VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- It was a chilly October morning as the Atlantis Gentlemen's Club prepared to close.
Outside, Lamont Davenport and friends waited in a car, looking for an acquaintance they planned to rob, he said in court Thursday.
That's when two hooded men caught their attention as they walked from the strip club down Oceana Boulevard, Davenport said. He got out to investigate and heard a gunshot.
A few hours later, a passer-by would find the body of 25-year-old Victor Edward Decker, a husband, father and off-duty Norfolk police officer, dead of a gunshot wound, lying next to his pickup, his wallet missing.
After the shot, when the hooded duo came running back, Davenport recognized one as Raymond Lewis Perry, a man he knew "from the streets" as "Buck," he testified. The other he thought he knew, too, as Kareem Hasson Turner, though he was less certain, he said.
Davenport and friends left before more trouble came, and for a while kept what they'd seen to themselves.
The case went unsolved for nearly two years after Decker's Oct. 26, 2010, death until informants such as Davenport led police last summer to charge Perry -- a 21-year-old federal prisoner with an extensive criminal history -- and, about six months later, Turner -- a 24-year-old demolition worker with only minor criminal convictions.
A General District Court judge Thursday ruled there was enough evidence to go forward with the case against Turner, despite arguments from defense attorney James Broccoletti that prosecutors offered no forensic proof or credible witnesses.
So far the cases against the two men accused of committing one of Virginia Beach's highest-profile crimes have hinged on the testimony of jailhouse informants with their own sometimes-lengthy criminal pasts.
Davenport, 38, is serving more than 12 years in federal prison for cocaine distribution, though he said in court he'll serve less time for cooperating in a federal case. He hopes to further reduce his sentence by testifying in the Decker case, he said.
Witness Aaron Lundy, 24, said he, too, is hoping for a reduced sentence on his own charges, which include grand larceny and credit card theft.
Lundy testified he first met Turner last fall in the Virginia Beach Correctional Center as they sat in a holding cell, trading stories on how they'd ended up there.
Turner told him his fingerprints had been found on the gun used to kill Decker, Lundy testified. Turner said he'd provided Perry with the gun and participated in the robbery, but didn't know Decker was a policeman and didn't pull the trigger, Lundy said.
Detective John Allen said police recovered a shell casing from the scene and found Decker's wallet on the nearest Interstate 264 West on-ramp.
Turner's and Perry's lives are on the line. Their charges -- including murder, robbery, and using a firearm -- could land them in prison for life. Perry also faces a capital murder charge, punishable by the death penalty.
The men have denied their involvement.
Perry said in a jail interview he didn't commit the crimes. Turner declined an interview request, but he told a magistrate he'd been mistaken for someone else, according to court records.
It's unclear from court records or testimony how the two are connected.
Perry is scheduled for trial next year. Turner's case will go to a Circuit Court grand jury, which will determine whether he stands trial.
Copyright 2013 - The Virginian-Pilot
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
