‘Soros-Backed’ Texas DA Accused of Changing Evidence and Retaliating Against Witnesses

Army Sgt. Daniel Perry's attorneys charged Travis County District Attorney José Garza with witness tampering and retribution against a detective.

According to them, the district attorney stopped the detective from providing the grand jury with information that would have supported Perry's claim of self-defense in the alleged murder of a protester in Austin. In a letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles from the defense attorneys on Thursday, the charge was brought up again. Recently, Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, requested that the board take into account a pardon recommendation.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles received a letter from defense lawyers F. Clinton Broden and Doug O'Connell asking them to provide proof in favor of the governor's desired pardon recommendation. Following the verdict of murder in the Daniel Perry self-defense trial by a Travis County jury on April 8, according to Breitbart Texas, Governor Abbott made the request. The letter from the defense team (linked below) shows exculpatory information that the trial judge did not permit to be given to the jury.

The letter brings up a charge that was previously made: that during the period leading up to the grand jury hearing, Travis County DA Garza tampered with evidence produced by the main investigator. The trial judge rejected a motion calling for an evidentiary hearing on the initial allegation. According to Fox 7, the judge rejected the request for an evidentiary hearing but did not address the substance of the accusations.

The attorneys stated, "As the Board will no doubt learn, the Travis County District Attorney prohibited the lead detective in this case from mentioning a great deal of exculpatory evidence to the grand jury which considered the case in the first instance." The defense team acknowledged that the district attorney is not required to provide the grand jury with exculpatory information, but they added that "there is a very clear legal distinction between choosing not to present exculpatory information to a grand jury and tampering with a grand jury witness's testimony by shaping that witness's testimony as to what that witness is allowed to say under fear of reprisals."

"In fact, the District Attorney did retaliate by placing the decorated detective on a Brady list which ultimately caused him to resign after almost 30 years of exemplary service at the Austin Police Department," the lawyers continued. "The decorated detective later explained in an affidavit that he believed the Travis County District Attorney tampered with his grand jury testimony.

A Brady list is a list of law enforcement officers who "have sustained incidents of untruthfulness, criminal convictions, candor issues, or some other type of issue placing their credibility into question," according to a presentation published by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Brady lists are created by prosecutors or police departments.

Being added to a Brady list, according to Breitbart Texas legal analyst Lana Shadwick, is "the kiss of death to a homicide detective's career." Because they wouldn't be able to testify in court about the evidence they acquired during the investigation, the detective can no longer work as a homicide detective.

The accusations against District Attorney Garza were detailed in an affidavit that Detective Fugitt submitted in August 2021 (see attachment below). Fugitt wrote in that signed affidavit:

I firmly believe the District Attorney’s. Office, acting under the authority of Jose P. Garza, tampered with me as a witness. Often witness tampering is subtle. In this case, there were foreseeable consequences if I did not comply and tailor my grand jury presentation as directed and failure to do so would adversely affect my working relationship with the District Attorney’s Office for the foreseeable future. I was afforded no choice but to comply with the directives that were issued to me by Jose Garza through his assistants.

I am familiar with the crime of witness tampering as set out in the Texas Penal Code and under the circumstances believe myself to be a victim of such tampering.

Detective Fugitt appeared as a witness for the defense during the trial, which came to a conclusion on April 7.

The defense motion, which was submitted this week and alleges numerous instances of juror misconduct, is also included in the letter from the attorneys to the Board of Pardons and Paroles. One of those instances had a juror bringing outside study that he had done outside the jury room, according to Breitbart Texas. After that, the juror allegedly used the research and his interpretation of it to form his own judgment about the case and to sway the other jurors.

After reviewing the motion, Houston criminal defense lawyer and legal expert Carmen Roe told Breitbart Texas that, "Assuming the truthfulness of this juror's sworn testimony, there is no question that a 'outside influence' occurred."

There can be little doubt that this amounted to an improper "outside influence" that legitimately affected the jury's decision on the defendant's self-defense claim in a murder trial, according to Roe. "If a juror performed legal research and instructed the other jurors on the burden of proof that was inconsistent with the Court's specific instructions," Roe wrote.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton harshly slammed Travis County District Attorney José Garza, whom he referred to as a "Soros-backed" prosecutor, when the jury returned a guilty judgment last week, according to Breitbart Texas.

Attorney General Paxton stated on Fox News on Saturday morning that "self-defense is a God-given right, not a crime." Unfortunately, the radical objective of the violent Antifa and BLM rioters is more important to the Soros-supported Travis County DA than justice.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles was subsequently consulted over the granting of a pardon to Sgt. Perry, according to a statement issued by Governor Greg Abbott.

Governor Abbott stated on Twitter on Saturday that Texas has one of the toughest "Stand Your Ground" laws of self-defense that cannot be overturned by a judge or a reform-minded district attorney.

Governor Abbott said, "I have made that request and directed the Board to expedite its study. "I anticipate approving the Board's recommendation for a pardon as soon as it comes across my desk."

Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles Chief of Staff Timothy McDonnell stated in response to a query from Breitbart Texas that the board has started its investigation about a potential pardon recommendation for Sgt. Perry.

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