Daniel Perry to be sentenced for murder in 2020 shooting at downtown Austin protest
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Daniel Perry, who was convicted last month of murdering Garrett Foster during a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Austin in 2020, is set to be sentenced Tuesday at 9 a.m.
During Perry's trial, a jury was presented evidence including police body camera footage after the incident, interview footage of Perry in the Austin Police Headquarters interrogation room, 3D renderings of how close Foster was to Perry’s car, 911 calls, cell phone records, witness video, photos and more.
Over the span of eight days, the jury heard testimony from nearly 40 witnesses: Protesters, Foster’s fiancé, police officers, and the lead detective who investigated the case.
After deliberating for around 15 hours, a group of 12 jurors found Perry guilty of murder on April 8. Perry was found not guilty for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
A day after Perry’s conviction, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for his pardon, saying in a tweet he was “working as swiftly as Texas law allows regarding the pardon of Sgt. Perry.”
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles previously told KXAN it “immediately” began the review of the request.
Perry's attorneys were back in court May 3 asking for a new trial, but the motion was ultimately denied.
They requested the new trial based upon grounds of excluded evidence, court documents said. The defense team stated in the documents it attempted to introduce evidence to show Foster’s motive, state of mind and intent.
During the hearing Wednesday in court, the defense said outside influence may have been a factor with a juror during the deliberation period, which lasted 16-17 hours over nearly two days.
However, the court did not find any violation and denied the motion for a new trial.