Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: John Paul Perry Sentenced to 40 Years for 2016 TX Murder of Officer David Ortiz

  1. #1
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875

    John Paul Perry Sentenced to 40 Years for 2016 TX Murder of Officer David Ortiz




    John Paul Perry


    Driver faces murder charge in officer's death

    By Daniel Borunda and Luis Carlos Lopez
    The El Paso Times

    A driver is facing a capital murder charge after police said he intentionally hit and killed an El Paso motorcycle officer in a crash earlier this month.

    The car's driver, John Paul Perry, a 45-year-old convict allegedly linked to the Barrio Azteca prison gang, was arrested Wednesday near Abilene in connection with the death of Officer David Ortiz.

    Jail records show that Perry was booked into the El Paso County Jail on Thursday evening on charges of capital murder and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

    On March 10
    , Ortiz was on his police motorcycle stopped at a red light when he was struck from behind by a Kia Optima driven by Perry at Lee Treviño and Vista Del Sol drives. Ortiz died from his injuries at a hospital March 14.

    Perry was arrested Thursday in Merkel, a small town along Interstate 20 just west of Abilene, authorities said.

    El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said at a news conference that an investigation found that Perry "deliberately and maliciously killed the officer."

    When a reporter referred to Perry as a "gentleman," Allen responded, "He's not a gentleman; let's get that fact straightened out right now. People who kill other people are not gentlemen."

    The crash was initially believed to be an accident, but El Paso police officials said that an investigation involving the Texas Department of Public Safety and police in Abilene and Merkel determined that the crash was allegedly intentional.

    An El Paso police news release stated that "it has been learned that Perry observed the officer and made a decision to drive his vehicle into the police motorcycle which ultimately led to the officer's death."

    The case was initially being handled as an accident by the police Special Traffic Investigations Unit until police learned that that the crash was allegedly deliberate and homicide detectives with the Crimes Against Persons Unit joined the investigation.

    Because the investigation continues, police officials would not disclose what information led investigators to suspect the crash was done on purpose nor offer a possible motive.

    Perry was also injured in the crash. After being released from a hospital, Perry was arrested March 12 on traffic warrants unrelated to the fatal crash, according to El Paso County Jail records. He was released from jail a day later with time served.

    On Wednesday, El Paso police detectives traveled to Merkel and took part in the arrest of Perry, who possibly has family in the area.

    Perry was booked into the Taylor County Jail. A jail log shows that by Thursday afternoon Perry had been released to another agency.

    Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Cmdr. Carey Matthews said at the El Paso news conference that the DPS assisted with aircraft and "transportation, coordination and surveillance" in the investigation. Perry was flown back to El Paso on a DPS aircraft Thursday.

    The El Paso District Attorney's Office said that the case is a potential death penalty case because it involves the death of a law enforcement officer. Capital murder is punishable by execution or life in prison.

    El Paso County court records show that Perry has a criminal history, including convictions for aggravated assault against a public servant, robbery, assault and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in a gang beating in 2013.

    In the 2013 beating, court documents allege Perry was a member of the Barrio Azteca, a notorious cross-border prison gang allied with the Juárez drug cartel.

    Richard Rene "Cricket" Espino, who was arrested with Perry in a gang beating in 2013, was among 17 gang members and associates sentenced last month in a federal racketeering case targeting the Barrio Azteca.

    Because the investigation continues, authorities would not comment on whether the crash that killed Officer Ortiz is believed to be linked to gang activity. It was not disclosed whether Ortiz was specifically targeted.

    http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/new...eath/82214880/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  2. #2
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Sister of man charged with killing officer says he didn't do it on purpose

    That's what the sister of the man accused of intentionally hitting and killing El Paso motorcycle officer David Ortiz tells ABC-7.

    Forty-five year-old John Paul Perry is charged with capital murder and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He remains in separation at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown El Paso.

    Perry's sister, Glenda Gallegos, spoke only to ABC-7. Gallegos did not want her face on camera, but Perry's younger sister told ABC-7, he told her, it was an accident.

