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A garment salesman accused of systematically shooting three shopkeepers to death as they worked alone in their clothing stores was held without bail Thursday.
Salvatore Perrone, 63, who was held after his initial Brooklyn court appearance on murder charges, denies killing anyone, his lawyer said.
Attorney Ken Jones, who represented Perrone only for the arraignment and hadn't spent much time with him, said his client shows no remorse and appears "as though he could have some mental-health issues."
Perrone, of Staten Island, will be assigned another lawyer when he returns to court on Tuesday, prosecutors said.
He was taken into custody Wednesday in the suspected serial killings that scores of New York City detectives were investigating.
Man charged in slayings of Brooklyn shopkeepers
A pharmacy worker recognized him as the balding man with a duffel bag shown in surveillance footage leaving the scene of the most recent shooting, Nov. 16, police said.
Another shopkeeper came forward and said Perrone had gone into his store and questioned him about whether he worked alone and when he closed, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
"It's reasonable to assume he was going to keep doing this, and, by arresting him, we saved lives," Kelly said at a news conference.
Detectives said they found a duffel bag at his girlfriend's home. Inside, they said, was a sawed-off rifle used in the killings, along with .22-caliber ammunition, black gloves, women's clothing, a bloody knife and a bottle of bleach.
Perrone's fingerprint was lifted from the murder weapon, Kelly said.
Similarities in deaths
Initially, authorities thought the killer might have targeted the Brooklyn shopkeepers, who were from Iran and Egypt, because of their Middle Eastern backgrounds. But on Wednesday, Kelly said he could not discuss any motive.
In the most recent killing, Rahmatollah Vahidipour, an Iranian, was shot three times in the head and chest at his store, the She She Boutique.
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After that killing, detectives discovered the same gun was used in the fatal shootings of two other shopkeepers when ballistics matched the .22-caliber gun shell casings found at all three scenes.
On July 6, Mohamed Gebeli, an Egyptian, was found shot in the back of his shop, Valentino Fashion Inc. On Aug. 6, Isaac Kadare, also Egyptian, was shot in the head in his store, Amazing 99 Cent Deal.
There were other similarities in the deaths, authorities said: The bodies were all partially obscured, by clothing or, in one case, a box. The locations of the shops form an equilateral triangle and are about 4 miles apart, with addresses that contain the number eight.
Police earlier this week said they were looking to speak to four people who may have witnessed the most recent killing and released video and clear images of those four. But they zeroed in on the man with the bag, who they now say was Perrone.
Kelly called Perrone "talkative" with detectives and said he made incriminating statements. But Kelly refused to reveal what Perrone said.
Police said they believe Perrone carried the murder weapon in the bag and traveled by subway.
Perrone, a Brooklyn native, is divorced and lives with his girlfriend. He went from store to store trying to sell clothing, police said, but it was unclear if he had tried to sell to any of the victims.
Perrone was arrested in Franconia Township, Pa., in 2001 and charged with stalking, harassment, burglary and public drunkenness, but those charges were dropped when he pleaded guilty to a trespassing charge.
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May have. Yes, wise assumption.
Or hey, anyone suppose this guy maybe watched one too many U.S. cop shows and decided the best way to get ahead in business was to just kill the competition - literally. As he might see it, it happens every day like that on the streets of America. How many deaths on cop shows every single day? Maybe he just saw it as a way of doing business.
Or maybe he was just went crackaz.
What other defence does he have. Any lawer would take what he could get.
Poor baby - - mental health problems - - nothing that "the needle" or life in prison w/o parole can't fix!!
This story is obviously as fake as Santa Claus....everyone knows that a lawyer cannot recognise remorse as they have none themselves.
DUH!
Arrested for stalking, burglary, drunk in public and pleaded to trespassing.
Any one see a problem with that?
Ya Think?
Once again we prove just how stupid LAWYERS are..... No One, I Repeat NO ONE in there right mind commits MURDER..... That still does not stop Capital Punishment..... Found Guilty Take Out Back And Shot Them..... Yes I know doing that will take money out of the LAWYERS pocket, Along with all the other people who would get paid keeping this nut case alive.....
