – A jury has sentenced a man who confessed to killing a Houston police officer to dozens of years in prison.
Johoan Rodriguez, 27, an illegal immigrant, pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter in connection with the death of Officer Kevin Will.
Jurors decided Friday that Rodriguez will spend 55 years in prison. The punishment ranged from probation to life in prison.
Rodriguez cried when he heard his fate.
On Wednesday, prosecutors showed jurors the Volkswagen Beetle driven by Rodriguez when he slipped past a police barricade on the North Loop and fatally struck Will last year. HPD officers towed the vehicle to the Houston courthouse so the jury could get a closer look.
Will, a 38-year-old father of two whose wife was pregnant, was killed instantly in the crash.
After the sentencing, Will's widow took the stand to address Rodriguez.
"Kevin was my one true love, my best friend," Alicia Will said. "You took him from me. Kevin was an amazing father to my kids and I loved him very much."
Alicia Will made sure that Rodriguez knew how many people his actions have affected.
"You have broken my family forever," Alicia Will said. "What am I supposed to tell my son when when he asked why he doesn't have a daddy?"
Alicia Will did not hold back any of her feelings toward Rodriguez.
"You took the life of an amazing man, and I will never forgive you for that," she said. "For what you have done, you are a horrible person. You're a murderer and you deserve to suffer for the rest of your life, as I will."
While the pain for the Will family will never end, they said justice has been served.