Suspect in Woodward Lake double murder makes first court appearance
BY PABLO LOPEZ
The Fresno Bee
A Fresno man suspected of killing two people in the Woodward Lake neighborhood of northeast Fresno made his first court appearance Wednesday. He faces charges of double murder, which could get him the death penalty.
A criminal complaint accuses 21-year-old Gary Lee Perry Jr. of killing Brennen Julian Fairhead and Scott Alex Gaffey on Dec. 14 for financial gain.
Perry also is charged in Fresno County Superior Court with the attempted murder of Michael Rackney and burglary.
An arraignment for Perry was rescheduled for Jan. 5 so his defense lawyer can have more time to gather evidence.
Perry, wearing shackles and a red jail jumped, looked around the packed courtroom but was mostly silent. The judge granted attorney Jason Sorensen’s request that Perry not be photographed in the courtroom.
If convicted, Perry faces either a death sentence or life in prison. The District Attorney’s Office is still investigating, so has not determined whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty.
After the killings, police Chief Jerry Dyer said Perry confessed to killing Gaffney and Fairhead, both 21 years old and longtime friends.
Gaffney and Fairhead were found about 8 p.m. Dec. 14 suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in the 10000 block of Grouse Run in northeast Fresno.
Dyer said all three were in a car before the shooting – Fairhead in the driver’s seat and Gaffney and Perry in the back for what police described as a prescription narcotics drug deal.
Fairhead was shot inside the vehicle; Gaffney was hit in the back as he got out and tried to run away, Dyer said. Perry is believed to have fled, then returned to fire additional rounds at the men before driving away in the car, the chief said.
Gaffney’s body was found on a sidewalk and Fairhead’s in a roadway. Dyer said it wasn’t known whether the shooter and two victims had previously been in the Grouse Run area.
The getaway vehicle was left about a half mile away, where Perry is said to have dumped the gun into a drain and gone into a restaurant near Friant and Fort Washington roads.
From video of the shooting obtained by police, investigators were able to identify the suspect as a man wearing a puffy jacket with a furry hood. Someone contacted police, saying they saw a man who matched that description at a restaurant. He looked nervous, the tipster said, and asked to use the bathroom before leaving.
Police caught up to Perry the next morning at Fairhead’s home in the 5200 block of San Pablo Avenue, where he sometimes stayed. He tried to get in but did not have a key. Officers missed him the first time but were waiting when he came back.
The gun was recovered, Dyer said.
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/...190777794.html
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