Haddock Murder Suspect Pleads Guilty in Attack on Jailer

As of Wednesday, November 17, 2010

The last of five defendants charged in the murder of a Vass girl during a home invasion three years ago pleaded guilty Monday to a charge in another case.

Perry Ross Schiro accepted a plea deal on an alleged attack on a jailer that happened a year ago.

On Halloween last year, jailer Jason Phillips was helping Schiro get a change of clothes. The Moore County Detention Center didn’t have enough clean red jumpsuits, so he arranged for Shiro’s to be washed and was returning it to his cell when Schiro attacked him, he said on the stand.

“When I got to his room and handed him the jumpsuit, he punched me,” Phillips said. “He knocked me to the floor, and then he jumped on me.”

Phillips heard “Code Red!” over the speaker as Schiro was working him over. It’s a code indicating something bad is going on, he told the court. EMS responded and checked Phillips, and he was taken to the Emergency Room in Pinehurst. X-rays showed the bone around one eye socket had been fractured in two places. His nose had been split top to bottom, according to testimony.

The wounds caused an interruption in his Basic Law Enforcement Training as he was unable to continue the PT (physical training) portion of his study.

‘Realizes It Was Wrong’

Speaking for his client and asking the plea be accepted, Schiro’s lawyer, Richard Roose, told Senior Resident Superior Court Judge James M. Webb that his client was remorseful.

“Mr. Schiro had been in jail for two years,” he said. “He realizes it was wrong. He accepts responsibility with this guilty plea. He cooperated at the time.”

Accepting responsibility and cooperation with authorities are two of the possibilities courts accept as points in mediation.

Webb accepted Schiro’s plea to assault on a corrections officer inflicting serious injury and, based on prior record points, imposed a 23-month sentence with credit for time served since Nov. 4, 2009.

Schiro originally faced first-degree murder charges in the Haddock case, but in October the grand jury indicted him as an accessory to first-degree murder. In an earlier hearing, Roose said he expected that to supplant first-degree murder.

“You can’t be guilty of a murder and also an accessory,” Roose said last month.

By agreement, both matters were set for trial Jan. 3 of next year. Webb asked how long they thought that trial would take, barring a plea.

“Not extraordinarily lengthy,” Roose said. “It depends on motions — about a week.”

A Week to Decide

There is a motion to suppress to be argued, along with some discovery matters.

“I think a full week, including the motion to suppress,” Prosecutor Peter Strickland said. “We made a plea offer — plead guilty to accessory and the state will dismiss first-degree murder and other charges.”

Strickland said Schiro has until the end of the week to decide whether to accept that plea offer.

The new indictment as accessory followed plea deals with other defendants. Michael Graham Currie admitted to firing the shots that killed 12-year-old Emily Haddock. He is serving life without parole. Another defendant, Van Roger Smith Jr., 19, accepted his plea deal Oct. 29 when he pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to the first-degree murder of Haddock.

“She was 12 years old and had been staying at home sick for several days,” District Attorney Maureen Krueger said as she laid out evidence to support Smith’s plea. “Around noontime, the front door was kicked in by Michael Currie. He and Sherrod Harrison went in. Currie encountered Emily and fired two shots in a panic. Her grandfather, coming to check on her, found her and called 911.”

Smith is presently serving his 58- to 79-month prison sentence. At Krueger’s request, the court ordered that he not be housed with any of the others who have already been sentenced in the child’s death. With 37 months served in jail awaiting trial, Smith could be out in less than two years.

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alaska4u 2 years, 6 months ago

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OBXNC 2 years, 6 months ago

All these guys except the shooter getting out of jail in 3-5 years is a plain joke. Cold blooded murder means nothing in our society anymore. These guys and their lawyers think they are getting off, but their maker will have the last say, and a plea bargin will be out of the question.

OBXNC 2 years, 6 months ago

Just one more thought. You are a murder suspect serving time in jail waiting on your lawyers to play their games. You then attack a jailer, and are able to plea out of that charge also. Does anyone else out there really understand a system of justice that would even consider allowing that to happen? This guy is being treated with the respect that he does not deserve.

recondo 2 years, 6 months ago

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hmartin 2 years, 6 months ago

Wow. Check out the court records on this one. The article makes it sound like this guy got some special deal. But, he didn't. The DA's office made him plead guilty to the felony assault. He was charged with a felony assault on a law enforcement officer, and that is what he plead guilty to. And, the Judge gave him the maximum sentence that he could. Seems like everyone actually did their job.

fugitiveguy 2 years, 6 months ago

"but their maker will have the last say"

Not if they get saved and genuinely ask for forgiveness.

pinehurstmom 2 years, 6 months ago

It is scary that these animals could be back out on the streets to kill again in a few years! Surely this is not justice.

rightwingpatriot 2 years, 6 months ago

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OBXNC 2 years, 6 months ago

hmartin- "Perry Ross Shiro accepted a plea deal on an alleged attack on a jailer that happened a year ago. " He got a deal! He should have gotten worse considering the fact he is already sitting in jail in trouble. Say what you want. All these guys are ending up getting off easy for what they did. Sad part they won't learn a thing, and you and I will continue to take care of them now in prision and later when they get out.

marcus0211 2 years, 4 months ago

Well the person who commited the murder isnt getting off easy by no means. He has to live with that his entire life. He killed a little girl and I can bet it is killing him on the inside. If you knew Currie you would know he wasnt a killer. He doesnt have the heart, but accidents happen. Her death was an accident and he has to pay for it with everyday of his life. He will never get what he "deserves" because no one on this earth knows what he really deserves for what he did. The justice system does what it can but who are we to say what he deserves. Schiro on the other hand should not of been in jail when the attack happened anyway. What kind of speedy trial takes place 3 years later. They knew Schiro wasnt directly involved in the murder months after they arrested him and the rest of those guys. I think its bull he had to sit in jail for 3 yrs for something someone else did. Schiro is no saint but everybody deserves a fair chance, no matter how much bad stigma is around the case.