HOUSTON, Texas — Harris County prosecutors will seek the death penalty for a man convicted a generation ago of murdering Houston Police Sgt. Bruno Soboleski.
The announcement comes following a federal court ruling that Shelton Denoria Jones, who shot the officer, receive a retrial for punishment only.
The options are a sentence of life with the possibility of parole or the death penalty. Under the laws that existed in 1991, if the defendant receives a life sentence, he would be eligible for parole.
“We put police officers in harm’s way to protect us from violence, and it is our duty to forever protect society from this killer,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. “Sgt. Soboleski’s family was forever changed by this horrific attack, and no matter how long it takes, Jones deserves the ultimate punishment.”
Jones shot Soboleski to death in April 1991, while the officer was on duty and accompanied by a grand jury foreperson, who was on a ride along and was uninjured.
The federal court ruled that a new sentencing hearing was appropriate due to a jury charge error.