Everyone is entitled to due process whether you like it or not. Hope next time you or someone you care about gets dragged to jail for something they didn't do you remember this post. I'm sure you won't have the same attitude. Although, the sentiment about lawyers will remain the same when they take all your money and you still get convicted of a crime you did not commit.
So how do you represent someone that has no remorse? Is he guilty? I doubt this lawyer will get any other murder cases or any cases at all. I wouldn't hire her if she is going to throw in the towel and say I'm a mental case.
He looks just like the sketch provided of the potential suspect. Yup he looks just like a young black man.
Oh yeah Same Lame Name didn't they show a sketch of a young black man in one of the original reports..
-- He isn't criminally insane, there is many people out in this world that have mental issues and don't walk in to stores and shoot people.. His defense will try to get psychologist to say he was insane..
@Some Lame Name Here LOL I was thinking the same thing. He really does look like the Scetch of a Young black male. Hope this guy get's what he deserves in Prison. RIP to the Victims.
So much for client/lawyer privilege. Ken Jones should shut the hell up. Even though he is no longer Perrone's lawyer, privilege still prevails. He might just as well have said Perrrone is guilty.
None of that would come under privilege laws. He was offering an opinion you nitwit. Stick to something you know like comic books...
WTF - Grow up. Stick to something you know like picking your nose and drooling.
I've worked in the legal industry for 25 years with lawyers (prosecutors) and judges. The fact that the lawyer stated his client showed no remorse is akin to him saying he did it. Unless the client gave him permission to make that statement, he violated client/lawyer privilege.
Nice work NYPD. There is no doubt he would have continued killing. Good police work.
Everyone who murders has "mental health issues". That doesn't mean we shouldn't treat murder as a crime.
Congrats to the NYPD.
gee wonder what year his divorce was......2001 perhaps?
Sounds like standard fare, cheap crap they give a studio audience.........Blame game time....I'll go with Lettermen...
Check and see if he attends auctions on a regular basis, didn't O.J. have a "memorabilia" auction awhile back?
Half the prison population has mental issues. That is what this country does with a large percentage of mentally ill. They put them away and try to force them to take medication. It has been going on for decades.
What do you propsose we do with violent crimnals?
Why don't we treat the mentally ill before they commit crimes?
Gee, you think?
No!! Perish the Thought!!
Let Thee try to see where yer commin' from here Flap Jack: yer sayin' the suspect in these shopkeeper slayings 'may' have mental issues? Ya mean he's NOT an outstanding member of society who saw that nothing good was on Maury Povich that day and decided to, oh, I dunno, kill a few people?
So, instead, yer sayin'
No Crap?
Thanks for the informative insight, Slappy.
------ YAWN ------ Wake Thee when.... nahhhh...in fact, don't wake Thee at all. Inane stories as this don't deserve the time of day.
And yet you not only read it, you took the time to make your usual disparaging remarks about it. What's that say about you? Loser...
Grouchy today Whiskey? Name calling doesn't get your point across and boy-howdy everyone is a loser, moron, or stupid to you today, by what I have seen of your comments.
I take Thee Ox's satire as a jab at defense attorneys always trying to say that their defendant is criminally insane.. I honestly hate it because EVERY damn time someone kills someone their attorneys jump on the insane wagon..
Granted any "normal" human thinks it's insane to kill someone, but the killer isn't normal nor do they think like us "normals". In almost all cases the killer knows the most important, "right from wrong" and lawyers are stretching to get their client off to do it again..
Ah you got me Calico. I'm not having a good day. I am also annoyed at the people who watch a lot of Law and Order and think they have a law degree is all. My wife is a criminal defense attorney with an amazing record and , while that certainly does not make me an expert on the law, I can tell you from experience trying to argue a layman's point of view, most of what people think they know about it is wrong. The insanity plea is extremely hard to even get considered let alone found not guilty on. It happens, but if you research the actual cases, you'll find most are without a doubt fair conclusions.
As for this character "Thee" I just find him annoying every time I see anything he writes. Oh well...
