‘Safe, secure Anchorage’: Three strikes you’re out of jail

By
Suzanne Downing
-
8

A COUPLE THAT STEALS TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER

Vernae and Shannon Perkins were arrested on Monday following the discovery of three stolen vehicles at their Boniface Parkway home.

Vernae, the lady of the house, was driving one of them, and the other two were parked in their driveway. Maybe she didn’t know any of them were stolen. She has no prior arrests.

The couple is out of jail already, on “community supervision” status, according to Department of Corrections records.

Shannon Perkins, the man of the household, is no stranger to the law. He has a string of bad experiences with the law, but none more interesting than when in 2015 he shot two men in self-defense. One man died. The other was blamed for the death.

The two men had entered Perkins’ residence to retrieve personal belongings, but also to confront Perkins, who was dating the former girlfriend of one of the men.

According to police reports in 2016, Perkins had been assaulted by Dominick Lozano in the past. Lozano and Radford Hepa backed Perkins into a corner and were on the attack when Perkins grabbed a nearby gun and shot them both. Hepa, an oil worker originally from Hawaii, died from his gunshot wound.

Lozano, although he went to the hospital with a bullet wound, lived and, after being on the lam for a while, was charged with Hepa’s death.

“His friend was killed in the process of committing the crime so he is liable, so he is charged with manslaughter,” police said at the time. In fairness, Perkins was a victim defending himself, but he was clearly wandering down the wrong path already, according to other court records.

CAR THEFT SPREE

Shannon Perkins’ professional profile on LinkedIn says he is an “Entrepreneur, Self Employed.” A look into what he is engaged in shows a string of entrepreneurial opportunities that involve taking other people’s stuff.

And now he has three more charges to add to his collection. Here’s how it went down this week:

Last Monday, a police officer stopped a Nissan Pathfinder that had plates on it belonging to a different vehicle. The officer conducted a computer check and it revealed the Pathfinder itself had been reported as stolen.

The driver, Vernae Perkins, was arrested and charged with Vehicle Theft I.

Since the traffic stop was outside of the Perkins’ residence at the 1000 block of Boniface Parkway, the officer ran the license plates for the two vehicles parked in the driveway and discovered those were also reported stolen. One was a green Ford pickup truck reported stolen on July 11, 2017 from Brayton Drive, and the other a white Ford van reported stolen on Nov. 18 from W. 34th Avenue.

Vernae’s husband, Shannon Perkins, who was home at the time, was interviewed by police and arrested, charged with three counts of Vehicle Theft I and three counts of Theft II.

Both Shannon and Vernae were incarcerated at the Anchorage Jail. Yet by Thursday morning, their custody status was listed as “community supervision” – in other words, they were back on the street.

Back in October, things were rosier for the couple. Vernae wrote on her Facebook page:” I just love my husband so much! He is so amazing, & He just keeps amazing me everydqy! I would seriously be lost with out him! He knows me more then anyone ever will! I love you shannon keith Perkins!”

8 COMMENTS

  4. Great reporting Suzanne. Unfortunately, this is what happens when Juneau abdicates their responsibility when it comes to public safety by passing bills like SB-91. If you are a criminal, there are ZERO consequences to committing crimes. Time for new leadership.

  7. “Today, we have more police, smaller government, and real success overcoming old problems,” Berkowitz wrote in a statement. Throughout his two years as Anchorage Mayor, Berkowitz has focused on goals such as lowering crime in the city.

Comments are closed.