Cop Charged After MP3 Recording Revealed in Perry Mason-Type Moment
A New York detective has been charged with perjury after a dramatic cross-examination in which he was confronted with an interrogation secretly recorded on a suspect’s MP3 player.
Detective Christopher Perino pleaded not guilty at his arraignment yesterday, the New York Times reports.
Defense lawyer Mark DeMarco said he kept the recording a secret until he used it at the trial of his client, Erik Crespo, during the detective’s cross-examination, the Associated Press reports.
Perino had maintained he didn’t interrogate Crespo, suspected of shooting a man in an apartment building elevator. Crespo claimed the shooting was in self-defense.
A transcript of the recording reportedly shows Perino discouraging Crespo from consulting a lawyer and warning him he will not be able to tell his version of events at trial unless he confesses.
The New York Times printed a portion of the cross examination:
DeMarco: “Now, you said on direct examination that you never asked [Crespo] any questions when you were alone with him in the room on Dec. 31, 2005. Isn’t it true?”
Perino: “That’s correct. … He wasn’t questioned.”
DeMarco: “Did you ever tell him in that room that evening that you had no problems with him carrying a gun?”
Perino: “Never said it.”
