AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- A Travis County jury on Friday found Daniel Perry guilty of murder in the July 2020 shooting of Garrett Foster in downtown Austin.
Friday's verdict came after roughly 17 hours of deliberations, with jurors getting the case Thursday afternoon. Nearly 40 witnesses provided testimony during the eight-day trial.
Perry's defense attorneys argued that he had "no choice" but to shoot Foster the night of July 25, 2020. Perry, an Army sergeant stationed at Fort Hood, was working as a rideshare driver in downtown Austin when he turned from Fourth Street onto Congress Avenue into a group of protesters. That group included Foster, who was carrying an AK-47 rifle.
"Garrett Foster had every right to go up to him and see what the heck was going on and he had every right to do it with a deadly weapon," said prosecutor Guillermo Gonzalez.
Perry, 37, claims Foster, 28, raised his weapon in a threatening manner, prompting him to fire in self defense. Prosecutors, meanwhile, pointed to social media posts from Perry indicating strong feelings against the protesters.
Jurors found Perry not guilty on a secondary charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, in relation to driving in front of a different protester.
With the conviction, Perry will face up to life in prison. A sentencing hearing could be scheduled for as early as next week.
