Andre Jackson's interrogation video with HPD about Josue Flores case released
HOUSTON - Attorneys for Andre Jackson, the man convicted of murdering Josue Flores, 11, as he walked home from school, have now filed an appeal on behalf of the convicted killer.
PREVIOUS: Andre Jackson sentenced to life in prison for Josue Flores murder
One thing the court of appeals will likely consider is should Andre Jackson’s police interrogation video have been shown to the jury? It’s something the defense objected to, but FOX 26 obtained a copy.
This interrogation video is from June 3, 2016, and shows a Houston Police Department sergeant questioning Andre Jackson two weeks after 11-year-old Josue Flores was murdered.
"I want to know the truth Andre are you a monster?" The HPD sergeant asks and Jackson answers, "no. Are you kidding me?"
"I have nothing to do with this murder," Jackson continues, and the detective replies, "good let’s clear this up."
The sergeant shows Jackson surveillance pictures of him walking and running away from the murder and says, "first thing my question is, is this a photograph of you?" Jackson answers "No." "It’s not? Do you have a jacket like that?" Sgt. Ruland counters and Jackson answers, "yes, but I don’t know if those are the letters on my jacket."
RELATED: Jacket worn by suspected killer in Josue Flores murder submitted as key piece of evidence
Jackson finally admits it is him in the photos. The same jacket the man running from the murder is wearing was found in Jackson’s room at the Salvation Army where he was living.
"If you saw something and perhaps made you run, I don’t know, tell me," Ruland tells Jackson during the police interview, and he asks again several minutes later, "why did you run? Why were you there? What did you see?"
And then Jackson answers, "there’s nobody else that you guys have on camera?"
Sgt. Ruland tries again a few minutes later, "why were you running?"
Then Jackson asks. "Why was I running?"
RELATED: Andre Jackson guilty in murder of 11-year-old Josue Flores
After going around and around a few more times Ruland says, "why won’t you just tell us the story of what you saw happen? I don’t understand that part."
Jackson repeatedly asks things like "Do you have video of me killing him? That’s all I need to hear…you have a photo of us together? You have witnesses that say it’s me right?"
Jackson finally answers, "would you run if you seen somebody getting stabbed?" And the detective says, "well I’ve already asked you 10 times," but Jackson never tells what he saw or gives details about why he was running.
One video shows Jackson two minutes after the murder, looking at his hands and putting on his green jacket.
"This is the infamous jacket with the lettering on it," Rhonda Spinks, the county’s Senior Criminal Exhibit Clerk, says as she takes the jacket out of the evidence box.
She's responsible for keeping things like the video showing Josue leaving school that day and the last picture he ever took.
"I don’t normally let cases affect me, but this was a really, really sad case," Spinks says.
That's when she revealed a photograph taken less than 15 minutes before the 11-year-old was killed. The photo is of Josue with his Science Club.
"This is the photograph right here," she said. "There’s a clock here on the wall."
In one video of Josue, just seconds before he was stabbed more than 20 times his jacket is around his waist, and he's wearing his backpack. Both are now evidence in the records room.
MORE: Surveillance video shows final moments of 11-year-old's life
"He was an innocent little boy walking home from school. There is no reason this should have happened. It tugs at your heartstrings," Spinks says. "There's surveillance video where Josue walks around a puddle on the sidewalk. A typical 11-year-old little boy would come across a puddle and jump in the puddle, and he walked around the puddle, and he was a good child…he was very aware of his surroundings if you noticed. He was looking all around when he was walking."
Sister of 11-year-old Josue Flores asks for 'positive energy'
The oldest sister of 11-year-old Josue Flores is asking for positive energy from the community, speaking on Day 4 of his accused killer Andre Jackson’s trial. She said negativity, protests, and anger aren't what her little brother would have wanted, regardless of the trial's outcome.
Despite his conviction for without warning or provocation killing little Josue, Jackson has appealed the guilty verdict.
"The appellate court doesn’t retry the case. They’re just going to really grade the papers of the sitting judge, the evidence that came in, whether it was admissible or not," says Houston Defense Attorney Casey Garrett and FOX 26 Legal Analyst, who is not working on the Jackson case. "Whether or not the judge made any mistakes…there certainly is something a little bit unusual because his case was dismissed then refiled and that always makes things a little unusual and a bit sticky."
MORE COVERAGE ON JOSUE FLORES' MURDER
Josue Flores was less than two blocks from home when he was murdered around 4:40 p.m. on Wednesday, May 17, 2016. He would have graduated from high school in 2022.