Perez to appeal manslaughter conviction in 2007 Cape stabbing
Ronnie Perez will appeal his conviction in the 2007 stabbing death of William Lowell, his attorney said in a Lee County courtroom Monday.
Perez, a Cape Coral resident, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after a jury convicted him of manslaughter in Lowell’s death in February.
According to testimony during his trial, Perez stabbed and cut Lowell 33 times, something defense attorney Lee Hollander had argued was self defense during a physical altercation between the two.
Hollander requested Mon-day that Perez be declared indigent, or unable to pay for lawyer costs for the purpose of appeal. Hollander also asked that he be allowed to withdraw from representing Perez and that Perez be appointed a public defender.
Perez was unable to earn an income to pay for a lawyer due to his incarceration, Hollander said.
A notice for appeal had already been filed, he said.
Lee Circuit Judge Edward Volz granted Hollander’s requests.