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Photo: Cody Duty / Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Image 2 of 15 Alisha Will, left, sits with her mom, Cyndee Graham, right, during the sentencing of Johoan Rodriguez for the death of her late husband Houston Police Officer Kevin Will in the 183rd state District Court Friday, June 8, 2012, in Houston. less Alisha Will, left, sits with her mom, Cyndee Graham, right, during the sentencing of Johoan Rodriguez for the death of her late husband Houston Police Officer Kevin Will in the 183rd state District Court ... more Photo: Cody Duty / Houston Chronicle Image 3 of 15 Alisha Will, left, reacts as her mom, Cyndee Graham, right, reads her statement during victim impact after the sentencing of Johoan Rodriguez for the death of her late husband Houston Police Officer Kevin Will in the 183rd state District Court Friday, June 8, 2012, in Houston. The judge sentenced Rodriguez to 55 years after he had plead guilty to intoxication manslaughter in the June 2011 death of Officer Will. (Cody Duty / Houston Chronicle) less Alisha Will, left, reacts as her mom, Cyndee Graham, right, reads her statement during victim impact after the sentencing of Johoan Rodriguez for the death of her late husband Houston Police Officer Kevin Will ... more Photo: Houston Chronicle Image 4 of 15 Alisha Will, left, reacts as her mom, Cyndee Graham, right, reads her statement during victim impact after the sentencing of Johoan Rodriguez for the death of her late husband Houston Police Officer Kevin Will in the 183rd state District Court Friday, June 8, 2012, in Houston. The judge sentenced Rodriguez to 55 years after he had plead guilty to intoxication manslaughter in the June 2011 death of Officer Will. (Cody Duty / Houston Chronicle) less Alisha Will, left, reacts as her mom, Cyndee Graham, right, reads her statement during victim impact after the sentencing of Johoan Rodriguez for the death of her late husband Houston Police Officer Kevin Will ... more Photo: Houston Chronicle Image 5 of 15 Image 6 of 15 Johoan Rodriguez, center, reacts after he was sentenced 55 years for the death of Houston Police Officer Kevin Will in the 183rd state District Court of the Criminal Justice Center Friday, June 8, 2012, in Houston. Rodriguez received the sentence after he had plead guilty to intoxication manslaughter in the June 2011 death of Officer Will. (Cody Duty / Houston Chronicle) less Johoan Rodriguez, center, reacts after he was sentenced 55 years for the death of Houston Police Officer Kevin Will in the 183rd state District Court of the Criminal Justice Center Friday, June 8, 2012, in ... more Photo: Houston Chronicle Image 7 of 15 Attorney Rick Detoto, left, and Attorney Adam Brown, right, comfort Johoan Rodriguez, center, reacts after he was sentenced 55 years for the death of Houston Police Officer Kevin Will in the 183rd state District Court of the Criminal Justice Center Friday, June 8, 2012, in Houston. Rodriguez received the sentence after he had plead guilty to intoxication manslaughter in the June 2011 death of Officer Will. less Attorney Rick Detoto, left, and Attorney Adam Brown, right, comfort Johoan Rodriguez, center, reacts after he was sentenced 55 years for the death of Houston Police Officer Kevin Will in the 183rd state ... more Photo: Cody Duty / Houston Chronicle Image 8 of 15 Attorney Rick Detoto, left, and Attorney Adam Brown, right, comfort Johoan Rodriguez, center, reacts after he was sentenced 55 years for the death of Houston Police Officer Kevin Will in the 183rd state District Court Friday, June 8, 2012, in Houston. Rodriguez received the sentence after he had plead guilty to intoxication manslaughter in the June 2011 death of Officer Will. less Attorney Rick Detoto, left, and Attorney Adam Brown, right, comfort Johoan Rodriguez, center, reacts after he was sentenced 55 years for the death of Houston Police Officer Kevin Will in the 183rd state ... more Photo: Cody Duty / Houston Chronicle Image 9 of 15 Johoan Rodriguez, left, reacts as Attorney Rick Detoto, right, looks on after he was sentenced 55 years for the death of Houston Police Officer Kevin Will in the 183rd state District Court Friday, June 8, 2012, in Houston. Rodriguez received the sentence after he had plead guilty to intoxication manslaughter in the June 2011 death of Officer Will. less Johoan Rodriguez, left, reacts as Attorney Rick Detoto, right, looks on after he was sentenced 55 years for the death of Houston Police Officer Kevin Will in the 183rd state District Court Friday, June 8, ... more Photo: Cody Duty / Houston Chronicle Image 10 of 15 Image 11 of 15 Attorney Rick Detoto, right, looks on as Johoan Rodriguez, left, reacts after he was sentenced 55 years for the death of Houston Police Officer Kevin Will in the 183rd state District Court of the Criminal Justice Center Friday, June 8, 2012, in Houston. Rodriguez received the sentence after he had plead guilty to intoxication manslaughter in the June 2011 death of Officer Will. less Attorney Rick Detoto, right, looks on as Johoan Rodriguez, left, reacts after he was sentenced 55 years for the death of Houston Police Officer Kevin Will in the 183rd state District Court of the Criminal ... more Photo: Cody Duty / Houston Chronicle Image 12 of 15 Johoan Rodriguez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who has been deported twice, pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter of a peace officer for the May 29, 2011, crash that killed HPD officer Kevin Will. Johoan Rodriguez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who has been deported twice, pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter of a peace officer for the May 29, 2011, crash that killed HPD officer Kevin Will. Photo: Mayra Beltran / Houston Chronicle Image 13 of 15 Johoan Rodriguez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who has been deported twice, pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter of a peace officer for the May 29, 2011, crash that killed HPD officer Kevin Will. Johoan Rodriguez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who has been deported twice, pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter of a peace officer for the May 29, 2011, crash that killed HPD officer Kevin Will. Photo: Mayra Beltran / Houston Chronicle Image 14 of 15 Johoan Rodriguez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who has been deported twice, pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter of a peace officer for the May 29, 2011, crash that killed HPD officer Kevin Will. Johoan Rodriguez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who has been deported twice, pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter of a peace officer for the May 29, 2011, crash that killed HPD officer Kevin Will. Photo: Mayra Beltran / Houston Chronicle Image 15 of 15 Man gets 55 years in officer's DWI death 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

