A dispute between Tucson Police and Pima County Attorney Laura Conover is continuing. It’s based on a short sentence a man received for bringing a gun to a school.
There has been some controversy about how a man who brought a gun to a school full of kids ended up with just 18 months in prison and ten years of probation. Now County Attorney Laura Conover is defending the plea deal her office approved in the case.
Daniel Holloway brought a gun to the legacy Traditional School on Golf Links. A police officer doing off duty security disarmed and arrested him.
Police Body Camera video of the interrogation shows a man with some apparent mental health issues.
A police officer asks: “Daniel would you agree with me it’s not normal for someone to show up at a school with a gun?
Holloway: “Oh yeah, but it’s also not normal to have invisible women who looks exactly like you who is invisible but only visible to you…you’re so similar, like, ……”
Laura Conover says police told her there were some questions about whether or not Hollander had waived his Miranda rights to have a lawyer for all of the questioning. That can compromise that ability to get a conviction.
Tucson Police say they were not told of any Miranda rights issues. Conover says TPD detectives were who raised the issue to her.
Arizona School Superintendent Tom Horne made a point of saying he arranged the funding that helped the school hire the officer who took Hollander’s gun and arrested him.
Horne came down from Phoenix to criticise the plea deal of 18 months plus ten years probation.
Conover says, “And for days, he metaphorically punched me in the face; for days on the media and and I took it, that's the record, didn't respond, didn't correct, didn't clarify, and I took it because TPD is our number one partner and sends us the number one amount of cases, the highest amount of cases. And keeping that working relationship is important.”
TPD Chief Chad Kazmar criticised the plea deal and sentence as far too light.
County Attorney Laura Conover says the plea yielded a solid sentence for Holloway given the circumstances, and is pleased by the fact that he will have close supervision and mental health treatment.
