SAN DIEGO, Calif. — After almost 40 years in law enforcement, 200 murder cases, nine of which put people on death row, and one infamous gun that killed Selena, Capt. Paul Rivera testified Thursday in his last murder trial.
District Judge Nanette Hasette, the jurors and courtroom spectators sent him off with unexpected applause as he stepped from the witness stand.
"I've never had that before," said Rivera, 67.
A first in the detective's career that started in 1971 but will end today with a retirement party at the Nueces County Courthouse.
Those who have worked with him say his retirement is almost like the passing of an era. His career started in the Corpus Christi Police Department, and he has spent the past 12 years with the county.
"His attention to detail is unsurpassed," said Corpus Christi Police Cmdr. David Torres, who has known and worked with Rivera since the 1980s. "You are not going to find anybody more dedicated to his job."
Rivera has a knack for putting people at ease, co-workers said.
A natural-born detective, Corpus Christi Police Capt. Tim Wilson called him, and the guy in the office who could persuade a confession better than anyone else.
"Some people have to work really hard to get that good," Torres said. "Some, like Rivera, just have what it takes."
Rivera recalled the Jermarr Arnold case when he had to go to California to talk to Arnold who was suspected of killing a jewelry store clerk in 1983 in Corpus Christi.
"We brought back a beautiful confession," he said.
Rivera said the district attorney "to be on the safe side," sent him back again with someone else to witness Arnold's confession in person.
"The man not only confessed again, he threw in two bank robberies and an attempted murder in San Diego," Rivera said.
Rivera is well known for helping dismantle the gun used to kill Selena in 1995. He and other officers broke it into several pieces and tossed them into Corpus Christi Bay in 2002 after her father, Abraham Quintanilla, said he didn't want to see the gun again.
Being a good detective is important to Rivera, who said he will leave very few unsolved cases behind.
His method?
"Get on it quick and don't stop, don't go home," he said.
On one case, Rivera worked so many hours he fell asleep while taking a confession.
He recalled arriving for work at 8 a.m. and then working for almost two days without any sleep.
"I remember a woman touching me in an interview room," Rivera said. "She said, 'Um, sir. Wake up. Sir, I think you fell asleep.'"
When Rivera goes home today, he will leave more than 1,000 hours of sick leave and some vacation time behind.
He said he is a little nervous about leaving his job and is having a hard time with the change.
"I'm not a workaholic, I just love to work," he said.
As for his Monday morning plans?
"I don't know," he said. "I'll find out then."