I-Team continues to search for motive in officer murder

The man charged with the murder of police officer David Ortiz is back in El Paso.

ABC-7 received a new mug shot for 45-year-old John Paul Perry, booked into El Paso County Jail Thursday night after being returned from Merkel, Texas.

Perry is charged with capital murder and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, the same vehicle he allegedly drove into Ortiz’s motorcycle two weeks ago in East El Paso, killing him.

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.

The ABC-7 I-team is working to find out why El Paso Police now believe the crash was intentional, leading to that capital murder charge being filed.

ABC-7 was told Perry’s arrest affidavit is not yet available and he has yet to be arraigned.

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.

At a news conference Thursday, ABC-7 was told State Troopers, the Merkel Police Department and Abilene Police Department were key to learning information that Perry made a decision to drive his vehicle into Ortiz.

This is what the Texas Department of Safety Commander Carey Matthews had to say about that assistance: “They exhausted countless hours in this particular case. These dedicated DPS personnel provided transportation, coordination, surveillance, as well as apprehension capabilities that resulted in the arrest.”