JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A St. Johns County man accused of fatally stabbing his wife last week was arrested just minutes after her death, and less than 17 hours later, Derrek Perkins was indicted by a grand jury.
The timeline isn’t just fast. It appears to be one of the swiftest criminal indictments in history.
“It is very unusual,” said former federal prosecutor Curtis Falgatter. “Normally these things take two, three weeks. Sometimes longer if the investigation is more complicated.”
Falgatter says prosecutors have 21 days to file charges, but that inmates accused of serious crimes are often held on lesser charges until murder indictments can be brought. Derrek Perkins made his first appearance in St. Johns County court Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. According to court records, the grand jury indicted him at 3:24 p.m. – less than seven hours later.
The Perkins indictment came so fast, one local prosecutor speaking on background initially didn’t believe the timeline, saying it would be “literally impossible” to get an indictment that quickly.
To see how the timeline compared to other swift indictments, we Googled “fastest indictment in history” and “fastest indictment ever.”
The search engine turned up the story of Jackson, Mississippi Mayor Frank Melton who was indicted inside of two weeks. It also found the case of the man accused of murdering New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith – indicted in 19 days – and a man accused of killing a police officer in the same city, who was indicted in under a week.
The fastest indictment this admittedly rudimentary search found was two days – when Dallas prosecutors indicted Jack Ruby for killing presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.
Seventh District State Attorney Spokesperson Bryan Shorstein said the Perkins case moved quickly because prosecutors already had a grand jury seated to hear another murder case. He said investigators worked through the night to pull the case together, but even he conceded it was the fastest indictment he’s seen.
“I think they see this as a very straightforward homicide easy to prove,” Falgatter said. “Single suspect and had a motive. She had an injunction against him. So they certainly had probable cause, which you know, is the standard of the grand jury. The rest is icing on the cake.”
Perkins has not yet entered a plea.
Perkins timeline:
Oct. 13, 10:19 p.m. -- stabbing occurs
Oct. 13, 10:32 p.m. -- Perkins apprehended
Oct. 14, 1:28 a.m. -- Perkins booked
Oct. 14, 8:30 a.m. -- Perkins' first appearance
Oct. 14, 3:24 p.m. -- Grand Jury indictment
Domestic violence resources:
Family and friends of the victim in this case, Brandi Brooker, have started a group called Being Brandi’s Voice to raise attention and funds to help victims of domestic violence. There are also a number of regional and national resources for victims of domestic violence:
Betty Griffin Center (St. Johns County): bettygriffincenter.org or 904-824-1555
Quigley House (Clay County): quigleyhouse.org or 904-284-0061
Hubbard House (Baker/Duval counties): hubbardhouse.org or 904-354-3114
Micah’s Place (Nassau County): micahsplace.org or 904-225-9979
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is also available 24/7 at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).