By Jane Harper
The Virginian-Pilot
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The reckless actions of Angelo Delano Perry caused his death and that of the mother of his infant son during a shootout with police inside a car last September, Commonwealth’s Attorney Colin Stolle said Wednesday.
Stolle’s office, which investigates all police-involved shootings, had been reviewing the incident since it occurred Sept. 5 at a 7-Eleven parking lot in the city’s Princess Anne area.
“I find the officers did not violate the law, were legally justified in their actions that evening, and there will be no criminal charges against any of the four officers,” he said during a news conference. “I feel this is the only decision available based on the evidence and the law.”
Perry, 35, and India Kager, 27, were killed while sitting in the front seat of Kager’s 1991 blue Cadillac. Their 4-month-old son, Roman, who was in an infant seat in the back, was not injured and no bullets entered that area, Stolle said.
The shooting was captured on the store’s surveillance video, which Stolle released Wednesday. Some of the people in the 7-Eleven parking lot also witnessed what happened and corroborated the police’s version of events, the prosecutor said.
Stolle said he shared his findings with Kager’s parents and Perry’s wife before the news conference. Kager’s mother, Gina Best, who has been vocal in her belief that the shooting was unjustified, was “not happy” with the findings, he said.
Best could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
For Kager’s father, Richard Kager, the findings stirred up the pain of losing his daughter, who had served in the Navy in Virginia Beach and had two boys.
“It’s a really ugly, vacant, violated feeling. It’s just beyond pain. It’s the worst thing you’ve ever felt and then just multiplied,” said Kager, a retired Washington police officer. “I have the utmost respect for police officers. I’m a retired police officer myself, and that makes it hurt so much more.”
Stolle also released the first initial and last names of the four SWAT officers involved, which had been withheld until Wednesday. They are: S. Ferreira, K. Ziemer, J. Thorson and D. Roys. All have been on administrative duty since the night of the shooting. They will remain in that status until the police complete their own investigation, spokesman Jimmy Cason Jr. said.
The events leading up to the shooting began in late August when a confidential informant told police that a man named “Blessi” was responsible for two killings and a home invasion in Virginia Beach weeks before the shooting, Stolle said.
Police later learned that “Blessi” was Perry. Background checks showed that he had been paroled in 2014 after having served 12 years for malicious wounding and use of a firearm. He also had a previous conviction for assault and battery of a law enforcement officer.
The day before the 7-Eleven shooting, the informant told police “Blessi” had agreed to do a “hit” on someone in Virginia Beach in the next day or two, Stolle said. Police were not able to locate the intended target and got an emergency search request allowing them to monitor the location of Perry’s phone.
When Perry’s phone indicated he was in Virginia Beach, police began following him in unmarked vehicles. They had been told that he was armed and driving in a blue Cadillac with Maryland license plates. When they caught up with the car, they saw that a woman was driving and Perry was in the passenger seat.
The car began to drive erratically, made a U-turn behind the Salem Crossing Shopping Center, passed the undercover police vehicles and then headed in the direction of the intended victim’s home, Stolle said. Police believed Perry knew he was being followed and they decided to take him into custody, he said.
At about 11:30 p.m., the car pulled into the parking lot of the 7-Eleven at the intersection of Lynnhaven Parkway and Salem Road. The officers’ vehicles pulled in behind it, blocked it in the parking lot and threw a “flash bang” distraction device at it, Stolle said. They ran up to the passenger side and yelled “police” and “show your hands,” Stolle said. Each was wearing SWAT uniforms and tactical gear.
Perry then turned his body so that he was facing the passenger door, with his back up against Kager, and began firing, the prosecutor said, shooting four times. The officers returned 30 rounds and stopped shooting once they saw Perry’s gun lowered. One of Perry’s shots pierced the sleeves of one officer’s uniform and undershirt, but he was not wounded. Stolle said he didn’t think the number of rounds fired was excessive because of the number of officers who fired.
The shootout lasted less than 15 seconds, Stolle said. Autopsy results showed Kager had 10 bullet “defects” that could have been produced by seven to eight bullets, some of which may have passed through Perry’s body first, Stolle said. Perry’s autopsy indicated he had been hit 15 to 25 times, he said.
“It was Mr. Perry who turned his body and positioned it in such a manner that he placed Miss Kager directly in the officers’ line of fire,” Stolle said. “It was the decision of Mr. Perry, and not the actions of the officers, that resulted in Miss Kager’s death.”
Police removed Kager from the vehicle and performed CPR, but she died. Although the officers had heard that there might be someone in the back of the vehicle, they did not realize it was a baby until the shootout was over, Stolle said. The baby was crying by that time and the officers sought to comfort him, he said.
Best has said recently that Roman is living with his great-grandmother in Maryland while she cares for Kager’s 4-year-old son, Evan. Best said they recently have become concerned with potential problems with Roman’s hearing, which they fear may have been caused by the gunfire and the flash-bang device thrown at the car.
Richard Kager, who was disappointed with the prosecutor’s decision, believes the shootout could have been avoided if police had not rushed the vehicle.
“It could have been handled differently, in a more patient manner,” he said. The officers should have tried to talk to Perry with a loudspeaker from a distance and shined bright lights on the vehicle before approaching, he said.
Richard Kager said he has consulted with a lawyer, who will conduct his own investigation before the family decides whether to sue.
“We’ll be pursuing some type of justice to learn every possible thing that we can,” he said.
Copyright 2016 The Virginian-Pilot