Greeley Parolee Gets 88 Years for Assaulting Police Officers

Published on March 10, 2017

GREELEY, Colo. (Weld County D.A.) - A Greeley man who assaulted three police officers while on parole in 2016 was sentenced today to 88 years in prison.

Joseph Valentino Perez, 29, was convicted by a jury in January on nine counts, including 1st Degree Assault on a Peace Officer, two counts of Attempted 1st Degree Assault on a Peace Officer, 2nd Degree Assault on a Peace Officer, 3rd Degree Assault and four counts of felony Menacing.

According to testimony given during trial, Perez was drunk and causing a scene at a Greeley home in the early morning hours of January 25, 2016. Witnesses said he was acting erratic and violent. At one point, they said he held a kitchen knife to his mother's neck and assaulted his girlfriend.

By the time police got there, Perez was in the basement threatening suicide. Reports show he eventually stabbed himself in the stomach with the knife and then lunged at officers with the weapon.

Initially, police used a Taser, but it didn't stop him. An officer eventually shot him twice to stop the attack. During the trial, Deputy District Attorney Michael Pirraglia described Perez's actions as “attempted suicide by cop.”

Following the incident in January 2016, the Critical Incident Response Team led an investigation into the officers' actions, and in April of that year, District Attorney Michael Rourke cleared those officers in the shooting.

“This is a defendant who only cared about himself that night,” DA Rourke said following today's sentencing. “He had one plan: commit suicide. He didn't care who got in his way, be it his family or police. My office won't tolerate this type of callous behavior, and neither will Weld County.”