SLAIN DEPUTY'S DAD COMPARES LOOKOUT DRIVER TO TERRORIST

The father of a slain deputy told the convicted lookout driver that he was
like a terrorist in the Middle East because he masterminded the robbery in
which the deputy was killed by friendly fire.

"You are more than a terrorist," Ron Bennett told Richard Longoria. ". . .
And just like their leader you are a coward. . . May God forgive you,
Richard, for I never will."

Longoria, who planned a home invasion and acted as the lookout driver the
night it was carried out, was convicted by a jury of capital murder on
Friday. State District Judge Belinda Hill formally sentenced him this
morning to an automatic life prison term.

Harris County Sheriff's deputy Shane Bennett was killed about 1:30 a.m.
June 12 as he and two deputies responded to a disturbance call in the 3000
block of Havner. The deputies did not know three masked men were holding a
family of 13 hostage. The robbers mistakenly thought 60 pounds of marijuana
were in the home.

Bennett died in a gunbattle with one of the men who shot and wounded him.
But the fatal wound was caused by Deputy Sean Conrad trying to shoot the
robbers. The man who fired at the deputies Carlos Alberto Ramirez, 24, and
another robber, Daniel Damian Jr., 20, were killed at the scene. The third,
Benjamin Gonzalez, left before the shootout. Gonzalez and Ramirez carried
guns. Damian had a knife.

Longoria and another man, Christian Gonzalez, were driving around the
neighborhood at the time. Cell phone records showed Longoria made and
received several calls to Damian and the phone Christian Gonzalez used
before and during the robbery.

Christian Gonzalez was arrested within minutes and named his brother,
Benjamin, and Longoria as accomplices. Gonzalez, who also was charged with
capital murder, testified against Longoria. In return he was allowed to
plead to a charge of aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 10 years in
prison.

Although neither was in the home when Bennett was killed Texas law allows
for a person to be held criminally responsible "if the result would not
have occurred but for his conduct." The law also holds that if someone
commits a crime and a second crime occurs that the person should have
anticipated, the person can be held responsible for it.

After the sentencing today, Ron Bennett was allowed to make a victim impact
statement. The courtroom was filled with Bennett's mother, Annette, his
widow, Teresa, and more than a dozen uniformed deputies.

The father calmly but sternly spoke to Longoria, telling him he had killed
a man devoted to his job and family.

"He was also dedicated to protecting and serving your own family," Bennett
said. ". . . People like you have no active place in our society."

As Bennett wrapped up his remarks a young woman sitting with Longoria's
family on the same row as the Bennetts muttered something.

Judge Hill had the woman removed immediately from the courtroom, but she
continued to grumble as a deputy escorted her out.

"She told him he was not a good man," prosecutor Chuck Noll said after the
proceeding. "Mr. Bennett gave a thoughtful heartfelt statement on the loss
of his son. It's just regretful that the Longoria family chose to take that
time to make remarks to Mr. Bennett. It's a shame what victims have to go
through. They have to listen not only to the criminals but then to the
criminals' family even after they've been convicted."

Defense lawyer Terry Yates said the Longoria family was "frustrated."

"They feel the district attorney's office overreached in prosecuting
Longoria for capital murder, a person who was not even present at the
scene," Yates said. "And they feel like it was unjust to do that."

Yates said Longoria plans to appeal. Yates had argued during the trial that
there was no precedent for such a conviction in Texas or the nation. Noll
countered that the law is clear and that it does not require a presence.

Benjamin Gonzalez, who pleaded guilty to a deal similar to his brother's,
was sentenced to 18 years. But he reneged on his deal to testify and now
could face a capital murder charge as well.