A state doctor found that one of two brothers accused of killing a co-worker in a west Little Rock restaurant robbery has no mental illness.
The doctor’s report notes that Zeckeya Kenya Perry has been a drug user since age 11 and was incarcerated for behavioral problems that included “sexual misconduct.”
Perry’s attorney, Willard Proctor Jr., accepted those findings, which were presented Wednesday to Pulaski County Circuit Judge Herb Wright.
The judge pronounced the 19-year-old Perry fit for trial on charges of capital murder and aggravated robbery. A March 6 trial date was scheduled.
Prosecutors are seeking life sentences for Perry and his 23-year-old brother, Kiywuan Perry of Little Rock. The proceedings against Kiywuan Perry are on hold until statedoctors complete his mental evaluation, which is expected by the end of the month.
The pair, who will be tried separately, are accused of killing waiter Jesus Herrera during an April holdup at the now-closed El Chico on Breckenridge Drive, where all three were employed.
According to the report presented Wednesday to the judge, Zeckeya Perry told a state psychologist he’d been a marijuana user since age 11, and had used Ecstasy since 13 and cocaine since age 17.
One police officer reported that Perry seemed to be under the influence of cocaine when he was being questioned by detectives about the killing.
Perry has struggled with cocaine addiction, according to the report to the court, which indicates that he tried to give up the drug. His mother had sought help to treat her son’s marijuana and alcohol use, thereport states.
The report shows that as a minor, Perry had behavioral problems, including lying to police, shoplifting, assaulting another child and “sexual misconduct at school” sometime before March 2007.
He was incarcerated by Youth Services, according to the report, for residential burglary, misdemeanor battery and theft, but the report does not include details of those crimes. The extent of any crimes he committed before age 18 might never be clear, because juvenile-crime records are usually kept secret.
He underwent counseling during his time in Youth Services custody, and the report shows he was diagnosed in 2008 with substance abuse, attention-deficit disorder and “high-risk sexual behavior.”
In an Oct. 15 interview with the report’s author, State Hospital staff psychologist JenniferWhitmore, Perry said he had been expelled from Central High School over accusations he was “running a gang” and had taken marijuana and guns to school. He described getting into fights as a child and committing break-ins. He also declined the doctor’s request for access to all his mental records, saying some would likely describe him as “homicidal,” according to the report.
Authorities have evidence that Perry’s brother fired the shots that killed Herrera, the report says, and that witnesses claim to have heard at least one of the brothers talk about the robbery and how Herrera was targeted.
Keny Perry disputes the evidence as circumstantial and claims there is no hard evidence he’s committed any crimes. The witnesses are lying to cover up their own wrongdoing, he has stated to police and in a letter to the judge.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 16 on 11/10/2012