A jury previously found Perkins guilty of two counts of felonious assault and one misdemeanor criminal damaging charge. They found him not guilty of two counts of murder, according to Montgomery County Common Pleas Court records.
On April 20, Dayton police responded to Golden Villa apartments in the 500 block of Scranton Street for a stabbing.
Officers found a man, later identified as 52-year-old Ronnie Wells, with multiple stab wounds below his waist, according to Dayton Municipal Court records.
Wells was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Witnesses told officers Perkins damaged Wells’ vehicle with a blunt object before going to his apartment and returning with a knife, according to municipal court documents.
“Perkins began stabbing the tires of the victim’s vehicle, deflating them,” an affidavit read.
Wells came outside and reportedly asked Perkins why he was damaging his vehicle. Perkins then stabbed Wells multiple times, according to court documents.
In a sentencing memo filed in common pleas court, the defense stated Wells charged and attacked Perkins first.
“Mr. Perkins attacked a van, not a person, until the person attacked him,” the memo read.
Defense Attorney Ben M. Swift also claimed Perkins showed genuine remorse during his interview with police the day of the stabbing.
The defense sought a sentence of five years on community control sanctions, according to court records.
The prosecution requested eight years in prison.
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Erin Leigh Claypoole wrote Perkins was angry over a van that had been parked in front of his apartment and alleged activity happening around his apartment and storage area, according to a sentencing memo.
“The state would argue that the offender’s obsession with the van parked in front of his apartment and subsequent destruction of that van facilitated the offense, since the defendant was trying to — in his own words — lure the victim out to him," the memo read.
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