Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Wednesday on Newsmax accused Austin prosecutor Jose Garza of failing to seek charges against people who should be prosecuted while pushing for the indictment and conviction of Army Sgt. Daniel Perry, who shot and killed a Black Lives Matter protester in July 2020.
“I wasn’t shocked because I know what Jose Garza is doing,” the Texas Republican told Newsmax’s “National Report.” “He’s not prosecuting many crimes that should be prosecuted, that the Legislature has said are crimes, and our crime rate has gone up significantly in the Austin area because of that.”
Last Friday, a jury found that Perry, a white man, shot and killed Garrett Foster, a 28-year-old white man who was carrying an AK-47.
Perry, an Uber driver, was driving through the city the night of the shooting and turned the vehicle onto a street where protesters were marching, according to media reports. He stopped and several protesters approached his vehicle.
They told police they feared that Perry was going to assault them with his vehicle, but Perry’s defense team said Foster aimed his weapon at Perry, leaving him no choice except to shoot him in self-defense.
“Either way, this sergeant had a right to stand his ground in Texas,” said Paxton. “You’re not required to retreat. He obviously had a large number of protesters around him and he may have felt threatened, given that there was a gun either pointed at him or close to them.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has promised to pardon Perry, but Paxton noted that he can’t do that unilaterally as there is a procedure in Texas that requires pardons to be granted only on the recommendation of the state’s Board of Pardons and Paroles.
“The governor can certainly ask for it, but ultimately they have to say yes to it, and then he can make the pardon if they approve it,” said Paxton.
Meanwhile, according to an affidavit from the lead detective in the case, Garza directed him to remove exculpatory information that he had planned to present to the grand jury, and Paxton told Newsmax that issue is one of his biggest issues with the case.
“If the district attorney says, No, I don’t want the grand jury to hear that, that to me is a significant problem and clearly a violation of his rights to have all evidence that potentially clears him to be presented,” he said.
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