'Paralyzed' veteran under fire after video shows him walking outside charity-built home
Army specialist Justin Perez-Gorda was filmed walking around outside of his Texas home last month. In late 2013 he was gifted the wheelchair-accessible home thanks to charity, Homes of Our Troops.
A U.S. veteran who claims to be paralyzed and was given a free wheelchair-accessible home after suffering an IED attack in Afghanistan is under fire after he was filmed walking around his Texas home.
The stunning footage showing Army specialist Justin Perez-Gorda unloading lumber in his garage last month came as his wife reportedly argued that the nonprofit behind their home knew for years that he could walk.
Jose Perez-Gorda, speaking to Kens5 News in San Antonio, claimed that just months after her husband was injured in the Jan. 5 2011 explosion he regained his ability to walk.
That remarkable recovery however appears to contrast prior interviews the couple gave to local reporters and to the non-profit Homes for Our Troops which helped secure the Dripping Springs home for them in late 2013.
HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS VIA YOUTUBE
Perez-Gorda is seen during a 2012 interview with Homes for Our Troops. In it he and his wife discussed his paralyzing injuries he sustained from an IED blast in Afghanistan in 2011.
"He has permanent loss of both lower extremities," his wife told Homes for Our Troops in a 2012 video interview. "He's paralyzed from the belly button down."
In an April 2012 interview with KENS5, the Army veteran was also filmed sitting in a wheelchair while saying: "I'm paralyzed."
When Jose Perez-Gorda was reportedly asked why they didn't reveal his miraculous recovery before or at the time of the home's gifting, the mother of two clammed up.
HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS VIA YOUTUBE
His wife, Jose Perez-Gorda, said 'he has permanent loss of both lower extremities' during the 2012 interview. She now claims that shortly after the 2011 blast he recovered, according to a local report.
Kens5 News reports that last month's curious sighting -- which showed Perez-Gorda telling an inquiring reporter to get off his property -- may not have been the first.
Shortly after the couple moved into the home, neighbors claim they saw the veteran walking around his property.
When the couple was approached about his apparent recovery, they were described as becoming angry and withdrawn. Those neighbors eventually reported his suspicious behavior to the non-profit.
KTBC
This wheelchair-accessible home was built specially for the wounded veteran thanks to donations raised by Homes for Our Troops. The non-profit said they've had trouble getting the couple to talk to them.
"Obviously there is something out there we missed. Homes for Our Troops continues to assess the situation and is weighing our options," the non-profit's Executive Director Bill Ivey told the station in an interview last month.
The option of taking away the family's home, he said, would be a "last resort."
Ivey said that after suspicions arose about his handicaps his organization repeatedly tried to contact them last year but without success.
Army specialist Justin Perez-Gorda was filmed walking around outside of his Texas home last month. In late 2013 he was gifted the wheelchair-accessible home thanks to charity, Homes of Our Troops.
A U.S. veteran who claims to be paralyzed and was given a free wheelchair-accessible home after suffering an IED attack in Afghanistan is under fire after he was filmed walking around his Texas home.
The stunning footage showing Army specialist Justin Perez-Gorda unloading lumber in his garage last month came as his wife reportedly argued that the nonprofit behind their home knew for years that he could walk.
Jose Perez-Gorda, speaking to Kens5 News in San Antonio, claimed that just months after her husband was injured in the Jan. 5 2011 explosion he regained his ability to walk.
That remarkable recovery however appears to contrast prior interviews the couple gave to local reporters and to the non-profit Homes for Our Troops which helped secure the Dripping Springs home for them in late 2013.
HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS VIA YOUTUBE
Perez-Gorda is seen during a 2012 interview with Homes for Our Troops. In it he and his wife discussed his paralyzing injuries he sustained from an IED blast in Afghanistan in 2011.
"He has permanent loss of both lower extremities," his wife told Homes for Our Troops in a 2012 video interview. "He's paralyzed from the belly button down."
In an April 2012 interview with KENS5, the Army veteran was also filmed sitting in a wheelchair while saying: "I'm paralyzed."
When Jose Perez-Gorda was reportedly asked why they didn't reveal his miraculous recovery before or at the time of the home's gifting, the mother of two clammed up.
HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS VIA YOUTUBE
His wife, Jose Perez-Gorda, said 'he has permanent loss of both lower extremities' during the 2012 interview. She now claims that shortly after the 2011 blast he recovered, according to a local report.
Kens5 News reports that last month's curious sighting -- which showed Perez-Gorda telling an inquiring reporter to get off his property -- may not have been the first.
Shortly after the couple moved into the home, neighbors claim they saw the veteran walking around his property.
When the couple was approached about his apparent recovery, they were described as becoming angry and withdrawn. Those neighbors eventually reported his suspicious behavior to the non-profit.
KTBC
This wheelchair-accessible home was built specially for the wounded veteran thanks to donations raised by Homes for Our Troops. The non-profit said they've had trouble getting the couple to talk to them.
"Obviously there is something out there we missed. Homes for Our Troops continues to assess the situation and is weighing our options," the non-profit's Executive Director Bill Ivey told the station in an interview last month.
The option of taking away the family's home, he said, would be a "last resort."
Ivey said that after suspicions arose about his handicaps his organization repeatedly tried to contact them last year but without success.
He said an employee even drove from Alabama to Texas to speak with them at the property but Perez-Gorda refused to come out. The employee instead spoke with his wife for about 45 minutes before leaving without any new information.<object id="flashObj" width="480" height="270" classid="clsid27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=4248381627001&playerID=3615632431001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAADSfuNP5E~,NEJABLtegfhr6a4F4ZgypKKqTlx_7qIv&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=4248381627001&playerID=3615632431001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAADSfuNP5E~,NEJABLtegfhr6a4F4ZgypKKqTlx_7qIv&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="480" height="270" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object>