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By Brian Rogers

The wife of a Houston police officer had more than a year to think about what she might say to the man who caused her husband’s death in a drunken-driving wreck.

After Johoan Rodriguez was sentenced Friday to 55 years in prison for Kevin Will’s death, Alisha Will walked through a crowded courtroom to the witness stand to read the letter she wrote.

“Kevin was my one true love and an amazing father, and you took him from me,” she said before bursting into tears.

Her mother, who was standing next to her, took up the task of reading Alisha Will’s words.

“You have broken my family forever,” Cyndee Graham read as HPD officers wiped their eyes in the gallery. “A very selfish man is what you are.”

Will was killed as he worked a different crash scene on the North Loop around 3 a.m. May 29, 2011. Rodriguez, an illegal immigrant who had been deported twice, went through a police barricade and drove his 2002 Volkswagen Beetle about 90 mph for a mile on the cleared highway before hitting Will.

The 38-year-old officer’s last words were to warn a witness he was interviewing to get out of the way.

“He saved someone else’s life that night, at the very same second that you took his life,” Graham said.

Rodriguez listened to her words without making a sound, but minutes earlier, he had cried out and then collapsed in his chair in sobs at hearing the jury’s decision.

Could have gotten life

Rodriguez, 27, pleaded guilty Monday to intoxication manslaughter of a peace officer and asked that jurors decide the appropriate punishment. He will have to serve at least half of the sentence before being eligible for parole.

“Obviously Johoan is devastated,” said his attorney, Rick DeToto. “We’re disappointed in the verdict, but we had an idea that it would be in that area.”

His punishment could have ranged from probation to life in prison.

The case also was emotional for jurors, who listened to almost a week of evidence about Will, Rodriguez and the wreck.

Two of the jurors had tears in their eyes as they talked about the trial, which focused on drinking and driving.

“It has real impact and real consequences – not just to yourself, but in this case, an officer and his family, his child,” Brian Darby said as he began crying. “I … just had a son.”

Officer never saw son

Will had two stepchildren, and his wife was pregnant with the couple’s first child, a boy born after the wreck and named after his father.

Another juror said she now has nightmares about the wreck.

“The entire trial was so hard, because it was a 100 percent senseless death … the defendant went around barricades and wiped out a policeman,” said Pat Pinney. “To see the photos and the reconstructions of how that man was destroyed and to watch what that family went through has been one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life.”

The jury deliberated about four hours over two days.

Darby and Pinney also applauded the Houston Police Department for its professionalism despite a difficult situation.

“We spent a lot of time in the jury room discussing the fantastic job the policemen did when they lost one of their own,” Pinney said.

‘Sends a message’

Prosecutors said the sentence was just.

“Fifty-five years is essentially a life sentence in terms of how parole is computed,” Assistant Harris County District Attorney Catherine Evans said. “And it sends a message about how seriously the community protects its police officers and will stand behind them when the worst happens.”

brian.rogers@chron.com twitter.com/@brianjrogers

brian.rogers@chron.com