Daniel Perry Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison After Killing Armed Protester

U.S. Army Sgt. Daniel Perry in file images. (Courtesy of Broden & Mickelsen/Austin Police Department)

Daniel Perry has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after he was convicted of murder for fatally shooting an armed protester during a Black Lives Matter protest in Austin, Texas, in 2020.

Perry was convicted on April 7 on murder charges for killing Garrett Foster two-and-a-half years prior on July 25, 2020. Perry was working as a ride-share driver on the night of the shooting and had turned onto a street where Foster and dozens of other protesters were marching. After Foster approached Perry’s car carrying a rifle, the Army sergeant and part-time ride-share driver opened fire.

At trial, Perry’s legal team said he had acted in self-defense during the encounter. The defense attorneys argued that protesters had surrounded Perry’s car and Foster had begun to raise his rifle at the car when Perry opened fire.

Prosecution witnesses testified that they did not see Foster raise his weapon, and prosecutors argued that Perry could have simply continued driving instead of shooting Foster.

Perry’s legal team had requested a retrial, alleging jury misconduct in the original trial and claiming that they had been blocked from presenting evidence that would have supported Perry’s self-defense claims.

Travis County District Judge Clifford Brown, who presided over the original trial, rejected the appeal last week. CBS Austin reported that during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Brown said Perry had received a “fair and impartial trial” and that the jury’s decision “deserves to be respected.”

The defense team had sought a sentence of ten years or less, but Brown determined Perry’s case warranted a 25-year prison term.

Defense Team Preparing Appeal

One of Perry’s attorneys, Clinton Broden, said that while they had not received the sentencing decision they had hoped for, they will now continue to challenge the verdict through the appeal process.

“As part of the appeal we will be able to focus on the evidence that was kept from both the grand jury and trial jury including repeated instances in which Mr. Foster, along with his friends, harassed and terrified other motorists in an effort to take over the streets of Austin,” Broden said in an emailed statement to NTD.

Broden said the appeal will also touch on allegations by homicide detective David Fugiutt that the prosecutor in the case, Travis County District Attorney José Garza, had tampered with his grand jury witness testimony, as well as “evidence of admitted trial jury misconduct that certainty could have influenced the ultimate verdict.”

Among the defense evidence excluded from the trial were photos, videos, and testimony from three witnesses indicating that Foster had unlawfully tried to intimidate cars on public streets during previous protest incidents.

Another video that Perry’s attorneys sought to introduce during the trial showed Foster speaking during a street interview in which he was asked about his rifle and whether he thought he would need to use it. Foster said, “If I use it against the cops, I’m dead, and I think all the people that hate us and want to say [expletive] to us are too big of [expletive] to stop and actually do anything about it.”

Perry’s attorneys argued the evidence would show that Foster was the “aggressor” in his fatal encounter with Perry.

Though this defense evidence was excluded during the trial, the case also avoided social media posts Perry made indicating animus toward BLM protests.

“It is official I am a racist because I do not agree with people acting like animals at the zoo. I was on the side of the protestors until the started with the looting and the violence,” a May 31, 2020, post from Perry’s Facebook account reads.

“I might have to kill a few people on my way to work, they are rioting outside my apartment complex,” Perry also allegedly wrote to a friend in June 2020.

During the sentencing hearing, Perry’s attorney Douglas O’Connell argued that the texts and posts were presented by prosecutors out of context. O'Connell classified some of the comments as “frankly repugnant” and others as “dark humor,” according to PBS.

Broden said Foster had similar social media posts celebrating violent protests, the torching of police stations, and the blinding of police officers.

“More importantly, Sgt. Perry’s social media evidence does not change the fact that, on the night of July 25, 2020 while protestors were kicking, pounding, vandalizing, rocking and intentionally boxing in Sgt. Perry’s car, Garrett Foster ran up to the car brandishing an assault rifle and carrying a club, a knife and 120 rounds of ammunition,” Broden added.

Texas Governor Seeks Pardon

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has indicated he would pardon Perry.

“Texas has one of the strongest ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive District Attorney,” Abbott said in an April 8 press statement following the guilty verdict.

Unlike a presidential pardon for federal crimes, or pardons from governors in other states, Abbott cannot issue a gubernatorial pardon without a pardon recommendation from the Board of Pardons and Paroles. Abbott has said he has already requested the Board to review the case, and on an expedited timeline.

In addition to their appeal, Perry’s legal team said they can now cooperate more fully in the pardon process.

NTD reached out to Garza’s office for comment but they did not respond by the time this article was published.

Garza told CBS that the Board has committed to allowing prosecutors and Foster’s family make presentations before they issue any pardon recommendation. Garza said, “It is not a normal case, because in early April, the Texas governor made the decision to insert politics into this case.”

From NTD News