Posted: 5/20/2008 1:32:25 PM EDT
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Jury Finds Tesler Guilty Of 1 Charge, Not Guilty On 2 POSTED: 9:33 am EDT May 16, 2008 UPDATED: 5:25 pm EDT May 20, 2008 [NEWSVINE: Jury Finds Tesler Guilty Of 1 Charge, Not Guilty On 2] [DELICIOUS: Jury Finds Tesler Guilty Of 1 Charge, Not Guilty On 2] [DIGG: Jury Finds Tesler Guilty Of 1 Charge, Not Guilty On 2] [FACEBOOK: Jury Finds Tesler Guilty Of 1 Charge, Not Guilty On 2] [REDDIT: Jury Finds Tesler Guilty Of 1 Charge, Not Guilty On 2] [RSS] [PRINT: Jury Finds Tesler Guilty Of 1 Charge, Not Guilty On 2] [EMAIL: Jury Finds Tesler Guilty Of 1 Charge, Not Guilty On 2] ATLANTA -- A jury has found Atlanta police officer Arthur Tesler guilty of lying to investigators for his role in the cover-up following a botched drug raid in which a 92-year-old woman was shot to death. The panel found him not guilty of violating his oath as an officer and false imprisonment. The jury deliberated for four days. Tesler broke down and cried when the verdicts were announced. On leave from the police force, he faces up to five years in prison. Kathryn Johnston was shot 39 times as plainclothes narcotics officers broke into her house using a "no-knock" warrant in 2006. Johnston fired one shot from a pistol as police were breaking down her door, but she did not hit any of the officers. Tesler was in the backyard of Johnston's home during the raid. Tesler claimed he was manipulated into lying to cover the mistakes of his senior officers. During nearly eight hours of testimony, he said he was instructed by two other officers after the shooting to memorize a cover-up story that they had witnessed an informant buying drugs at Johnston's home. Tesler also told the jury in Fulton County Superior Court that he didn't know officer Jason R. Smith had lied to a judge to get the warrant and then planted drugs in Johnston's basement to back up the story. In his often tearful testimony, Tesler said he eventually decided to cooperate with federal investigators because he "couldn't take it anymore." "A woman was dead and they were trying to implicate me in their story," Tesler said. "I didn't lay a hand on this woman. I wanted nothing to do with it." Prosecutors say Tesler had opportunities to tell the truth but decided to do so only when federal agents told him they knew he was lying. Fulton County prosecutor Kellie Hill told a jury in closing arguments Thursday that Tesler only admitted his role in the shooting death of Johnston after he was confronted by federal agents investigating the case. Hill said even though Tesler never fired a shot, he shared responsibility for Johnston's death because he went along with a lie. The Rev. Al Sharpton, who was sitting in the courtroom during the morning, called Tesler's testimony "chilling" and the shooting "a complete disregard for the criminal justice system." The trial is likely to be the only one in the Johnston shooting because former officers Gregg Junnier and Smith have already pleaded guilty to state manslaughter and federal civil rights charges. Junnier testified against Tesler last week. The jury began deliberating Thursday afternoon. The fatal shooting led to sharp criticism of the police department, and a shake-up of the narcotics unit, which Tesler's attorney, William McKenney, has said routinely planted drugs and lied to obtain search warrants. It also prompted a review of how officers obtain and use no-knock warrants, which are intended to keep drug suspects from having time to destroy evidence. www.wsbtv.com/news/16291354/detail.html |
