An accident — or cold, calculated murder? Fresno double homicide case in front of jury

A Fresno jury began deliberations Tuesday in the trial of Gary Perry, who is charged with murdering two friends in a drug deal gone bad in an upscale Woodward Lake neighborhood four years ago.

Perry, 26, is accused of fatally shooting Scott Alex Gaffney, 21, and Brennen Julian Fairhead, 21, in the 10000 block of Grouse Run, and attempting to kill witness Michael Rackney, who said he eluded gunfire to hide in a friend’s house.

“That’s Brennen, that’s Scott,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Deborah Miller told the Fresno Superior Court jury, displaying a crime scene photo during her summation. “That’s how they were left on Dec. 14, 2017.”

The bodies of Gaffney and Fairhead were found by stunned neighbors who heard multiple gunshots and shouting.

Detectives testified they found Perry’s fingerprints on the car where the shooting began.

Prosecutors say on the night of the slayings, Perry, Gaffney, Fairhead and Rackney drove to the Fresno State area and bought drugs. Back in the Woodward Lake area, they stopped to let Rackney out on Grouse Run.

Perry began firing a Glock pistol, killing Fairhead and Gaffney.

The defendant told detectives he shot Fairhead by accident, panicked, and shot Gaffney because he was a witness. Rackney testified that as he ran, Perry also fired at him.

Perry faces life without the possibility of parole if he is convicted of the slayings.

A ring camera on a neighbor’s house recorded the gunfire, and Miller told the jury that the rapid succession of rounds fired proved the shooting of Fairhead was no accident.

Perry “had to make sure (Fairhead) did not survive,” Miller said. The prosecutor also argued that Perry committed the crime out of malice and for financial gain.

“This was planned. (Perry) pulled that trigger five times...to take drugs and money.”

Miller also argued that Perry, who is also charged with trying to shoot Rackney, did so because “he didn’t want witnesses.”

Defense attorney Emily Takao, argued that Perry accidentally shot Fairhead. She suggested the Glock pistol had been modified so that multiple rounds were fired by mistake.

“He did not intend for that gun to go off,” she said. Takao also argued the prosecution’s argument that the crime was committed for financial gain was not established beyond a reasonable doubt.

As for allegations that Perry fired at the fleeing Rackney, Takao said evidence did not support that, either.

This story was originally published May 10, 2022 at 1:14 PM.