The man who shot and killed a Dallas police officer in Lake Highlands in 2018 will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Rogelio Santander, the police officer, died in the shooting at a Home Depot. He was 27. His partner at the time, Officer Crystal Almeida, was injured.
Prosecutors originally said they would seek the death penalty against the shooter, Armando Juarez, but he was diagnosed as intellectually disabled by a psychologist. Executing a person who is intellectually disabled violates the U.S. Constitution.
In exchange for his sentence of life without parole, Juarez will plead guilty on five charges and waive all appeals.
After the plea deal, Almeida gave an impact statement. In it, she said she had to have several surgeries, including brain surgery. She also is blind in her left eye.
“Because of this, I can no longer be that police officer I once was,” she said.
