Ex-deputy, husband in Denny’s case must take drug tests, no access to guns

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Photo: Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle

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Caption

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Harris County Sheriff’s deputy Chauna Thompson and her husband, Terry Thompson, arrive to court, Tuesday, June 13, 2017. The couple was indicted on murder charges in the death of John Hernandez who died in the hospital on May 31 following the May 28 confrontation with the couple outside a Denny’s restaurant. A medical examiner ruled that he died of lack of oxygen to the brain caused by strangulation and chest compression.

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Photo: Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle

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Terry Thompson has been charged with murder in the choking death of John Hernandez, 24, outside a Houston-area Denny’s.

Photo: Harris County Sheriffs Office

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Chauna Thompson has been charged with murder in the choking death of John Hernandez, 24, outside a Houston-area Denny’s.

Photo: Harris County Sheriffs Office

Image 4 of 12 | What you need to know about John Hernandez:

John Hernandez was strangled to death by the husband of a deputy

John Hernandez was urinating outside near Denny’s in Crosby on May 28, 2017. Terry Thompson pulled up at the restaurant and saw Hernandez. A 50-second video show Thompson on top of a kicking and grunting Hernandez.

His wife Chuana Thompson is a deputy with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputy. She arrived on the scene in a separate vehicle and called for backup. Hernandez died three days after the altercation.

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John Hernandez was strangled to death by the husband of a deputy

John Hernandez was urinating outside near Denny’s in Crosby on May 28, 2017. Terry Thompson pulled up at the restaurant and saw Hernandez. A

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Photo: Yi-Chin Lee / Houston Chronicle, Yi-Chin Lee

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The assault was recorded

A bystander at Denny’s recorded the assault and was released by attorney Jack Carroll. Thompson is seen on top of Hernandez. Carroll said the video shows Hernandez “kicking his legs in a helpless fashion… begging for it to stop.”

Thompson’s attorney Scot Courtney said the video is not the full footage and that people “need all of the facts before coming to the conclusion they’re making.”

People tried to obscure the person recording the Thompsons, saying, “It’s illegal to record, just stop.”

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The assault was recorded

A bystander at Denny’s recorded the assault and was released by attorney Jack Carroll. Thompson is seen on top of Hernandez. Carroll said the video shows Hernandez “kicking his legs in a

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Photo: Courtesy Randall Kallinen

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The Thompsons are facing murder charges

The Thompsons are accused of intentionally causing Hernandez’s death. The couple turned themselves in on June 8, 2017 and made a bail of $100,000 each that same night.

The Thompsons are facing murder charges

The Thompsons are accused of intentionally causing Hernandez’s death. The couple turned themselves in on June 8, 2017 and made a bail of $100,000 each that same night.

Photo: Harris County Sheriffs Office

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Chauna Thompson has been removed from patrol duty

Thompson, for now, won’t be seen in uniform. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed she has been removed from patrol duty.

Thompson, who was off duty at the time her husband got into the altercation, began CPR on Hernandez when she noticed he wasn’t breathing. Hernandez was transported to LBJ Hospital. He died when he was taken of off life support three days later.

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Chauna Thompson has been removed from patrol duty

Thompson, for now, won’t be seen in uniform. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed she has been removed from patrol duty.

Thompson, who was off duty at the time her

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Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

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Hernandez’s death is ruled as a homicide

The medical examiner ruled the 24-year-old’s death as a homicide. The medical examiner makes it clear however that homicide is not synonymous with murder. Here, it means that someone’s death was caused by the actions of someone else.

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Hernandez’s death is ruled as a homicide

The medical examiner ruled the 24-year-old’s death as a homicide. The medical examiner makes it clear however that homicide is not synonymous with murder. Here, it means

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Photo: Yi-Chin Lee / Houston Chronicle, Yi-Chin Lee

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Hernandez’s family and community want justice

More than 100 protesters gathered outside of the Harris County court house in early June 2017, demanding justice for Hernandez.

Maria Toral, the mother of Hernandez’s 4-year-old daughter, said she wants Thompson sent to prison.

“This has all been a bad dream and I just want it to be over,” Toral told the Chronicle.

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Hernandez’s family and community want justice

More than 100 protesters gathered outside of the Harris County court house in early June 2017, demanding justice for Hernandez.

Maria Toral, the mother of Hernandez’s

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Photo: Yi-Chin Lee / Houston Chronicle, Yi-Chin Lee

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Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said there’s no favoritism in the case

Gonzalez has publicly emphasized that his office provided no special treatment to the deputy or her husband. He said his office has handed off its evidence to the district attorney’s office and enlisted guidance from the Texas Rangers and the Department of Justice in an effort to be transparent.

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Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said there’s no favoritism in the case

Gonzalez has publicly emphasized that his office provided no special treatment to the deputy or her husband. He said his office has handed

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Photo: Elizabeth Conley, Associated Press

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A grad jury will decide whether Thompson was acting in self-defense

Thompson’s attorney Scot Courtney contends Hernandez was the aggressor and hit is client first. Courtney claims the recording of Thompson is “absolutely not the full footage.”

It’s unclear who initiated the fight, but the attorneys and the sheriff’s office said Thompson was offended by Hernandez’s actions.

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A grad jury will decide whether Thompson was acting in self-defense

Thompson’s attorney Scot Courtney contends Hernandez was the aggressor and hit is client first. Courtney claims the recording of Thompson is

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Photo: Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle

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A former Harris County sheriff’s deputy and her husband, both charged with murder after being accused of choking a Crosby man outside a Denny’s restaurant, will have to take drug tests and cannot have access to firearms, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Chauna Thompson, 45, and her husband, Terry Thompson, 41, appeared before state District Judge Kelli Johnson who set conditions on their bail. Both turned themselves in Thursday night, just hours after being indicted and both made bail of $100,000. They could face up to life in prison if convicted.

Community activists who helped organize a protest march across downtown Houston last week also attended the arraignment, packing the 60 seat courtroom, along with defendants in other cases.

“We would like the court process to be transparent so that we can find Justice for John Hernandez and his family,” said Cesar Espinoza, executive director of FIEL Houston, Inc. an organization that advocates for justice for immigrant families.

The organizers and relatives of Hernandez have said they hope both suspects are sentenced to life in prison.

Both are accused of the first–degree felony of intentionally causing the death of John Hernandez, with Terry Thompson accused of choking him to death as he held him pinned to the ground. Chauna Thompson was charged as an accomplice.

The indictments Thursday came a day after more than 150 protesters marched across downtown Houston proclaiming “Justice for John Hernandez” and “Brown Lives Matter.”

The march was the culmination of a week of unrest after cell phone video of the incident was released.
Terry Thompson’s attorney, Scot Courtney, said prosecutors rushed the case without giving the grand jury time to consider all the evidence. He has maintained that Terry did not intentionally kill Hernandez and said Hernandez took the first swing after the two men argued.

Later Tuesday, Randall Kallinen, a civil rights attorney representing the family, is expected to hold a press conference to announce the Hernandez family is suing the Thompsons in a wrongful death lawsuit.