CHICAGO, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- A 50-year-old woman was convicted Wednesday of killing a Chicago police officer with his own weapon after a fight with another bus passenger.
Robin Johnson could receive a life sentence for the first-degree murder of Richard Francis, a 27-year veteran of the Chicago Police, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. She was also convicted of shooting at another police officer and acquitted of other charges, including attempted murder.
Kulmeet Galhotra, the public defender who represented Johnson, said the verdict will be appealed.
Francis, 60, responded to the report of an early morning fight on a bus on July 2, 2008, without waiting for backup. Prosecutors played a recording of his response to a call from a 911 dispatcher Wednesday, where he could be heard chuckling.
"Bus disturbance, just screaming people," he said.
Francis found an angry Johnson outside the bus. Galhotra argued in his summation that the police officer's gun might have discharged accidentally while he and Johnson scuffled.
But Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Cherise Valente pointed to witness testimony that Johnson appeared to know what she was doing when she grabbed Francis's gun and shot him in the face. Witnesses said she fired two more shots after she fell.
Galhotra was not allowed to present testimony that Johnson had a history of epileptic seizures.
