Man sentenced for killing 3 people, wounding 2 others in Springfield
A man who was found guilty of murdering three people and injuring two others during a two-day span in 2018 was sentenced Friday to five consecutive life sentences.
Luis Perez, 27, was sentenced to the prison time following a hearing in front of Judge Thomas Mountjoy. It was Mountjoy who presided over Perez's trial and found him guilty in October of three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of assault.
Court documents say this case started when Perez was kicked out of a home in the 900 block of East Locust Street. Police say Perez returned to the home early on Nov. 1, 2018 and opened fire on his ex-roommates, killing Steven Marler and Aaron "Joshua" Hampton and injuring two others.
The next day, police say, Perez killed Sabrina Starr, a 21-year-old woman who had provided him with the gun he used in the other two killings.
Greene County Prosecutors initially announced they would be seeking the death penalty before later changing course. Life in prison without the possibility of parole is the only other punishment for a first-degree murder conviction in Missouri. Friday's hearing centered around whether the sentences should be imposed concurrently (at the same time) or consecutively (one after the other) and how much prison time Perez should get for the non-fatal shootings.
Assistant Greene County Prosecutor Phil Fuhrman argued Perez should not get any breaks.
"Mr. Perez is dangerous, he is violent and he is deserving of the maximum sentence," Fuhrman said.
Perez's attorney asked for the sentences to be run concurrent, presenting evidence of Perez's difficult upbringing as the son of poor immigrant parents growing up in inner city New Jersey.
More:Springfield man found guilty of murdering 3 people in 2 days
Judge Mountjoy said he was "struck by the magnitude of the violence" in this case in choosing to run the sentences consecutive to one another.
"The magnitude speaks to requiring the most severe sentence that the law would structure," Mountjoy said.
In the days after Perez was charged with the killings, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a scathing news release criticizing Middlesex County New Jersey for not holding Perez in jail in December 2017 when he was arrested there on suspicion of multiple felonies, including assault, aggravated assault and child abuse. ICE said it had asked that Perez be held in jail while it started deportation proceedings against him since he is originally from Mexico and was in the country illegally.
According to its website, Middlesex County had a policy of declining requests by ICE to detain some inmates, if those people have not been convicted of certain serious offenses.
Perez came to Springfield from New Jersey not long before the killings.
Perez's attorney said Friday that although Perez was born in Mexico his family moved to the United States when he was 18-months-old.
Deborah Elkins, the mother of victim Aaron "Joshua" Hampton, has made it her mission to advocate for the end of sanctuary cities, which have policies that aim to protect undocumented immigrants against deportation. Over the last four years she has joined up with an organization called Angel Families and has spoken on Capitol Hill about the issue.
On Friday, Elkins addressed the court on behalf of herself and the mothers of the other victims. Elkins called the deceased victims in this case "fallen heroes" because their deaths ensured that Perez will be in prison for the rest of his life and unable to harm others in the community.
"They will stand for the good that there was in the world," Elkins said.
Elkins described her son as a loving, friendly, loyal young man who she misses dearly.
"Josh loved people, and people loved Josh," Elkins said. "When Josh was your friend, he was your friend forever."
Elkins said she believed justice was served with Perez being convicted of the most serious crimes in this case.
Hampton's father, Russell Hampton, also addressed the court and said he hoped Perez would seek forgiveness from God. Russell Hampton said he supported Perez losing his freedom for the rest of his life but he has worked to forgive his son's murderer.
"I will forgive him for what he’s done," Russell Hampton said. "Because in my Bible, Jesus said that if you can’t forgive a person of his transgression against you then God won’t forgive your transgressions against him."
One of Perez's co-defendants in this case has already been convicted. Nyadia Burden pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, admitting she bought the bullets Perez used in the killings.
Two others have pending charges. Dalia Garcia is charged with tampering with physical evidence after police say she burned some of the clothing worn during the homicides. And Aaron Anderson was charged with being an accessory to murder. Online court records state there is a hearing later this month in Anderson’s case involving a signed plea agreement.
Judge Mountjoy retired last year but still presided over Friday’s sentencing hearing.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Luis Perez sentenced for murdering three people in Springfield in 2018
