A former Houston police officer is scheduled to go on trial Monday. A.J. Carbonneau is set to be tried for the November 2003 shooting death of 14-year-old Eli Escobar. Carbonneau was investigating a disturbance call at Escobar's northwest Houston apartment complex when the two got into a fight. Carbonneau's gun went off and Escobar was shot in the head. Carbonneau says the shooting was an accident. He quit the force about a week and a half after being charged with Escobar's death. Carbonneau could get life in prison if convicted. Escobar's parents, Eli Eloy and Lydia Escobar, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Houston, alleging Carbonneau violated their son's civil rights by using excessive force. Several members of the Escobar family were in the courtroom Monday but declined to comment. Escobar was one of two Hispanic teens fatally shot by police within a three-week span in the fall of 2003. The incidents sparked heavy criticism and led the Police Department to review its rules and training practices regarding use of force, police said. Police Officer Richard Kevin Butler was cleared of criminal charges in the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Jose Vargas Jr. on Oct. 31, 2003. [more] and [more]
- Teen testifies boy screamed for help before he was shot.
Pinned to the ground with a police officer's knee across his chest, an
unarmed 14-year-old boy cried out for help just before the officer shot
him in the head at close range, a witness said Tuesday. "Eli started
screaming out for his mom," said 15-year-old Jose Salmeron, who saw the
killing of Eli Eloy Escobar II outside a northwest Houston apartment
complex Nov. 21, 2003. "He pulled out his gun and pointed it at his
forehead. And he shot him," Salmeron said on the first day of former
Officer Arthur J. Carbonneau's murder trial. [more]
- Former Officer's Murder Trial Has Dramatic Start: Mother Catches Glimpse Of Crime Scene Photo On Attorney's Computer [more]
- Ex-officer: I feared for my life: Carbonneau says he believed teen was armed [more]