Aww Whiskey I hope your day gets better.. I have seen your posts around Newsvine and typically you're fair and not judgmental, hence the bad mood.. I am going to school to become a Forensic Psychologist and from your wife having the job she does she knows what my job details. I will be the one that says whether or not someone is insane during trial.. I have been a counselor for over 10 years and figured I wanted to do something a little more.
Whiskey those are arm chair investigators-prosecutors-denfense attorneys, I ignore them.. I hate ignorance of the law on newsvine but everyone is entitled to throw uselessness in the air.. I do it once in awhile when I go off Oregon law in a different state..
My comment was for the lawyers that go to the news and say "we are going to try" they may never be able to do it but they sure do get the psychologist to try to back their case when presented that their client is insane.
WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot-7028098,
Glad ya like my stuff.
Huggies,
Yer Pal Thee
Whiskey - Apology accepted. Glad u love my worK! Anytim you need help writing the...stuff...you.....write...Ummm Let Thee know! Thee will always be glad to throw ya a bone.
Now, off ya go you little scamp!!
Yer Pal Always,
Thee Ox & Friends
PS:When I read dribble from you & people as you, you remind Thee of Charlie Browns teacher: all I hear from you is "Wahhh Wahhh! Wah wah...wahhhhhh;("
Hey Whisker, at least thats...something..
A series of murders committed with no apparent robbery motive, as nothing was taken. It's hardly a mental leap to theorize the shooter may have mental problems.
What is open to question is whether he is legally sane, as in aware of the wrongness of his actions and capable, yet unwilling, to restrain himself.
There is such a thing as being legally insane, and this man may be so. Or he may be somebody who is just consumed with anger against some segment of society, such as foreign-born shop keepers.
Either way, let's be glad he's been caught and is (and will remain) off the street.
It is actually extremely rare for serial killers to rob their victims (that's partially what identifies them as serial killers). Good thing the cops got this dude fast because he probably would not have stopped (the purported evidence looks bad against) ... And I agree with an earlier post (even if the guy is guilty), what kind of a grandstanding twit lawyer beaks off about a client (or ex-client) in this way? What a sadsack, showboating doooosh.
omegaman22...love that "beaks off" phrase! And you're right he would be a doosh for it. It may not be breaking privilege but I'd sure think twice about letting him be my lawyer, PD or not.
Yes, and most of them have severe mental and/or emotional problems. Most are not insane. But I suspect that this character may actually be criminally insane. My completely uneducated guess is that he suffers from delusional paranoia, in the form of some type of persecution complex.
Like I said, I'm just glad he has been caught, and is unlikely to walk free ever again.
We the people, should stop trying to use the mental condition, as a defence. What I know of this defence is that people will act like they are mental, only to get a lesser charge filed against them. But I ask this." if we put mad animals to death, why do we keep mad people alive. 99% of them will never be cured, and will return to the publice life, only to do it again! If we are going to except this plea, the we must keep them in a safe place, and not allow them ever, to return to the public life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He's coockoo for cocoapuffs for sure.
More deaths by a nut with a handgun...
Sure must be feeling safe by now huh. So many people walking around armed, sure has made it safe out there. I bet no one ever gets shot again... oh wait! (sarc)
Apparently it was a sawed off 22 rifle. Read much?
Mental health issues....Yea think! Smart enough not to get caught all this time. Smart enough to case places for cameras. Humans kill for hundreds of different reasons. Money, Religion, hatred, power, revenge, over a sporting event, racism, demented or just because they can.
The reason lawyers are buried so deep is because deep down they are good.. =-).......
@Some Lame Name Here LOL I was thinking the same thing. Yah, He Really Looks Like the 1st scetch of a young black male. I hope this Crazy bastard get's what he deserves in Prison. RIP to the Victims.
He's probably just bipolar.
Gee, ya think? Of course he has mental health issues! Wouldn't he have to?
Mental Health issues? doesn't everyone have them? Seems just a convenient way to get out of being responsible for a crime. I think anyone who gets a psch. eval. will be labelled as something...it's just the nature of the game.
The drawn description they released before catching this man looked nothing like this guy. The drawn sketch looked like a younger male with a dark complexion. I wouldn't be surprised if it were revealed that the sketch was completely fictitious and produced by the NYPD. Seems like racial profiling is still at large there.