A Law Students Thesis on Dennis Perry's Case

The Following was written by Tammy Yost, a friend and law student:

Running head: A HORRIBLE TRAGEDY: OF MURDER AND JUSTICE

A Horrible Tragedy of Murder and Justice

By: Tammy Masse-Yost

FMU
Criminal Evidence

Mr. Gnat

December 2003

Abstract

On March 11, 1985, a double homicide of a preacher and his wife occurred. An African American couple from Camden County Georgia were shot and killed. This case gathered national attention when it aired on Unsolved Mysteries in 1988. Actual eyewitnesses had a sketch artist draw four different composites at the time of the shooting. Key evidence was lost. Two detectives from Camden County Sheriff's Office stayed on this case for over eight years. Within one year of issuing $40,000.00 from confiscated drug money, an arrest warrant for Dennis Arnold Perry was issued on January 13, 2000, for the murders. Is this a case of mistaken identity, or possibly political gain? The motive is weak; the evidence is weaker. The jury on February 14, 2003, handed down a guilty verdict of two counts of murder. Is there an innocent man behind bars? You decide.
A Horrible Tragedy of Murder and Justice
On March 11th, 1985, Harold and Thelma Swain, from Camden County, Georgia were brutally murder. Harold Swain was a Preacher at the Rising Daughter Baptist Church. In the evening of March 11th, he and his wife were holding their usual Monday [Tuesday¹] night missionary meeting with at least eight other people. At approximately 9:15 p.m. One of the woman had to leave to go pick up her daughter from work. As she entered the vestibule area, a young white man, with light colored shoulder length hair, told her he needed to speak to someone, the man then pointed to Mr. Swain. When Mr. Swain entered he asked the young man what he was doing there. There was a scuffle heard from the sanctuary and Mrs. Swain went to see what was going on. The witnesses heard gunshots, then ran and hid in Harold Swains office. They attempted to call the police, but the phone lines had been cut. After twenty minutes passed, and not hearing anyone, the very frightened women felt it was safe enough to leave and summons help. When the police arrived, they entered a gruesome scene. Harold was shot four times, three times in the chest and once in the head. Thelma was shot in the upper right chest has she entered the vestibule (Shweid, B. 2003).
Harold and Thelma Swain, married over 43 years, were pillars of their small community. They were known for being happy, kind, sincere, and always there to help someone in need. Mr. Swain was a spokesperson for the black community, and stayed very active in the rural area. The citizens of the community could not understand why two wonderful people were gunned down in cold blood.
The first and lead detective to arrive on the scene was Joe Gregory, from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation(G.B.I.) He was able to get a detailed description from the lady who first left the church. The other women gave a description also, but had only got a glimpse of the man from a distance. The sketches had contradictions. One eyewitness told police he was wearing glasses. There were two pairs of eye glasses recovered from the scene. One pair was confirmed belonging to Harold, the other pair of glasses were never matched to anyone. Could the glasses belong to the killer? The other evidence found at the scene was a piece of hair, a shirt button, a Pepsi bottle, out in the parking area of the church; key evidence for the case to follow, except the Pepsi bottle turned up missing (Sloan, 2003), and blood splatters (thought to have belonged to only the Swains, so no sample was ever taken though it was obvious there was a struggle that ensued.) 3 Bill Smith, the newly appointed Sheriff to Camden County, had said he was a close and personal friend of the Swain's for a long time. Because the Rising Daughter Baptist Church was located in a rural area of Highway 17, in Waverly, GA, transients would stop in for a hand out, but never wanting to hurt anyone. At first glance that is what the detective thought. The eyeglasses found were not in good shape showing the person who owned them could not afford to fix them. More suspicions aroused when it was obvious Harold Swain was shot in such a way, that it looked like the young man that entered the church, knew exactly who he was. 2 (Unsolved Mysteries, 1988).
Another Theory developed. On July 5th, 1985 an officer made a routine traffic stop in Telfair County, Georgia. When the officer approached the car he discovered several weapons, including a . 25 caliber pistol similar to the one used in the slayings of the Swains. One man in the car was Donnie Barrentine. 4 Donnie's name was mentioned during the investigation of the murders; witnesses at a party in 1985 heard Mr. Barrentine. bragging that he could play God, and he could give life or end life if he wanted to just like he did to the black preacher and his wife at a church in Georgia. (Wilkes. 2001.) When confronted, he finally admitted making this statement; however, according to Donnie; he said a lot of things when he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol and stated he was not serious.
