TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — A judge declared a mistrial Monday in the deadly conduct case against Daniel Perry, the man pardoned by Gov. Greg Abbott after being convicted of murder in the 2020 shooting death of Garrett Foster, a source familiar with the proceedings told CBS Austin.
The mistrial stemmed from two compounding jury selection problems, the source said. A panel of 50 prospective jurors was reportedly summoned and asked to fill out questionnaires designed to gauge prior knowledge of Perry, the incident and his past trials. Twenty-nine jurors were dismissed after revealing prior exposure to media coverage of the case, leaving too few unbiased jurors.
The source told CBS Austin that the Travis County jury office also told prospective jurors the trial would last three days when the case is actually expected to take at least a week. With jurors already lost to media exposure and others unwilling or unable to serve a longer trial, the judge was left without enough jurors to proceed and declared a mistrial.
A new trial date has been set for Oct. 19.
The source tells CBS Austin that defense attorneys may revisit a change of venue motion, arguing that extensive media coverage makes it impossible to seat an impartial jury in Travis County.
The Travis County Attorney’s Office provided the following statement:
“We will not be commenting on this pending case. The Judge has requested that neither the Defense nor the State speak with the media, and we are honoring that request to preserve fairness and impartiality in the process.”
Perry, a former U.S. Army sergeant, was convicted of murder in April 2023 for shooting and killing Foster during a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Austin. Abbott pardoned him in May 2024, shortly after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously recommended the action. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied a subsequent motion by Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza to reverse the pardon in June 2024.
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The deadly conduct charge remained active after Travis County Judge Carlos Barrera declined to dismiss it in January 2025.