Mother, son accused in plot to kill Hamilton Co. attorney
HAMILTON COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) – Police say one half of a mother-son duo has been arrested for his role in a bizarre attempted murder that involved hiding in wait in a victim’s vehicle in Hamilton County.
According to court documents, deputies from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department arrived around 10:15 a.m. on May 22 to a home in the 1800 block of Moontown Road. Homeowner Michael McQuinn told the deputies that he had started to back his Chevy Suburban down the driveway when he turned around and spotted a person’s feet in the back of the vehicle, court documents say.
When officers looked in the car, they found two people, later identified as Renee Perillo and her son, Richard Perillo.
Renee had a large syringe tucked into her waist band that she said contained heroin. She told deputies that she was “trying to get up the nerve to use it to help her deal with pain that she was feeling for an undiagnosed problem,” court documents stated. A cell phone, car keys, a rubber tourniquet and a sheathed knife were also found on her.
A cell phone, pair of black latex gloves, binoculars and a plastic bag were found on Richard, a deputy stated in court documents.
Both said they were homeless and lived in Las Vegas. A Glock 27 handgun was found in a container inside the Suburban within reach of Richard and Renee.
McQuinn’s wife, Rebecca Elmerman, an attorney, says she recognized the pair as being involved in a divorce case she had been involved in. Elmerman later said that she had spotted Renee near her property earlier in the day.
The Perillos were arrested and taken to the Hamilton County Jail.
An inmate in the jail at the same time as Richard told detectives that a fellow inmate “said he and his mom had come to Indiana to kill an attorney, that they had followed her home and they were in her SUV waiting for the attorney to get in the vehicle. However, the attorney’s husband got in the car instead,” according to court documents.
Another inmate said the man told him that “his mom’s husband was getting sued and they came up her to ‘do a hit’ on the lawyer that was suing him.”
The inmates said Richard had “bragged” about why he was in jail.
Renee and Richard Perillo’s bond was set at $200,000 each. They each posted bond the day after their arrest.
Identification belonging to Richard was later found in a stolen car near the McQuinn/Elmerman residence. Also inside the car was a mask designed to cover the entire face and give the appearance of an elderly man.
The pair disappeared after that and never showed up for their first hearing in the case.
U.S. Marshalls arrested Richard Steven Perillo in San Diego, California, on Thursday. Perillo is charged with conspiracy to commit murder, theft, unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle, carrying a handgun without a license, criminal trespassing and possession of paraphernalia.
As of Thursday afternoon, Renee was still at large.