Killer Testifies in O.C. Athlete’s Slaying

The confessed killer of a popular high school wrestler testified Tuesday that his sometime girlfriend helped him plan his rival’s death, while her attorney tried to paint him as a liar trying to save himself.

Brandan Dante Perry, 22, is the prosecution’s star witness against Veronica Paz, 24, who allegedly conspired with him to kill Diego Gonzalez, 17. Paz is accused of luring Gonzalez to a local lovers’ lane above Orange in November 2003, where Perry shot him twice in the head and then set his body afire.

Perry, dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit, told jurors in a flat, husky voice that he and Paz had known each other since junior high school and had a sporadic romance.

“There were times when she wanted to officially be my girl ... and at other times, she’d bring up marriage,” he said. She had signed the back of a photograph “Love, Veronica Perry,” using his last name.

Perry testified during the daylong proceeding in Orange County Superior Court that he got angry when he saw her with other men. On at least three occasions he confronted her dates, once with a gun in hand.

In summer 2003, Paz had gained the affections of Perry and Gonzalez, an El Modena High School wrestling team captain. She met him at the Stater Bros. supermarket where she worked as a clerk.

Perry and Gonzalez had exchanged harsh words at a party three months before the killing, when Perry saw Paz and his rival together. The wrestler, a Latino, allegedly hurled racial slurs, and one of his friends pulled a gun on Perry, who is black.

Afterward, Perry said, he bought a .40-caliber handgun, and the two hatched a plan to kill Gonzalez, also known as Gonzalez-Sanchez. They talked about burying his body in the desert, Perry said.

“There were times when she would call and tell me that [Gonzalez] was getting on her nerves, when was I going to kill him?” Perry testified. They agreed that a deserted hilltop above Orange would be a good place to kill Gonzalez, he said. “I told her I was going to shoot him.”

Gonzalez’s mother, seated in the third row, sobbed quietly as Perry recounted killing her son. Paz, dressed in a black suit with a cream-colored blouse, busily took notes. Perry occasionally glanced in her direction.

Perry pleaded guilty in March to killing Gonzalez and agreed to testify against Paz in exchange for a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. Had Perry gone to trial, he would have faced a potential term of life in prison without parole -- as Paz now faces.

But during the three-hour cross examination, Perry admitted to lying on the stand at least twice. Paz’s lawyer painted him as a jealous boyfriend who was obsessed with her and who had decided to kill Gonzalez on his own.

Much of the afternoon centered around statements Perry made Jan. 19, 2006, when he discussed a deal with prosecutors in exchange for his testimony.

Associate Public Defender William G. Kelley pointed out discrepancies between his January statements and his testimony Tuesday. In January, Perry told prosecutors he hadn’t discussed killing Gonzalez with Paz until after he bought a gun. Perry testified that he had talked with Paz about killing the wrestler before getting the gun.

“My question is: Were you lying then, or are you lying now?” Kelley said.

Perry replied, “Maybe he got it wrong, whoever wrote it, whoever typed it.”

Albert “Tommy” Medina III, who pleaded guilty to accessory to murder, testified earlier in the trial that Paz was never present when he and Perry talked about killing Gonzalez.

“I think Mr. Perry is a liar who’s out to get Veronica Paz,” Kelley said outside the courtroom.

“I think he’s got his own agenda.”

Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Steve McGreevy downplayed the significance of Perry’s varying recollections.

“Discrepancies in testimony and misrecollections are not uncommon. This thing happened in 2003,” he said. “He stands firm on their plan to get [Gonzalez] up there.”

Perry’s cross-examination continues today.