Site icon The Truth About Guns

Texas Governor Begins Pardon Process for Army Sergeant Convicted of Murder in BLM Protest Shooting

Previous Post
Next Post
Austin police investigate the shooting of Garrett Foster that occurred at a demonstration against police violence in downtown Austin, Texas, July 25, 2020.  (Stephen Spillman/Austin American-Statesman via AP, File)

Army Sgt. Daniel Perry was driving for Uber in downtown Austin, Texas on Saturday, July 25th, 2020. That night, a black lives matter protest marched down Congress Avenue. As Perry’s car attempted to turn onto Congress from Fourth Street, the car was surrounded by marchers. One of those protesters was Garrett Foster who was carrying a slung AK-47 rifle.

As the crowd surrounded Perry’s car, Foster raised his rifle. That’s when Perry shot and killed him.

The shooting was investigated by Austin Police and the Travis County District Attorney at the time and ruled an act of self-defense. In November of 2020, however, Jose Garza, a Soros-backed “progressive” prosecutor was elected as Travis County DA. He reopened the investigation and convened a grand jury.

An Austin police detective who investigated the shooting accused the Travis County DA of forcing him to alter his testimony to the grand jury, removing possibly exculpatory information, in order to obtain an indictment.

In a sworn affidavit, Detective David Fugitt wrote, “I firmly believe the District Attorney’s Office, acting under the authority of José P. Garza, tampered with me as a witness.” However, a district judge reviewing these claims said he didn’t see any behavior in this case rising to the level of criminal conduct by the D.A. …

In the sworn affidavit, Fugitt claims he had “several conversations” with the District Attorney’s Office regarding evidence that could have been favorable to Perry but “it became clear to me that the District Attorney’s Office did not want to present” this evidence. Fugitt said he was ordered to remove more than 100 slides from his presentation and felt like he “did not have any other options but to comply with their orders.”

U.S. Army Sgt. Daniel Perry. Perry was convicted of murder for fatally shooting an armed protester in July of 2020. (Austin Police Department via AP, File)

Perry was indicted and charged with with murder, aggravated assault in July of 2021. On Friday, Perry was found guilty of murder and not guilty of the aggravated assault charge.

The prosecution based its case not only on what happened that night on Congress Avenue, but also what Perry had written on social media.

Supporters of Perry immediately began calling on Texas Governor Greg Abbott to pardon Perry. Last night, Abbott announced that he’s begun that process which requires action by the Texas Bureau of Pardons and Paroles.

A sentencing hearing for Perry is scheduled for Tuesday.

 

Previous Post
Next Post
Exit mobile version