TWO PLEAD NOT GUILTY IN OREGON SHOOTING

Former Hpd Officers Arraigned On Charges Of Violating Civil Rights

Two former Houston police officers pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal
civil rights violations in the shooting death of Pedro Oregon Navarro.

Former Sgt. Darrell H. Strouse and James R. Willis were stone-faced through
most of their arraignment, but bowed their heads when they told U.S.
Magistrate Judge Calvin Botley they are now working at an area hardware store.

Botley ordered the pair to surrender any weapons in their homes for
"psychological" reasons. "A lot of tension could develop in the home because
of these proceedings," he explained.

He also instructed Strouse and Willis to have no contact with each other,
except at work and during trial strategy sessions with their attorneys. The
pair were ordered to have no contact with witnesses.

After reading the men their rights, Botley placed each on a $10,000
unsecured bond. Joe Porto, attorney for Willis, said the defendants have
proved they are not flight risks by appearing for numerous state court
proceedings since the July 1998 shooting.

Strouse, 35, and Willis, 29, are accused of conspiracy to deprive Oregon of
his civil rights during a drug investigation involving Oregon`s brother,
Rogelio.

Oregon, 22, was slain while six HPD officers were pursuing an informant's
tip that drugs were being sold in Rogelio's southwest Houston apartment.

Although neither defendant was involved in the shooting, prosecutors said
they were involved in planning the illegal entry into the apartment. The
officers did not have a search or arrest warrant.

They have contended that Oregon pointed a gun at them. Police officials have
said one officer fired his weapon, hitting another officer in his
bullet-resistant vest and knocking him to the floor. The other officers
apparently thought that shot came from Oregon, and they fired about 30
rounds, 12 of which hit Oregon.

No drugs were found in the apartment and Oregon had not fired at police,
though his gun was found nearby. Oregon had no drugs or alcohol in his
system and had no criminal record.

Attorney Michael Ramsey, representing Strouse, said Tuesday that the
shooting was legally justified because Oregon came at the officers with
weapon in hand. He questioned why two officers who didn't fire their guns
are now in the midst of a firestorm.

"So far as we're concerned, these young men did what they thought was right
under the circumstances at the time," he said.

Hans Marticiuc, with the Houston Police Officers Union, called the federal
indictments politically motivated. "You've had the Mexican government get
involved, the embassy has been involved, activists," Marticiuc said. "It's
political and it's probably already taken some years off their lives," he
said of the officers.

But a handful of protesters who walked in front of the federal courthouse
prior to the proceedings said the issue is justice, not politics.

Waving "Justice for Pedro Oregon" signs and passing out leaflets about an
Oct. 22 march against alleged police brutality, the protesters complained
that the six officers were never charged with murder.

Aaron Ruby, with the Justice for Pedro Oregon coalition, said an
institutional double standard prevented the indictment of all six. "They
should all be held accountable," he said.

Only Willis, a six-year police veteran, has stood trial in the shooting. A
Harris County grand jury indicted him on charges of misdemeanor criminal
trespass, but he was acquitted.

The other officers -- David R. Barrera, 28, a five-year veteran; Lamont E.
Tillery, 30, a two-year officer; Pete A. Herrada, 28, a three-year officer;
and David Perkins, 30, a four-year officer -- were nobilled in the state and
federal investigations.

Strouse was once investigated by a San Jacinto County grand jury concerning
a 1992 ice house brawl involving him and two other off-duty Houston officers
and their civilian friends. All three officers were nobilled.

Botley said U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas, who will preside over the
criminal trial, has requested that it start Nov. 16. However, both
defendants waived their rights under the Speedy Trial Act, meaning a
postponement is likely.

Attorneys estimated the trial would last two weeks. If convicted, Strouse
and Willis could each get 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.