Police ID officer who hit Officer Ortiz
information tonight on the driver accused of causing a crash the killed this el paso police officer. the police department identified him today… and the abc-seven i- team got to work… … uncovering a lengthy criminal record for 45-year- old john perry. convictions for assault on a public servant.. evading arrest… assaults… d-w-i… and more. the i-team also learned perry was arrested march 12th … just two days after officer david ortiz was hit. but he was taken in for a string of violations not related to the officer’s death. still no word from police if perry will face charges for officer ortiz’s death. rember, witnesses told us the driver of the car that hit perry was speeding. also new tonight, abc-seven learned the driver who hit and killed a motorcycle officer a year ago was never charged in that case! abc-seven’s darren hunt.. … continues our complete coverage.. rick and estela, we counted more than a dozen arrests for ortiz over the years … and a few lengthy stints in prison as well. after being released from del sol medical center, perry was immediately arrested march 12th on previous charges of having no driver’s license, no insurance, expired plates, registration and safety sticker in another incident unrelated to the crash that killed ortiz. perry was released from jail march 13th for time served. in 2013 perry was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon … for which he was sentenced to two years in prison and released in 2014. and in 2012 he was charged with theft of property. in 1993, court documents show perry was arrested for robbery, assault and criminal mischief … for which he was sentenced to 18 years in prison. perry was jailed for evading arrest in 1992 … two years after he was arrested for d-w-i and a probation violation. some of his arrests date back to the late 1980’s, when he was in his teens: he was also arrested for evading arrest in 1989 … and for aggravated assault of a public servant in 1988, for which he was sentenced to seven years in prison. this is video of the scene of the crash, which happened in broad daylight on march 10th. this is the kia optima that police say perry was driving when he hit ortiz. the driver and passenger in a third vehicle were also taken to the hospital but have since been released. when i went to the address ortiz gave police today, i was told he hadn’t lived there since 2012. a woman who grew up with ortiz told us at his funeral friday he will be greatly missed. “you always knew david was in the house, he was such a nice spirit … so loving and cheerful all the time … we’re really going to miss him and our prayers go out to his wife, his kids and all his family.” tonight, i also have that brand new information rick and estela mentioned about the el paso police motorcycle officer killed a year ago. charges were never filed against maria soto. remember she allegedly pulled out in front of officer adrian arellano… … at yarbrough and edgemere. officer arellano was working a funeral procession on his motorcycle at the time. when i asked about the case today, i was told by the d-a’s office the investigation by el paso police determined it was not reportable as a felony and the case was presented to the d-a without a charge. after further review, the d-a’s office told us, prosecutors agreed and determined the events leading up to the crash did not rise to the level of criminal negligence that could justify an indictment against soto for arellano’s death. and it remains to be seen whether perry will be charged for officer ortiz’s death. rick and estela. abc-seven also has new information