Donnie Barrentine was requested to be present in a line up. The woman at the church who saw the man that shot the Swain's, was unable to pick anyone out of the line up; however, she had no doubt in her mind that the same boots Donnie Barrentine was wearing were identical to the ones the man was wearing that night. The murder charge against Donnie Barrentine was never pursued. He was found guilty on weapons charges, and served time in prison for those charges brought against him. Because most of the witnesses at this particular party were drug addicts, alcoholics, and a known prostitute, their stories were deemed not creditable.
One year later, and still baffled by the case, Joe Gregory was going through some old files. Suddenly he came across a composite of a man that was a suspect wanted in Kansas for an armed robbery of a church. The description matched perfectly to one sketch given by the witnesses. The chances of that happening was extremely rare. When they contacted the Kansas police department, the police had no information to give to the G. B. I. Agent, all they could say was that he was a known transient. This lead was followed but they could never find the man so nothing ever came of this information. Three years later, Detective Gregory decide even if the killings were planned or premeditated, the crime still pointed to the transient (Unsolved Mysteries, 1988).
After the Unsolved Mystery show aired in 1988, and a reward of $10,000.00 was issued leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who committed the horrendous crimes, they received hundreds of leads regarding the Swain's murders. A lady by the name of Jane Beaver 5 called saying her daughter had dated a boy that resembled the composite sketch shown. The person she was referring to was Dennis A. Perry. According to sworn testimony given by now retired Detective Gregory at Dennis's trial in February 2003, all leads were followed and Dennis was excluded from the suspect list. He lived in Atlanta, Georgia at the time of the killings (Gregory, 2003). It was years later before any new developments would arise.
Dennis Perry's grandmother lived very close to where the Swain's were killed. In fact, she lived and still lives in a very small home in the African American Community of Camden County. Her neighbors on all sides of the street are black, and considered friends of their whole family. Dennis stayed with his grandmother for a while, where he was in fact dating Ms. Beaver's daughter; Carol Ann. He later moved to Atlanta with his mom, where he worked for a construction company. An older gentleman Mr. Charlie Williamson drove Dennis to work everyday because Dennis had no car. * Mr. Williamson was a construction worker at the same place Dennis worked back in 1985. When Mr. Williamson entered the courtroom in February 2003, the jury saw a frail, older looking man that had two or more strokes over the past fifteen years. He had retired from the construction industry. Witnessing the courtroom proceedings it might have been hard to go back in time when this man was healthy and strong from being on a construction site for many years. This was Dennis' alibi. Mr. Williamson under oath stated he drove Dennis to work the day after the shootings, and the day before. This would have prevented Dennis from being there because of the distance between Atlanta and Waverly Georgia. You must wonder how this man could have remembered such a thing. The mind is a box and people will always remember things.(Williamson, 2003)
According to Ms. Beaver's testimony and sworn affidavits,Mr. Swain's name was never mentioned by Dennis but she presumed it was Harold Swain Dennis was talking about. She also stated under oath that she contacted the police on several occasions after the Unsolved Mysteries show, but it was not until 1999 when someone finally took her seriously. This is when Sergeant Dale B. Bundy was assigned to the case full time. Seized drug money was allotted for the sole intent to put a man behind bars. Ms. Beaver also showed a picture [one picture] to one of the eyewitnesses. She went to the church and told them that Dennis was the father of her grand baby. There was never a baby. The boy in the picture with Dennis, was his baby brother (Umphrey, 1999). This issue was briefly mentioned at trial. When the eyewitness saw the picture, she nearly fainted because it did resemble the man who killed the Swain's. The fate of Dennis Perry was in Ms. Beaver's hand. Ms. Beaver also became Camden counties personal detective. Fifteen years later, and a one and a half second glance at the young man in the church, four different composites, no evidence, no murder weapon, and if the motive was money, why was there $300.00 left in Harold Swain's pocket? There is just too many unanswered questions.
