12.17.07

more information surfaces surrounding death in Pasadena jail

Posted in News at 10:51 am by Paloma Cruz

Details emerge in Pasadena jail death
Inmates say plea for help ignored, allege pattern of neglect that may violate state codes
– Houston Chronicle2

Last July, in the basement of Pasadena’s police building, Pedro Gonzales Jr. moaned in pain while locked in a jail cell. He and other inmates begged jailers to call a doctor.

” ‘We’re not gonna call an ambulance unless we see blood,’ ” former inmate Joshua David Zamora recalls one jailer saying. “The guards kept telling us, ‘He’s not sick. He’s just acting up.’ “

In a nearby cell, Patrick Beaudoin heard the ruckus grow louder as inmates yelled to the guards, “Boss man. Help this guy. He needs a doctor.”

The inmates eventually settled down after jailers pulled the 51-year-old Gonzales out of the cell he shared with Zamora, 18, and another man. After jailers returned Gonzales to the cell about an hour later, Zamora went to sleep.

Gonzales was subsequently released from jail, then rearrested about an hour later and brought back to a holding cell.

When Zamora woke, on the morning of July 21, Gonzales was gone, but the jail was once again buzzing about the scruffy little man who had seemed delirious while complaining of chest pain the night before. This time it was because Gonzales’ bruised body, in a torn shirt and filthy, blood-splattered jeans, was lying dead in the holding cell.

An autopsy revealed Gonzales’ death, ruled a homicide, was caused when one of eight fractured ribs punctured a lung, filling his chest with blood.

New details about Gonzales’ alleged treatment by Pasadena jailers surfaced after the Houston Chronicle obtained the names of former inmates through the Texas Public Information Act. In interviews, they said jailers neglected Gonzales’ repeated requests for medical attention, which challenges the Pasadena Police Department’s assertion that Gonzales had refused medical treatment.

Former inmates said their own experiences inside the jail show a pattern of neglect by jailers and inhumane conditions that experts say could violate many regulations by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, which does not inspect municipal lockups.

After a four-month investigation by Pasadena police and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, a grand jury could decide within weeks whether officers involved in Gonzales’ death committed a crime. The FBI’s Houston office will review the county and Pasadena investigations.

In light of the new details, activists are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division to launch a full investigation.

[snip]

Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks

12.11.07

no more protests in front of private homes

Posted in News at 10:09 pm by Paloma Cruz

City Council votes to ban protests outside private homes
– KHOU CBS Channel 111

The highly controversial Joe Horn case has the Pasadena City Council talking about whether to ban protests outside private homes.

It stems from a heated protest that blocked traffic and scared neighbors.

Council members wasted little time Tuesday pushing the ordinance forward. It seeks to ban targeted demonstrations in front of individuals’ houses.

[snip]

Footnotes
1 = may require free registration

12.05.07

Pasadena neighborhood under siege (by protestors)

Posted in News at 10:14 am by Paloma Cruz

Pasadena neighborhood seeks injunction to block protests
– Houston Chronicle2

Residents in the same Pasadena neighborhood where Joe Horn fatally
shot two burglary suspects are pursing a court injunction to prevent
protests such as the one over the weekend, a council member said.

Pasadena City Councilman J.J. Isbell, whose district includes
Village Grove East, said about 50 residents who belong to the
neighborhood homeowner’s association were in favor of the proposed
legal remedy to halt future protests.

On Sunday, a group led by activist Quanell X were confronted by
supporters of Horn, who on Nov. 14 shot two men after he told police
they robbed his neighbor’s home.

I still don’t know where I stand on this. I do, however, feel sorry for the others who live on that block.

Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks

12.03.07

Protest in Pasadena over slain burglars

Posted in News at 11:14 am by Paloma Cruz

I don’t know what side to take on this. On the one hand, I think I should be able to defend myself. On the other, it does seem that the shootings were kind of cold-blooded and may not have been necessary. Hard to tell if I wasn’t there. Either way, this is turning into an escalating controversy.

Protest over slain burglars takes a confrontational turn
Supporters of Pasadena man who shot two try to drown out Quanell X rally
– Houston Chronicle2

Activist Quanell X and dozens of other protesters Sunday faced hundreds of homeowners and supporters of Joe Horn, the Pasadena man who shot and killed two men he suspected of burglarizing a neighbor’s home more than two weeks ago.

Families of the slain men, Miguel Antonio DeJesus, 38, and Diego Ortiz, 30, also were present.

Yard signs lined the 7400 block of Timberline in Pasadena, where the incident took place, as well as on nearby streets.

Residents and Horn supporters waved American flags and carried signs reading, “We love our neighbor for protecting our neighbors” and “Burglary is a risky business.”

[snip]

Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks