Alleged officer killer will face jury

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - One of the men accused of killing Norfolk police officer Victor Decker will face a jury trial next year.

Raymond Lewis Perry and Kareem Turner are charged with killing Decker in October 2010. Decker's body was found in a field off Oceana Boulevard near the Atlantic nightclub where he had attended a charity event the evening prior.

Perry will face a jury trial in February 2014 on charges of first degree murder, robbery and use of a firearm. Turner is facing the same charges and Perry faces an additional capital murder charge.

Perry is due in court May 28 for a motion hearing. 

Thursday, one inmate testified he was outside Atlantis that evening. He said he heard a gunshot and saw two men in hoodies run away. He testified he could identify both of those men as Turner and Perry. When the same inmate was questioned about the events of that evening on another occasion, said he was not so sure the second man was Turner.

"I think a jury will have a hard time with that," Defense Attorney James Broccoletti said. "The number of inconsistent statements he had... We'll bring the detectives in to testify what he told them in those interviews is inconsistent with what he told the court [Thursday]."

Another inmate took the stand Thursday, saying Turner allegedly owned the gun used to kill Decker, lent it to Perry for the robbery but did not know Perry was going to shoot Decker.

"What the court was clearly faced with were two particular witnesses who have reason to falsify and to testify against [Turner] because of their own pending charges," Broccoletti said.

Last year, witnesses testified the October 2010 incident had begun as a robbery but ended in Decker's death.

Perry told WAVY.com in a jailhouse interview in August 2012 he was innocent and that he would take a polygraph test to prove himself.

"I'm innocent. I'm not guilty. I don't even know Officer Victor Decker," Perry said.

He claims "jailhouse informants" trying to get their sentences cut snitched on him and that's what led police to arrest him for the crime.

Police told WAVY.com Perry was serving an 88-year sentence in South Carolina for a series of robberies when he was charged with Officer Decker's murder. Perry was extradited to Virginia Beach in August when he became a suspect in Decker's death.

To view complete coverage of the Officer Victor Decker death investigation, follow this link.