Man who wounded officer sentenced
CALDWELL, Idaho – A man accused of shooting and wounding a Nampa police officer and pointing a loaded gun at his ex-girlfriend last year has been sentenced to two life sentences.
Mariano Perez Jr. pleaded guilty in September to aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault and two counts of being a habitual offender.
Prosecutors accused Perez of firing four shots at Nampa police Cpl. Allen Williamson and critically wounding him, after a routine traffic stop turned into a pursuit. Perez was arrested in Reno two days after the shooting.
Perez was also accused of pointing a loaded gun at his former girlfriend, Suzanne Lawson, and her infant son three days before shooting at Williamson.
Williamson said he had to undergo months of rehabilitation after the shooting. He has returned to work but says he can only perform light office duty because of his injuries. Williamson said he has limited control of his left limbs, including just 50 percent use of his left hand. His right leg can’t feel heat or cold.
“I don’t hate him, but I’d like to see him spend the rest of his life in jail,” Williamson said earlier this year. “I’m glad he’s off the streets and he’s not able to victimize anyone else.”
At the sentencing hearing Friday, Williamson said he had hoped to patrol the streets of Nampa for the rest of his career but is unsure if he’ll be able to do that again.
The hearing also included statements from Williamson’s and Lawson’s families about how the violence has affected their lives.
“Justice has been served today, and it is a point of closure for us. We can now move on with our lives and focus on the remainder of Allen’s recovery,” the Williamsons wrote in a statement read by Nampa Police Chief Curtis Homer.
Williamson’s father, James Williamson, let out a relieved “yeah” as Perez’s sentence was announced.
Perez made a brief apology to Williamson’s family and pleaded with the judge for leniency.
Third District Judge Juneal Kerrick said that Perez showed no remorse for the victims, only for himself.
“You brag. You threaten. You really haven’t contributed anything positive to society,” Kerrick said.
He said Perez is a repeat offender and has chosen not to change his behavior.
The judge ordered the sentence under Idaho’s habitual offender law, saying Perez had a long list of criminal offenses in Idaho and in Oregon as a juvenile. It was the maximum sentence he could have been given with the two charges.