Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a 21-year-old Bronx man
has been convicted by a jury of the top charge of second-degree Murder in the 2013 shooting
of a 19-year-old man in the Tremont section of the Bronx. He was also convicted of gun
possession based on a photograph of him holding the murder weapon posted on Facebook.
District Attorney Clark said, “A Bronx jury has convicted this defendant of shooting a
young man during a dispute. They also found him guilty of the gun charge, after being
presented with a photo he posted on Facebook of him holding the weapon. This sends a
message to those who espouse the culture of guns and violence that it is not tolerated in the
Bronx.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Jesswill Perez, 21, of 67 West 175th Street,
was convicted today after a four-week trial before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Nicholas
Iacovetta of second-degree Murder and second-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon with
Intent to Use. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on Dec. 15, 2016.
According to trial testimony, at 7:30 p.m. on December 20, 2013, in front of a bank
branch at 795 East Tremont Ave., Perez argued with Edwin Molina, 19, whom he knew. Perez
pulled a .25-caliber pistol and shot Molina three times. Perez was arrested February 8, 2014
with the murder weapon and a 9-mm pistol in his possession. The firearms were suppressed at
a pre-trial hearing but a Facebook photograph of Perez’ arm--with an ornate tattoo reading
“Money Power Respect,” the hand holding the .25-caliber pistol--was entered into evidence.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Rachel Kalman and Masateru
Marubashi, under the supervision of Christine Scaccia, Deputy Chief of the Homicide Bureau,
and the overall supervision of Nicole Keary, Deputy Chief of the Trial Division and Jeremy
Shockett, Chief of the Trial Division. District Attorney Clark also thanked 48th Precinct
Detective Carlos Mena.