On January 13, 2000, also Martin Luther King's birthday, a possible connection that this was a big election year for Bill Smith, the sheriff of Camden County, and the black population vote would keep him in office, Dennis Arnold Perry was arrested in Jacksonville, Florida for two counts of murder, a crime that carries a life sentence, or the death penalty, in Georgia. Mr. Dale Westling the attorney representing Dennis said, "It's the same set of eyewitnesses" he said. "If you couldn't identify someone 15 years ago, you sure can't now. (Jackson, Wakefield) Cathy Crier from court TV has done reports on eyewitnesses. On a recent show they did a test on eyewitnesses, two out of twelve people knew what the man was wearing seconds after he ran by them. She stated she wished every judge in America would see this and exclude eyewitness testimony. (Winphrey, 2003)
One must admit that the sketch does slightly resemble that of Dennis A. Perry, at the age he is today; however, the composite also looked like Donnie Barrentine, the transient from Kansas, and probably thousands of other men who are 5' 6" to 8''s tall, a slight build, with blonde sandy colored hair, in their early to late twenties, wearing or not wearing glasses. The hair, which forensics could finally do a DNA test on in 2001, did not match Dennis. Unfortunately, it did not match any of the other people's DNA. The defense attorney for Dennis, Dale Westling, called to have several other peoples blood drawn. The eyeglasses were also proven not to be Dennis' through an eye examination, and the examination of the lens's of the glasses. The Pepsi bottle, which may have left crucial evidence, was lost.
Dennis Arnold Perry's trial lasted one week, as the Judge had intructed the jury before it even began. Besides Jane Beaver's testimony, Sergeant Bundy, along with two other Jacksonville police officers stated that Dennis confessed to the crime (Testimony 2003). After several hours of questioning, Dennis refused to say anything without his attorney present, when leaving to go back to the jail, Sergeant Bundy told the other officers Dennis had something to say. When Dennis described to them what "he thought" might of happened, a robbery gone bad, The detectives took that has a confession. When they asked him to put it in writing, Dennis stated that they were putting words in his mouth (Testimony, 2003). The interview ended. You would think the detectives in with Dennis during this interrogation, especially on a double homicide that happened fifteen years earlier, that they should have been recording or video taping this entire interview. Even writing down a few notes would have been a good idea.None were ever taken.
With most circumstances described in this paper, and one week of hurry and get this trial over. Dennis Arnold Perry was found guilty of two counts of murder. The same day he was found guilty, Valentine,s Day, he was sentenced to twenty years. The death penalty conviction was over rode because he agreed, under pressure from his Attoerny's, after his guilty verdict, not to appeal this case. He was not allowed to speak to his family and get their opinion.The lawyers, told him, " you'll fry if you don't take this deal." Dennis, after years of of fighting and now loosing somehow, lost all hope and gave them what they wantd. He sighned their waiver under complete duress.
Dennis Perry is now serving his sentence in Autry State Prison in Pelham, GA. Dennis has already been in prison for over four years. Having his case in court again could take another five years. Unless someone out there listens and helps to set an innocent man free.
We can all hope that in our lifetime we do not look like someone that committed a horrible crime. If we end up in a position like this, then we better hope that we have millions of dollars to get a fair trial. If not you may end up in the same position Dennis is in.
References
Schweid, B, February 11, 2003., The Brunswick News pg.5a
Unsolved Mysteries Aired November 2, 1988.,1-800-876-5353, Lifetime Television
Sloan, K., The Brunswick News. February 11, 2003 Vol.101 no. 139 pg. 1
Gregory, J., Court Proceedings. February 12, 2003
Umphery, Helen, Dennis' Mom.
Winphrey, Oprah Show. Aired December 4th, 2003 Cable Channel 4.
Wilkes, Sue Ellen, Statement to detectives. 2001
Bundy, Dale, Video tape interview with Donnie Barrentine. February 22, 2002
Jackson, G, Wakefield, V., Florida Times Union, n.d.
State vs. Dennis Perry, Sworn Testimony by Dale Bundy February 2003
Footnotes:
1 There is conflicting reports on the day the murders occurred. Verified March 11, 1985, was a Monday.
2 This is referring to the several eyewitnesses composites that were reported.
3 At this date and time DNA was not used. Though items such has blood, hair, and shell casings were still gathered as evidence.
4 Donnie Barrentine's name is mentioned throughout the case, including the show Unsolved Mysteries.
5 Public knowledge in the trial of Dennis Perry. Documentation support. Brunswick Georgia 2003
6 testimony given at trial.

A Final Note :

The county court wants to charge Dennis Perry $7000.00 for a copy of his court transcripts. How does a man, declared indigent by the same county courts, be told he has to pay so much to prove his innocence, as if spending all these years in jail being told he can't do anything about isn't enough.

Thank you, for taking the time to read this and do any investigating you may deem possible to help get Dennis Perry set free.