LIFE SENTENCE FOR MAN WHO SHOT OFFICER DURING '96 RAID

A south Houston man who shot a police officer in the face during a 1996 drug
raid at a motel was sentenced Friday to life in prison.

Jurors found Sammy Ray Moy, 41, guilty of aggravated assault against a
public servant on Thursday and decided punishment Friday. Moy was also
convicted of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute
and received 35 years on that charge.

The two terms, however, will run concurrently. Moy will not be
parole-eligible for 30 years.

On Jan. 6, 1996, Moy shot Officer Stephen M. Kwiatkowski during a drug raid
at the Hospitality Inn, 8700 S. Main, according to prosecutors Claire
Connors and Lyn McClellan. Kwiatkowski and his partner knocked on the door
of the room at about 10 p.m., and Moy opened fire with a .25-caliber pistol.

The officers were there because a confidential informant had made a drug buy
in the room. They returned fire on Moy after his bullet lodged in the bridge
of Kwiatkowski's nose, just above his right eye. He recovered.

Moy was hit in the hand after the officers fired 19 shots, McClellan said.
Moy tried unsuccessfully to flush crack cocaine down the toilet. The drugs
were seized, along with $400 cash.

Moy testified that he thought the officers, who were clad in HPD raid gear,
were robbers and that he didn't hear them identify themselves after he
started firing.