Negros carjack WF, 93, drag her 20 feet outside DeLand, FL church; Perkins sentenced LIFE w/o PAROLE d/t probation for previous carjack/shot driver 2x

[voiceofreason]

http://www.wftv.com/news/local/poli...s-her-20-feet-outside-deland-church/566008553


Police: Duo carjacks woman, 93, drags her 20 feet outside DeLand church
Updated: Jul 20, 2017 - 12:57 PM

DeLAND, Fla. - Two men carjacked a 93-year-old woman and dragged her 20 feet Thursday morning while she was on her way to church, the DeLand Police Department said.

The duo shoved the woman to the ground and took her keys at about 8:15 a.m. outside Saint Peter Catholic Church at West New York Avenue and North Delaware Avenue, city spokesman Chris Graham said.

Investigators said the carjackers drove the Chrysler erratically as officers followed them. They said the men drove through yards before crashing the car in a wooded area at West Winnemissett Avenue and South High Street.

David Leo Perkins III, 21, of Daytona Beach, and Darius Matthews, 20, were arrested not long after ditching the wrecked vehicle, Graham said.

Investigators said the victim, Maraquita Steinmetz, of DeLand, was on her way to daily mass when she was attacked. They said she held on to the car as long as she could before letting go.

Police said Steinmetz had some cuts and bruises, but she wasn't seriously injured.


https://voterrecords.com/voter/19403856/maraquita-steinmetz

Maraquita E Steinmetz (age 93) is listed at 1704 Palm Ave Deland, FL and is affiliated with the Democratic Party. She is a white, non hispanic female registered to vote in Volusia County, Florida.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

DeLand felon gets life for carjacking 93-year-old woman outside church

DAYTONA BEACH — A bailiff helped 93-year-old Maraquita Steinmetz walk up the steps Friday to the witness stand across the courtroom from where sat the 21-year-old man accused of carjacking her just o…

www.news-journalonline.com

DeLand felon gets life for carjacking 93-year-old woman outside church​

Frank Fernandez
frank.fernandez@news-jrnl.com

DAYTONA BEACH — A bailiff helped 93-year-old Maraquita Steinmetz walk up the steps Friday to the witness stand across the courtroom from where sat the 21-year-old man accused of carjacking her just outside her church.
David Leo Perkins had been on probation for less than 20 days when on July 20 police said he carjacked the elderly woman as she arrived for morning Mass. Perkins apologized on Friday and asked for mercy.

“I understand what I did was very wrong. And I give my sincere apology,” Perkins said as he stood before the judge.

But it was too late. Circuit Judge Matt Foxman sentenced Perkins to life in prison without parole for violating probation on the armed burglary and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon case in which Perkins had shot a man.

“You were given the greatest chance you could ever get, and right when you are out you commit a carjacking," Foxman said. "That’s been proven to the court. There’s nothing else I can do for you. And I’m sorry, sir.”
Before the judge’s ruling Steinmetz, with a head full of snow-white hair, sat in the witness box and warned that she could not hear very well. But her memory was clear.

Assistant State Attorney Ashley Terwilleger asked her her age.
“Right now, I’m 93,” said Steinmetz who will celebrate her 94th birthday next month.
The DeLand resident said she goes to church every week. On July 20 she arrived about 8 a.m. for Mass and parked in front of the church office.



“I was getting out of the car. I had both feet on the ground and I turned toward the car to lock the door,” Steinmetz said.

BIG RED FLAG
She said a man rode up on bicycle, put the bike down, came to her right side and asked her where White Street was. She said she replied she didn’t know.


Terwilleger asked her what happened next.

“He grabbed the keys out of my right hand, jumped in the car and left,” Steinmetz said.

Steinmetz recounted the ordeal in a composed and even tone.

“Well, when the car started to move, I lost my balance and went down on to the pavement in the parking lot, in the church parking lot,” Steinmetz said.

She said the fall left her sore.

During cross examination, Perkins’ assistant public defender, Ryan M. Belanger, asked her if she could describe the man but she said she could not. Belanger asked if she could say whether the man was black or white or Hispanic. She said she could not.

“I couldn’t say. I really think I was in a state of shock at that moment,” Steinmetz replied.

After the carjacking Perkins picked up another man but police quickly spotted the stolen Chrysler. After a short chase, Perkins crashed the Chrysler and he and the other man were arrested.


And while Steinmetz could not identify Perkins, DeLand police officers and Volusia County sheriff’s deputies did testify that Perkins was behind the wheel of her Chrysler.

The other man in the car, Darius Matthews, 21, of DeLand, is charged with principal to grand theft auto and resisting an officer without violence. He did not testify during the hearing at the S. James Foxman Justice Center. Matthews is awaiting trial.

Perkins' grandmother, Jennifer Perry, pleaded with the judge that her grandson get help, saying he suffered from mental illnesses, including ADHD. The judge noted that he had seen a doctor's report but he would not go into details about the diagnosis for the sake of Perkins' privacy.

Terwilleger asked the judge to give Perkins life in prison. She recalled the violent crime for which Perkins had been released from prison on five years probation.

"He shoots the victim in that case two times and there's evidence in that case the defendant later bragged about the shooting and that's how he was identified," Terwilleger said.


Belanger had argued that police had not proven that Perkins was the carjacker. He sought to poke holes in their identification.

But in the end, Perkins came clean.

"Did you take that car from the woman," Judge Foxman asked before pronouncing sentence.

"Yes sir I did. Yes sir I did," Perkins said.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

A sociopath is someone who has antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), a condition that causes lack of empathy, impulsivity, and manipulation.

https://www.choosingtherapy.com/signs-of-a-psychopath/

Aug 18, 2023 Common signs of a psychopath include a tendency towards violence, crime, and impulsivity. Psychopaths experience a severe form of antisocial personality disorder and their actions, coupled with a lack of concern for the feelings of others, can be dangerous.