Man to be sentenced for the capital murder of Texas police officer

Hinzugefügt: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]Well, time is now 6:16. Let's check back in with the desk now and get over to Assignment Editor Denika Hill in our newsroom.

[00:00:06]>> So, Dena, I know you're monitoring those traffic situations for us, but you're also following some other news this morning.

[00:00:12]>> That's right. We do know that this morning a North Texas judge is expected to decide the fate of a man who admitted to killing a ter police officer back in 2024. So, here's the details that we do know this morning. This man that you see on your screen is Darren Cortez Johnson.

[00:00:28]He is expected in court this morning for a sentencing hearing after entering an open plea to capital murder and the death of this man, 28-year-old officer Jacob Candinosa. An open plea is just a form of a guilty plea. It just means that there was no plea deal.

[00:00:44]Investigators say the shooting happened back in December of 2024 when Candosa stopped a pickup truck for an expired registration in a motel parking lot in Terrell. Now, police say during that encounter, he was shot multiple times at close range. Authorities then launched a multi- agency manhunt after the shooting, tracking Johnson down across North Texas before he was eventually arrested and then later indicted by a grand jury on capital murder charges.

[00:01:12]Now, because Johnson has entered an open plea, there was no sentencing agreement with prosecutors. Instead, he admitted guilt, and that does leave that punishment up to the judge. So Johnson could face a sentence up to life without the possibility of parole. There also is that option of the del penalty there on the table, but however, we have not seen any indications that that's what the prosecution is seeking in this case.

[00:01:37]That hearing is set for 9:00 this morning. We'll bring you those details as soon as we get them here from the desk. Denica, thank you so