SOLE INDICTMENT OF WILLIS CONFOUNDED MANY

Grand jury may have disliked officer's demeanor

Of the six Houston policemen involved in the botched drug raid that led to
the death of Pedro Oregon Navarro, James Willis was the only one indicted.

That seems to confound prosecutors, Oregon family attorneys, protesters and
even Willis' attorney.

"That's something that's perplexed everybody," said Brian Benken, who
represented Willis.

It even perplexed Ryan Baxter, whose tip to police led to the aborted drug
raid that led to Oregon's shooting. Earlier this week, during Willis'
misdemeanor criminal trespass trial, he testified that Willis was nice to
him the night of his arrest and he didn't think the officer had done
anything wrong.

"I don't know why he was brought up on charges, to tell the truth," Baxter
told jurors, to the chagrin of prosecutors.

Willis, acquitted of the charge Thursday, already had been fired, as had
the five other officers involved in the July 12 raid. But he has been the
only one to face any charges so far.

Sources familiar with the grand jury probe and the investigation of the
Oregon shooting -- requesting anonymity -- told the Chronicle that Willis
was charged by angry grand jurors because he came across as "a jerk" while
testifying before them.

One source said some grand jurors just didn't like Willis, thought he was
arrogant and were angry that he would not concede that he and the other
officers might have done something improper.

Members of that grand jury either couldn't be reached for comment or
declined to say anything about the case.

Harris County District Attorney John B. Holmes Jr. said he cannot comment
on grand jury deliberations or testimony and neither can prosecutor Ed
Porter, who handled Willis' case.

But, Holmes speculated, Willis' behavior or demeanor in front of grand
juror s could have made the difference.

"I don't know and I'm just speculating, but I think Willis was absolutely
convinced that what they did was in accordance with the law and my guess is
that angered the grand jury," Holmes said.

Porter said he didn't know why they indicted Willis alone, or why they
decided to charge him with criminal trespass. Prosecutors had prepared
paperwork on all the officers, ranging from murder to official oppression.

But grand jurors apparently picked criminal trespass on their own and
singled out Willis.

No clear reason was shown during the trial. Evidence showed he wasn't the
only one in the apartment. He didn't plan the raid, was not the ranking
officer and wasn't the first in the door of the apartment where Oregon was
killed.

"I think it's a question of perception as to what occurred," Porter said
after Thursday's verdict. "They obviously had the benefit of additional
testimony that this jury did not have the benefit of."

Peter Lewis, an attorney with a doctorate in criminology who teaches at
South Texas College of Law, said it is unusual for a grand jury to take
such an action.

Singling out one person in a case with several potential defendants is
strange enough, said Lewis, a former prosecutor and defense attorney, but
charging him because of a personal perception is a "fluke."

"That almost never happens that they pick one guy because of his demeanor
.. but you got to take the good with the bad and I don't think it happens
that often."

Lewis said the panel could have just as easily indicted all six officers
for trespassing, but grand jurors can be unpredictable, though they're
generally considered rubber stamps for prosecutors.