HOUSTON (AP) – A Texas sheriff’s deputy and her husband were indicted Thursday on murder charges in the death of a man they restrained during a late night confrontation outside of a Houston-area restaurant.
A Harris County grand jury in Houston returned the indictment against Harris County deputy Shauna Thompson and her husband, Terry Thompson, in the death of 24-year-old John Hernandez.
The Thompsons will be allowed to turn themselves in, District Attorney Kim Ogg said. They declined to testify before the grand jury, she said, but more than a dozen witnesses did appear and the jurors viewed video of the incident that bystanders recorded.
Hernandez died three days after the May 28 confrontation that he had with the Thompsons outside the Denny’s restaurant in Sheldon, 17 miles (27.36 kilometers) northeast of Houston.
Ogg said Shauna Thompson was indicted on a murder charge because Texas law holds a person equally criminally responsible if he or she aids or otherwise participates in the act.