The Utah Court of Appeals has upheld the murder conviction of a Salt Lake man convicted for the 1988 shooting death of his former roommate following an argument over a $110 drug debt.
In a 3-0 decision, the judges said the evidence presented in the trial of Terry Wayne Perdue, 30, was sufficient to sustain a second-degree murder conviction. Perdue had appealed the conviction, arguing that the shooting was in self-defense and he should have been charged with manslaughter instead of murder.In his appeal, he cited two instances where the Utah Supreme Court upheld a manslaughter conviction for acts that were not in self-defense. The judges concluded that neither of the cases had any relationship to Perdue's case.
Perdue killed Jerry Kadell Hermansen, 27, on Oct. 18, 1988, while the two men were target practicing with Hermansen's pistol in western Salt Lake County.
During the practice, Hermansen told Perdue he owed him $110 for cocaine and demanded the money. When Perdue refused to give it, Hermansen took Perdue's car keys and said he would keep Perdue's car until Perdue paid the debt. Then Hermansen began loading shells into the revolver.
Perdue said he felt he would be killed, so he slugged Hermansen in the mouth. He grabbed for Hermansen's gun and the two men struggled. Perdue shot Hermansen twice in the back and once in the neck and dragged the body off the road.
Noting that Perdue didn't seek help for Hermansen or even bother to see if he was still alive, Judges Regnal W. Garff, Gregory K. Orme and Norman H. Jackson concluded that the facts of the killing "readily support a conviction of second-degree murder."
Perdue also appealed his conviction because he felt two instructions given during his trial prejudiced his case - including an instruction submitted by Perdue's own attorney.
The judges ruled that a defendant cannot appeal a conviction based on instructions he or his lawyer prepared for a jury during trial. To set such a precedent would encourage defendants to prepare faulty jury instructions in hopes of giving themselves grounds to later appeal a possible conviction.
Perdue killed Hermansen while on parole from the Utah State Prison for a 1982 forgery conviction. Perdue is back at the prison serving time for Hermansen's death.
The Utah Board of Pardons told Perdue in December 1989 that he will spend at least 20 more years in prison for the shooting. Perdue will not appear before the board again until October 2008.