Perkins' truck repossessed as he lay dying, saying 'Help'

Nov. 4—While Steve Perkins lay dying in his front yard after being shot by a Decatur police officer and police stood over him, a repossession agent from Allstar Recovery towed his pickup truck from his driveway, according to newly released security video from a house across the street.

Perkins' truck remained in the lot of Allstar Recovery — a different entity than similarly named All Star Towing & Recovery — this week.

Also this week, a month after the shooting, an agent of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, which is investigating the shooting, for the first time presented a search warrant for a copy of security video from a neighbor of Perkins.

Perkins was shot and killed by a Decatur police officer Sept. 29 at his Ryan Drive Southwest home. Police said in a statement that they were there in response to a complaint from the tow truck driver, who had said that Perkins pulled a gun and threatened him in response to a repossession attempt.

Police said Perkins turned a gun toward a police officer, and ALEA said the gun was mounted to a flashlight. Security video shows that seconds after Perkins exited his home with a flashlight — it's unclear on video whether it was mounted to a gun — the officer fired about 18 shots at Perkins, seven of which struck him, according to the family.

New footage of the aftermath of the shooting, just over a minute in length, began circulating on social media last week. This week, neighbor Mercedes Caballero confirmed the recording was from a security camera on her property, which faces Perkins' residence. A copy of the video is available at decaturdaily.com.

The headlights of a tow truck sit in the upper left corner of the video. Just to the right of the headlights, two persons who appear to be police officers stand hunched over opposite sides of a body on the ground.

The officers appear to pat Perkins down. One officer moves from Perkins' right side over to Perkins' legs. As the officers continue, the headlights from the tow truck begin moving at the 30-second mark.

The vehicle turns left out of Perkin's driveway with Perkins' pickup truck in tow.

At the 53-second mark, another person who appears to be a police officer enters the right side of the frame from Caballero's property. Previous footage provided by Caballero showed a police officer taking cover in her driveway before Perkins exited his house.

At approximately the same point in the video, another person, previously obscured by the tow truck, is seen to the left of the officers standing over Perkins.

The recording ends. — 'Help'

"I stood outside the whole time, and I saw them pat him down," said Susan Capps, 62, who lives across from Perkins' residence and one house over.

"I did not see them render any first aid," she said. "All I kept hearing was 'put the gun down, put the gun down,' and Perkins is on the ground.

"I saw him move one arm slightly, and I heard him say, 'Help.' I saw his arm move like up toward his head, and then I didn't see him move again."

Capps said she had been sleeping on the couch when she heard the gunshots and immediately "flew" outside. She said two officers patted Perkins down while another ran up the street, where police had left their vehicles, and said he was going to get his kit. Another officer then drove up to Perkins' residence with his emergency lights flashing.

"They were just patting on him, and I didn't see anybody come with a kit, if that's what he meant by kit — I didn't see any of that.

"And then I heard an officer call and say he 'needed an ambulance ASAP,' and then a little later I heard him say 'he's out.'"

Capps said she's unsure if Perkins died at the scene or en route to the hospital, but that the ambulance was in "no hurry" to get there and it took "forever" to load Perkins and depart.

In response to questions from The Decatur Daily, Decatur police spokeswoman Irene Cardenas-Martinez this week released this elaboration on officers' life-saving efforts:

"Officers on scene provided Mr. Perkins with medical aid before he was transported to the hospital. An officer retrieved a medical pack and began assessing his injuries while other officers applied pressure to the wounds and applied a tourniquet to one of his legs before medics arrived."

During the aftermath, Capps hailed one of the officers. She said he walked up to her porch and told her there had been an officer-involved shooting.

"I thought he meant an officer was shot, so I said, 'Is he OK?' He said, 'Oh yeah, he's fine.' I said, 'Is everybody OK?' He said, 'Yes ma'am.' That was a lie.

"He told me to go back in the house."

Capps said she had been outside for around 20 minutes total.

—

Allstar Recovery

On Monday, Perkins' white GMC Sierra remained on Allstar Recovery's lot at 3920 Poole Valley Road S.W., less than a mile from Perkins' residence.

A company with a similar name, All Star Towing & Recovery, located at 201 Central Circle S.W., was not involved in the repossession of Perkins' vehicle and has publicly voiced support for the Justice for Steve Perkins movement.

Perkins' vehicle was sequestered away from other vehicles stored on Allstar Recovery's lot. It was barely visible from the street. Thick woods border the south side of the lot, where Perkins' vehicle was parked against a chain link fence topped with barbed wire.

Nicholas Perkins, brother of Steve Perkins, confirmed the make, model and license plate number of the vehicle in the lot belonged to his brother.

Capps recalled that Perkins had a Free Mason license plate. A Free Mason symbol was visible on the license plate of the truck at Allstar Recovery's lot. — Talladega incident

Elsewhere in Alabama, a man was arrested in Talladega after a tow truck driver was shot in the neck following a vehicle repossession attempt at around 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 27, according to AL.com.

Dexter Lamar Swain, a Black man, got into an argument with the tow truck driver before the driver departed; Swain is accused of following the tow truck and firing a single round from a shotgun, according to AL.com.

Talladega police Chief Diane Thomas on Thursday said the name of the repossession company involved in the incident was Allstar Recovery.

"I'm surprised the police were involved," Thomas said upon learning of their presence during the repossession of Perkins' pickup truck. She said that police are not supposed to assist in vehicle repossessions.

Despite numerous attempts, a representative from Allstar Recovery has not responded to inquiries.

Alabama public records show an Allstar Recovery LLC in the business of vehicle recovery based at 321 Franklin St., Natchez, Mississippi.

Mississippi public records show an Allstar Recovery LLC with that same address. Both states show Shannon Gay associated with the business.

The Better Business Bureau's website lists an "F" rating for the Natchez Allstar Recovery.

One of the public complaints, which are anonymous, claims Allstar Recovery took a vehicle from a garage without a court order.

A search for the Decatur Allstar Recovery on BBB's website turns up no results. — ALEA

On Tuesday, Susan Capps' husband, Mike Capps, said an ALEA investigator came to their home with a search warrant on Monday.

"They just downloaded the three videos from that night," he said.

"They tried to subpoena it from our security company, but we told them that it erases after 10 days," Susan Capps added. "Why didn't he go get it right away? So, they wait and come back 30 days later."

Mike Capps said Special Agent Jamie King told them the state needed the original videos "if it goes to trial."

According to the Capps, King had previously visited them a couple of days after the shooting.

"He watched the videos, and you should've seen his face when he saw the one of Steve getting shot," Susan Capps said. "I mean he went white. He didn't say anything. I look at people's facial expressions because that tells a lot."

The Capps want justice for Perkins who they said was a good man. Many others in the community have shared the same opinion of Perkins.

"He helped me in so many ways," Susan Capps said. "I fell out in the front yard from my diabetes; he came running over and picked me up like I didn't weigh a feather. One time he took me to urgent care because I had fallen and hit my head, and I was trying to get in the truck to drive myself there and he knew something was wrong.

"He always watched out for me. He just was a good man."

— david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438. @DD_DavidGambino