LONGVIEW/GREGG COUNTY (KYTX) - It was 13 months ago that a jury in federal court in Tyler dismissed Michael Dean Perry's charges against nine Gregg County jailers, after he said his civil rights were violated during one of his more than two dozen arrests.
Today, 52-year-old Longview man finds himself back in the Gregg County Jail. This time, Longview police say he attacked his niece.
According to court records, officers responded to a family violence call at Perry's home on Broadway Court shortly after 11 p.m. Monday. The victim told officers that Perry, her uncle, got upset because she locked her bedroom door while friends were visiting. That's when Perry broke down the door and came at the woman with a knife, officers said. The victim was able to disarm him, but Perry punched her several times, held her down and pulled her hair, according to court records. Officers noticed a cut on her lip and spoke with a witness who said the victim tried to dial 911, but Perry took the phone away from her.
Perry remains in jail today on $8,500 bond, charged with aggravated assault/family violence and interfering with an emergency phone call.
Perry's federal lawsuit was filed after he spent more than six months in Gregg County Jail on a tampering with physical evidence charge. He was originally sentenced to 25 years in prison, but the sentenced was later reversed. He sued the county, saying that jailers harassed him, prevented him from contacting his attorney and other civil rights, but a federal jury needed less than 30 minutes to dismiss the charges.
