Perez
A proposed plea agreement is expected to be made public Thursday in the case of a Rush County man accused of shooting and wounding his brother and 3-year-old nephew in Hope.
A brief hearing for Robbie L. Perez, 36, of Homer was held Monday afternoon in Bartholomew Circuit Court. The defendant was present with public defender Joseph Villanueva and deputy prosecutor Meagan Dial-McDonough.
“We are close on this,” Villanueva told Judge Kelly Benjamin in regard to a plea agreement. But the public defender said he has recently been made aware of a few issues by his client that need to be addressed, Villanueva said.
In addition, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Kimberly Sexton-Yeager, who is leading the case for the state, was out-of-town on Monday, the public defender told the judge.
Benjamin agreed to reschedule the hearing for 10:15 a.m. Thursday.
Perez is charged with attempted murder as a Level 1 felony, aggravated battery when the assault poses a substantial risk of death as a Level 3 felony, and aggravated battery when the assault poses a substantial risk of death as Level 3 felony. If convicted on all three counts, Perez could face 26 to 72 years in prison, as well as fines of up to $30,000.
At 11:25 p.m. June 1, 2023, Bartholomew County sheriff deputies were called to the 300 block of Elm Street in Hope to investigate a report of a shooting. When the officers arrived, they discovered that the defendant’s brother, George Perez Jr. and his toddler son, Kingston, had both been shot. The father, who was 36 at the time, and the preschooler were both flown to Indianapolis area hospitals by Lifeline helicopter.
While George Perez was released in a relatively short amount of time, Kingston was initially placed into an medically-induced coma after being listed in critical, but stable condition at Riley Hospital for Children. A month later, the Perez family used social media to report Kingston was recovering at a rate faster than expected.
Investigators, who say they received information there was a long-running feud between the brothers, stated they believe Robbie Perez went to his brother’s home, stood on the porch and fired shots inside the residence before fleeing the scene, according to court documents.
George Perez later said he does not believe his brother intended to shoot Kingston, and that the bullet that seriously wounded his son was likely intended for him.
At 10:49 a.m. the morning after the shootings, deputies were told that Robbie Perez’s silver, four-door compact wagon was westbound on East King Street, near Interstate 65 in Johnson County. After Franklin police attempted to stop the Chevy HHR, there was a brief pursuit before the defendant was taken into custody.
Moments after being stopped, Robbie Perez was found to be suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his chin. He was first taken to Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis where he was kept under guard. After the defendant was released from the hospital, he was immediately booked into the Bartholomew County Jail.
