25-Year-Old Expected to Plead Guilty in Officer Murder Case

25-Year-Old Faces Life Sentence in Terrell Officer Murder Case

A 25-year-old Texas man accused of killing Terrell police officer Jacob Candanoza during a 2024 traffic stop.

Night Police Sirens — Source: General / Radio One

A 25-year-old Texas man by the name of Darrian Cortez Johnson has been charged with killing a Terrell police officer and is expected to enter a guilty plea in court on Wednesday. Court documents say Johnson accepted a plea deal ahead of his capital murder trial for the death of Terrell Office Jacob Candanoza, and spent life in prison without the possibility of parole. There will be no cameras allowed in this courtroom.

Officer Candanoza died on December 8th, 2024, after he pulled over a pickup truck that had an expired Mississippi license plate in a Super 8 motel parking lot off Highway 34 in Terrell, Texas. Johnson’s mother told news officials that he som was only trying to relocate. Johnson’s criminal history only includes minor traffic violations and no violent offenses.

Police say Johnson shot Officer Candanoza several times at close range in the head and in the face.

Candanoza was able to give the other officer Johnson’s license plate before he died at the hospital, where they were able to track him down a few hours later.

Candanoza was about to turn 29 years old. He served as a United States Marine veteran, then went on to become a Dallas sheriff’s deputy, where he began his law enforcement career. He then became an officer with the Terrell police department. He was also a loving husband and a father to a young daughter. The city of Terrell, Texas, has ensured that his legacy will live on by renaming a portion of Highway 34 in his honor.