Perry gloated about Officer Ortiz’s death, court documents show

A man accused of intentionally hitting and killing a motorcycle officer gloated about the incident, according to court documents.

John Perry, 45, is charged with capital murder in the death of El Paso officer David Ortiz. Perry rear-ended Ortiz, who was stopped at a red light March 10 at the intersection of Lee Trevino and Vista Del Sol in East El Paso. Ortiz died from his injuries the following week.

Perry, who was arrested for traffic warrants and released, was re-arrested two weeks later in Merkel, Texas, about 15 east of Abilene.

According to the complaint affidavit obtained by the ABC-7 I-Team, a witness deemed credible by the Merkel Police Department had spoken to investigators about comments Perry allegedly made. The witness, who wished to not be named out of fear of retaliation, alleged that during a conversation, Perry said he saw the officer and said, “F**k it.”

During a conversation the following day, Perry allegedly said, “Cop was lucky that (I) did not have a truck or (Ortiz) would have been beef jerky and they would have been picking him off the streets.”

The witness also said they heard Perry say, “F**k that cop. I don’t give a f**k about that cop.”

Officers with the Merkel (Texas) Police Department notified the El Paso Police Department and arrested Perry on March 23 after a warrant for capital murder was issued.

Court documents state that here in El Paso, a witness told detectives he was approaching the same intersection the day of the crash when he saw the Kia Optima driven by Perry speed past him, and without slowing down or attempting to stop, hit Ortiz. The witness, who is identified as “Off-Duty Officer Talamantes,” said the driver abruptly changed lanes from the center to the right lane, where Ortiz was stopped behind two other vehicles.

During a news conference last Thursday, El Paso police said Perry “deliberately and maliciously” killed Ortiz.
“If you commit a crime as heinous as the one he (Perry) did in this town, and we find out about it, you’re going to go to jail,” Chief of Police Greg Allen said.

Perry was booked in the El Paso County Jail the following day.