Man facing Capital Murder charge for death of EPPD officer pleads ‘not guilty’

The man accused of intentionally crashing into police officer David Ortiz pleaded ‘not guilty’ in court Tuesday morning.

45-year-old John Paul Perry is charged with Capital Murder and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, the same vehicle he allegedly drove into Officer Ortiz’s motorcycle in East El Paso, killing him.

ABC-7 learned Tuesday Joe Spencer is Perry’s new court-appointed defense attorney.

“We just got appointed late last week. I visited with Mr. Perry and I’m very confident after visiting with him, that Mr. Perry did not intentionally mean to cause any harm to anyone,” Spencer said.

Spencer said the district attorney’s office has to make a decision on whether it intends to seek the death penalty. “We’re going to wait for that decision. I think the judge gave them a pretty short deadline and hopefully by next week we’re going to know what that decision is and we’ll be able to proceed with this case.

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.

Police charged Perry with Capital Murder, claiming he intentionally ran over Officer Ortiz.

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.