By ALEX COSTELLO
Perryman was acquitted of the murder of Baez, who was shot twice outside of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center last May after a joint birthday party for Perryman's father and grandfather.
Michael DerGarabedian, Perryman's attorney, attributed their win to justice, but declined to comment further on the trial.
The trial was an unusual one. The prosecution, led by Assistant District Attorney Michael Canty, found out during the trial that, of the three witnesses they were counting on to testify against Perryman, two were declining to testify and one could not be found.
To make up for the lost testimonies, the prosecution tried to present previous statements the witnesses made against Perryman as evidence, which led to a special hearing called a Sirois Hearing.
The reason a Sirois Hearing is so rare is because if the judge sides with the prosecution and allows them to present a witness' statement as evidence, it takes away the defendant's Constitutional right to question their accusers.
In this case, Judge George Peck sided with the prosecution, based on evidence that Perryman had intimidated the witnesses into not testifying.
Still, the jury sided with Perryman and found him not guilty of all charges.
"The detectives and prosecutors involved went to the ends of the earth on this case," said Eric Phillips, spokesman for the District Attorney, "and we are all profoundly disappointed in the verdict."
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