FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, March 4, 2016
Serial Killer Sentenced to 75 Years to Life for Murdering Three Brooklyn Shopkeepers
Used Same Rifle in Each Homicide, Linked to Crimes by Physical and Forensic Evidence
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a Staten Island salesman was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison for the shooting deaths of three Brooklyn shopkeepers who were killed in separate incidents during the summer and fall of 2012. The defendant used the same rifle in all three incidents to murder three innocent and hard-working family men. He was convicted last month based on forensic, physical, surveillance and other evidence.
District Attorney Thompson said, “It’s hard to think of anyone who deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison more than this cold-blooded and unrepentant serial killer. He murdered three innocent, honest and hard-working business owners and then spent years acting up in court to delay the fate he received today. I hope his life sentence will bring some comfort to the victims’ families who have suffered so much loss and grief.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Salvatore Perrone, 67, of 1173 Clove Road in Staten Island. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Alan Marrus to the maximum sentence of 75 years to life in prison, following his conviction on February 10, 2016 on three counts of second-degree murder after a jury trial.
The District Attorney said that, according to trial testimony, on July 6, 2012, the defendant shot Mohamed Gebeli, 65, once in the neck, killing him, inside the victim’s store Valentino Fashion, located at 7718 Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. On August 2, 2012 the defendant shot Isaac Kadare, 59, once in the head and then slit his throat inside the victim’s Amazing 99 Cents Deals store at 1877 86th Street in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. On November 16, 2012 the defendant fatally shot Rahmatollah Vahidipour, 78, in the head, face and chest inside the victim’s She-She Boutique at 834 Flatbush Avenue in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
After the third homicide, a photo of the defendant carrying a black duffle bag in the vicinity of the third crime scene was distributed to the media and he was arrested on November 21, 2012. A search at his girlfriend’s home led to the recovery of the duffle bag. In it, police discovered a .22-caliber rifle that was registered to the defendant and was used in all three murders, according to ballistic analysis of shell casings that were left at the three crime scenes, the evidence showed. The bag also contained a knife with blood that matched Mr. Kadare. Blood stains that matched Mr. Vahidipour were found on the bag itself.
Furthermore, the defendant’s fingerprints and DNA were recovered from the murder weapon, according to testimony. Cell phone data and surveillance videos placed him in the vicinity of the second and third homicides, the evidence showed. All three victims were killed around their stores’ closing time and their bodies were covered with clothes or other items in an apparent attempt to conceal the murders.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Melissa Carvajal, of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Taub, Chief.
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