‘They were not moving.’ North Fresno double murder trial begins with tense testimony
The trial of Gary Perry, who is charged with murdering two of his friends in north Fresno, opened Tuesday with witnesses describing a shocking night of gunshots, screaming and blood on the streets of their idyllic Woodward Lake neighborhood.
Perry, 26, is accused of fatally shooting Scott Alex Gaffney, 21, and Brennen Julian Fairhead, 21, on Dec. 14, 2017 in the 10000 block of Grouse Run.
The victims were with Perry and Michael Rackney, who prosecutors say were doing a drug deal that night.
Deborah Miller, senior deputy district attorney, said in her opening statements that Rackney had set up the drug buy near Fresno State.
After it was done, the four men drove to the Woodward Lake area in Fairhead’s white two-door Honda to drop Rackney off at a friend’s house.
They parked on a side street in the neighborhood with streets named Grouse Run, Mockingbird Lane and Chickadee Court.
It was about 8 p.m. when the stillness of the evening was rocked with the sound of gunshots.
Rackney, who is currently in jail for a DUI violation, testified that he got out of the Honda to let Gaffney exit the backseat.
Also sitting in the backseat, was Perry. As Rackney reached into the car to shake Fairhead’s hand the gunfire began.
“I just froze up, I’m standing looking at Brennen and he is gasping for air,” Rackney testified. “I heard another shot and me and Scott took off running.”
As he was trying to get away, Rackney looked back quickly and saw Gaffney fall to the ground.
Rackney managed to escape to a friends house where he hid in their garage. His friends heard the gun shots and asked him if he was robbing someone.
“Bro, shut up and just be quiet,” Rackney testified he told his friends.
Perry’s defense attorney Emily Takao reminded Rackney that he lied to detectives when he was first interviewed about the drug deal and shooting.
He also admitted that he did not see Perry shoot either of the two victims or shoot at him.
Takao asked Rackney if it was possible that Perry wasn’t shooting at him. “I guess so,” Rackney said.
Neighbor Robert Jenkins II testified that he heard what he thought were loud “popping noises.” He and his wife went outside to investigate, but he told her it was safer inside.
Jenkins, who lives on Mockingbird Lane, started to walk towards Chickadee Court when he saw car lights from a parked vehicle in the distance.
He went back to his house to get a flash light but when he returned, the car was gone, he testified.
“I shined my flashlight down the street and I could see what looked like a pile of laundry,” Jenkins testified.
Jenkins went back to his home, a second time, and got in his pickup truck. As he got closer, he realized what it was.
“I pulled the lights on in the area and saw that it was a body on the street and on the sidewalk,” Jenkins testified.
Jenkins told his wife to call 911 as he went to check on the victims.
“They were not moving,” Jenkins testified.
In a crime scene photo taken by Fresno police, the jury could clearly see a large pool of blood coming from Fairhead’s upper body. He was face down. Gaffney’s was on his back, laying several feet away on the sidewalk.
Video from a neighbor’s home security camera recorded the sounds of several loud gunshots, followed by someone screaming and then the sound of someone running.
There is also on voice on the video, yelling “It’s all good, I am not going to shoot you.”
Seconds later, a white Honda drives away at high speed.
This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
