John Perkins, Murder-Kidnapping, Pennsylvania 2018

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Philadelphia Man Convicted in 2018 Murder-Kidnapping Plot Against North Philadelphia Business Owner

PHILADELPHIA – In a shocking turn of events, John Perkins, 34, of Philadelphia, PA, was convicted after trial for his involvement in a scheme to kidnap an individual and hold them for ransom, which eventually led to that individual’s injury and death.

The victim’s body was later recovered in Cecil County, Maryland.

In May 2019, Perkins was charged by Indictment with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and kidnapping involving interstate commerce (transporting the kidnapped individual across state lines), stemming from the June 2018 kidnapping and murder of an individual who owned businesses in the city.

When the victim showed up to the location of an arranged meeting in Philadelphia, a co-defendant shot the victim, injuring him. Perkins’ co-conspirators restrained the victim with duct tape, hand cuffs, and zip ties, and Perkins loaded the victim’s bound and bloody body into the kidnappers’ car.

Perkins’ co-conspirators then drove the victim to a location in Chester County. Meanwhile, during the kidnapping, ransom calls demanding hundreds of thousands of dollars were made to the victim’s wife and to an associate of the victim.

Co-defendants who were also charged related to their involvement in the kidnapping conspiracy and who all previously pleaded guilty are: Ivan Rangel Prieto, 37, of Asheboro, North Carolina; Jose Castillo, 47, of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Jose Bernal, 33, of Newark, Delaware; Jose Delgado, 43, of Warminster, Pennsylvania; Salvador Sanchez Guerrero, 50, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Robert Favors, 42, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Fermín Perez Mejia, 38, of Norristown, Pennsylvania.

“This defendant acted with callous disregard for another human being’s life, and now a jury has found him guilty of these horrific crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams.

“Our office refuses to give in and let this type of lawless violence and intimidation become just the ‘way things are’ in Philadelphia – we are ‘All Hands On Deck’ to investigate and prosecute violent crimes in the city.”

Perkins faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison, a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison, and a potential fine of $250,000.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Philadelphia Police Department, with assistance from the Cecil County, Maryland Sherriff’s Office, the Southern Chester County Regional Police Department, and the Plymouth Township Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amanda R. Reinitz and Everett Witherell.