    "They're making him look like a monster and he's not a monster," Gallegos said, pointing out her brother doesn't understand why police are now saying he struck and killed Ortiz intentionally while driving a Kia Optima on March 10, leading to capital murder charges against him. "He's a human being and he made a mistake."

    Gallegos said Perry told her he fell asleep at the wheel, causing the mid-afternoon crash.

    "He said he dozed off, that he was sorry," she said. "And he said, 'Mija, I'm sorry. I fell asleep. I dozed off."

    Gallegos said her brother was in the Barrio Azteca gang at one point, but no longer is. She also claimed he wasn"t running from police when he was captured in Merkel, Texas, last week.

    "He wasn't running from nobody," Gallegos said. "He knew he did wrong, but it was an accident. He didn't do it on purpose."

    She also said Perry did not take the Kia Optima, owned by another sister, without permission.

    "It was loaned to him," she said. "The reason my sister said it was stolen was because the detectives scared her."

    She said her brother has shown remorse for officer Ortiz's death, saying it should have been him and not ortiz who died.

    "I'm sorry for the family of Officer Ortiz," Gallegos said through tears. "My heart goes out to them, but he's not a monster, it was an accident and he has to pay for it being an accident. He knows that."

    Asked if she had anything else to say to Ortiz's family, she replied crying: "I'm really sorry. He looked like a good man and my brother didn't know him. They are saying my brother knew him, but my brother didn't know him.

    Gallegos told ABC-7 why she believes police think her brother killed Officer Ortiz intentionally. Police indicated information from the Merkel and Abilene police departments led them to that conclusion. She says that information is coming from another family member who allegedly told police Perry confessed to him that he did it on purpose.

    El Paso Police had no comment on Gallego's comments.

    http://www.kvia.com/news/sister-of-m...rpose/38736438
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  3. #3
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Man facing Capital Murder charge for death of EPPD officer pleads 'not guilty'

    The man accused of intentionally crashing into police officer David Ortiz pleaded 'not guilty' in court Tuesday morning.

    45-year-old John Paul Perry is charged with Capital Murder and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, the same vehicle he allegedly drove into Officer Ortiz's motorcycle in East El Paso, killing him.

    ABC-7 learned Tuesday Joe Spencer is Perry's new court-appointed defense attorney.

    "We just got appointed late last week. I visited with Mr. Perry and I'm very confident after visiting with him, that Mr. Perry did not intentionally mean to cause any harm to anyone," Spencer said.

    Spencer said the district attorney's office has to make a decision on whether it intends to seek the death penalty. "We're going to wait for that decision. I think the judge gave them a pretty short deadline and hopefully by next week we're going to know what that decision is and we'll be able to proceed with this case.

    ABC-7 has confirmed with Sheriff's officials that Perry, believed to be a member of the Barrio Azteca gang, is being held at the Downtown jail in "separation," meaning he is being kept away from the general population.

    Police charged Perry with Capital Murder, claiming he intentionally ran over Officer Ortiz.

    Perry was also charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. That vehicle is the 2006 Kia Optima that Perry allegedly drove into Ortiz's motorcycle at an East Side stop light on March 10.

    ABC-7 spoke with the owners of the Kia Optima listed on the incident police report, but they said they sold the car more than two years ago and it was apparently never re-registered by the new owner. They could not recall who they sold the vehicle to.

    http://www.kvia.com/news/man-facing-...uilty/40050232
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  4. #4
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Pennsylvania
    Posts
    4,795
    Man gets 40 years in death of West Texas motorcycle officer

    EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A driver must serve 40 years in prison for the 2016 death of a West Texas police officer who was struck while on his stopped motorcycle.

    John Paul Perry was charged with capital murder but on Tuesday pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in a plea deal in El Paso. Prosecutors were not seeking the death penalty against the 45-year-old Perry, who was sentenced by a judge.

    Investigators say Perry last March 10 drove a car that hit El Paso police Officer David Ortiz on his cycle at an intersection. Both vehicles burst into flames. Ortiz died four days later.

    Authorities arrested Perry about 400 miles away, in Merkel.

    Perry's lawyer says the crash was accidental and his client had a prescription drug and heroin in his system.

    http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/texa...s-10848120.php
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •