Suspect admitted to shooting the victim, Sheriff’s Office report says
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has charged a 28-year-old Sarasota man with second-degree murder in connection with an incident that occurred on the evening of Jan. 20 on Marlin Lakes Circle in Sarasota, the department has reported.
Christian Kadeem Perkins of 1036 Marlin Lakes Circle was arrested just before 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 20 as a result of officers’ investigation, the resulting report says.
Perkins remained in custody without bond on Jan. 21, a news release noted. “He has no prior arrests in Sarasota County,” the release added.
The Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division report on Perkins says his occupation is “laborer.” He is described as 6 feet tall, weighing 190 pounds.
Perkins’ arraignment has been set for March 5, the arrest record points out.
Just after 7 p.m. on Jan. 20, deputies were alerted to several reports of gunshots in the 1000 block of Marlin Lakes Circle, the news release says. “According to witnesses, two men were overheard arguing before several gunshots were fired, and the suspect left on foot,” the release adds.
Witnesses told officers that they heard as many as 10 gunshots, the report notes. “While one of the callers was on the phone with 911,” the report says, “three gunshots could be heard in the background, indicating a delay between the rounds of shots fired.”
Another witness “described hearing multiple gunshots followed by about 20 seconds of silence then another two or three shots,” the report says.
Shortly thereafter, the report continues, the witness told officers that he saw Perkins “carrying a silver-colored handgun in his left hand as [Perkins] casually walked eastbound from the location of the shooting toward 1036 Marlin Lakes Circle, which was later determined to be his residence.”
The report says that Perkins allegedly used a .40-caliber handgun.
When deputies arrived on the scene, the news release notes, they located the victim lying in a breezeway between apartments. The male victim had “sustained multiple gunshot wounds, including one directly behind his right ear,” the report points out.
“Approximately 18 minutes after the shooting,” the report says, “Christian Perkins called 911 and reported he was attacked by [the victim]” and then “ran home after sustaining an injury to his eye. He advised he panicked after the altercation and just ran,” the report adds.
“While on the phone with 911,” the report notes, “Mr. Perkins was obviously shaken and at one point said, ‘I’m just f**ked.’”
Perkins admitted to owning two handguns, the report continues, but he “claimed one did not work …” He had secured both of them in his safe, the report adds.
“The 911 call taker directed Mr. Perkins to exit his apartment, at which time he was taken into custody,” the report says. Perkins “did not have any noticeable injuries prior to being transported to the Sheriff’s Office,” the report notes.
During an interview with officers — after they had read him his rights, the report continues — Perkins said “he walked over to [the victim’s] residence and knocked on the door prior to shooting him.” The report adds that Perkins also admitted to the officers that he had killed the victim; however, Perkins maintained that “he was being attacked and ‘that’s why I shot him.’”
The victim’s family opted into Marsy’s Law, the Sheriff’s Office news release points out, “which is why his identity is not being released.”