Agent indicted in S.J. death to hear charge in case Monday

Agent indicted in S.J. death to hear charge in case Monday

By Crystal Carreon

Mercury News

State narcotics agent Michael Walker, accused of fatally shooting a San Jose man in a botched pursuit earlier this year, will appear in a Santa Clara County courtroom Monday afternoon to hear the criminal charge against him.

Walker, 33, who a criminal grand jury indicted Wednesday for the Feb. 17 shooting death of Rodolfo ``Rudy'' Cardenas, is scheduled to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. in Department 24 at the Hall of Justice in San Jose, court officials said. The contents of the indictment will remain sealed until his arraignment, but a source close to the case said Walker was charged with voluntary manslaughter.

The former Watsonville police officer-turned state drug agent remained free on his own recognizance Thursday and on paid administrative leave from his $70,000-a-year-job with the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, while reaction to the unprecedented indictment of a state agent continued to mount.

San Jose Police Officers' Association President Don DeMers has long been critical of holding an open grand jury into officer-involved shootings, describing it as an ``unnecessary'' exercise muddied by politics and the media.

``To drag the officer right out in the public doesn't serve anyone except a political interest, primary the DA,'' said DeMers, who accuses the district attorney's office of grandstanding in the Cardenas case -- an allegation he plans to discuss with District Attorney George Kennedy in September.

Felicita Vu Ngo, an attorney representing the family of Bich Cau Thi Tran, the woman fatally shot by San Jose police last year, affirmed the value of holding an open public grand jury into officer-involved shootings. Though the officer was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in the Tran case, Ngo said the open hearing can increase the public's trust in the process.

``It is important, especially when there is an issue of mistrust, a feeling that the law enforcement community will protect their own,'' she said. ``It's not a perfect process. . . . But in this case, it showed that there was justice.''

The grand jury panel, which usually deliberates in secret, indicted Walker on Wednesday before a courtroom packed with the victim's relatives, supporters and the media. The panel, which only hears from the district attorney's office, does not determine guilt or innocence, only if there is enough evidence to place someone on trial.

Cardenas, 43, was mistaken for a fugitive parolee and gunned down on Feb. 17 during a botched pursuit in downtown San Jose.

Walker testified that he believed Cardenas was armed with a gun and acted in self-defense when he pulled the trigger near a retirement home. Cardenas was shot in the back; no gun was found.

If convicted on the charge, Walker could face up to 11 years in prison. He is the first state Department of Justice agent to be indicted for killing someone in the line of duty.
Contact Crystal Carreon at ccarreon [at] mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5460.