OMAHA, NEBRASKA –
On Wednesday April 27, 2022, jury members found Daquandre Perry not guilty of first-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony in the July 2020 shooting death of John Parks Berry Law attorneys Mallory Hughes and Renee Mathias represented Perry following his arrest in December 2020.
Douglas County District Court Judge Duane C. Dougherty presided over the six-day trial. Perry was charged on December 7, 2020, nearly five months after the shooting. The charges carried a sentence of life in prison if found guilty. After just under 10 hours of deliberation, the jury acquitted Perry of all charges.
Defense attorney Mallory Hughes said after the verdict, “our client had his constitutional rights protected by a fair and impartial jury and we couldn’t be prouder of our client and the result.” Co-counsel Renee Mathias added, “I was so impressed with the jury’s attention and devotion during trial. They protected our client’s constitutional rights.”
On July 26, 2020, John Parks was gunned down by a black sedan in a North Omaha neighborhood while driving a minibike. The state argued that Perry drove the black sedan as a passenger shot at Parks. The alleged shooter was never arrested, but the state proceeded with charging Perry for aiding and abetting the shooter as the alleged driver of the car.
Hughes and Mathias argued that Perry was not driving the car in question or involved with the shooting. Evidence presented at the trial showed that the state was not able to accurately identify the exact car involved or produce solid evidence placing Perry at the scene or in the car. Mathias said of the case, “there were no eyewitnesses and conflicting evidence.”
On the matter of guilt or innocence, Hughes stated in her closing argument that, “it is the burden of the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. In this case, there are fourteen pieces of reasonable doubt.” Hughes and Mathias contended, and the jury ultimately agreed, that the State’s arguments did not meet the burden of proof to convict Perry.
“Daquandre gets to hug his family today after two long years of not seeing them”, Hughes said, “we couldn’t be happier for him and for the results.”