Fired Galveston County deputy pleads to negligent homicide in inmate's death
By B. Scott McLendon
GALVESTON -- A former Galveston County Sheriff’s Office deputy initially charged with manslaughter in the death of an inmate in the Galveston County jail pleaded guilty Friday to a less severe criminally negligent homicide charge.
Jonathan Wuneburger, 45, of Galveston, agreed to seven years of probation for his part in the 2020 death of Galveston County inmate Efrain Ledezma Perales, whom Wuneburger pushed to the ground and recklessly caused the victim to hit his head, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Representatives of the League of United Latin American Citizens said they were appalled by Perales’ death in December 2020 and the subsequent plea deal on Friday.
Perales was in jail after breaking into a stranger’s home, where he was found hiding under a child’s bed dressed entirely in black, according to the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office. While at the jail, Perales attempted to leave his cell without permission, according to the District Attorney’s office.
That’s when Wuneburger pushed Perales back into the cell, causing him to trip and injure his head on the floor, according to the District Attorney’s office. Perales died 11 days later at a local hospital. A grand jury initially charged Wuneburger with manslaughter. But Wuneburger on Friday agreed to a plea deal for a lesser crime with a lesser punishment.
Domingo Garcia, LULAC’s national president, condemned the plea deal prosecutors offered Wuneburger, arguing the punishment would be more severe if the victim wasn’t a person of color, Garcia said.
“The legal slap on the wrist sends a dangerous message that it is OK to abuse and even kill a Latino in police custody without fear of any repercussions,” Garcia said.
But race never was a factor in any aspect of the case, Kevin Petroff, first assistant district attorney, said.
“That’s complete nonsense,” Petroff said.
Prosecutors often present multiple escalating charges for a defendant, Petroff said. In Wuneburger’s case, prosecutors believed his actions rose to the level of criminally negligent homicide, rather than reckless manslaughter, Petroff said. The latter would have required a conscious decision to disregard Perales’ safety, which prosecutors didn’t see when reviewing the case, Petroff said.
With a felony on his record, Wuneburger won’t be able to hold a Texas peace officer’s license, Petroff said.
Sheriff Henry Trochesset said he suspended Wuneburger immediately once the investigation began and fired him once a grand jury indicted him.
“This is a slap in the face to the Ledezma-Perales Family and the citizens of Galveston County to think a person of authority can receive a plea deal, and shame on the District Attorney’s Office for even offering a deal,” said Robert Quintero, president of Galveston LULAC Council 151.
1 comment:
All you need is 8 years to be vested and pull a pension from Texas County and District Retirement System in Galveston County. The alternative account should have about $70,000 in it on a deputy salary for 10 years of service instead of Social Security. If you do 30 years it should have about 1/4 of a million cash. They also give vested employees $50,000 of life insurance with no expiration. I would expect the deputy may be pulling in benefits while on probation. Including health insurance.
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