MD Illegal home invader murderer

Man accused of home invasions grew increasingly violent October 20, 2008 - 6:23pm

Kate Ryan, WTOP Radio
ROCKVILLE, Md. - The investigation into the home invasions that left one woman dead and local communities shaken isn't over yet, even though the suspect is in jail.
Jose Juan Garcia-Perlera has been in jail since his Oct. 15 arrest, and that's where he's been ordered to stay - without bond - until a preliminary hearing next month.
Montgomery County Police say the 33-year-old Garcia-Perlera grew increasingly violent from the first home invasion robbery in September 2007 to the murder of a Bethesda woman in September.
In one case, Garcia-Perlera allegedly beat and pistol-whipped one of his elderly victims when she discovered him hiding in an outdoor storage area. In other cases, the Hyattsville man allegedly hog-tied his victims. His violent behavior escalated in September, when police say he murdered a woman.
On Sept. 4, 63-year-old Mary Frances Havenstein was found dead inside her Bethesda home on Seven Locks Road. Like the other victims, she had been bound and gagged.
After listening to prosecutors describe some of the facts in the case, a Montgomery County judge ordered Garcia-Perlera, a self-described electrician, held without bond.
Garcia-Perlera is also wanted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and may be responsible for a string of other thefts - including cars - and other crimes, prosecutors says.
Police say they are continuing to investigate.
"As we continue to piece this case together, and investigate his actions, we're determining there are other crimes that he may have been involved with," Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger says.
Manger says they're still trying to figure out how Garcia-Perlera, a native of El Salvador, chose his victims.
So far, the police work has been intense, with "teams of people working around the clock," Manger says.
The escalating violence in each attack added to the urgency in the investigation.
"There was a case early on where the victim had asked the suspect to loosen the ropes. He did. That came out later, and became public knowledge so that the following case, he tied the victim up it appears even tighter, and ended up actually injuring the victim," Manger says.
Prosecutors say Garcia-Perlera was a "regular" at a pawn shop, where several of the stolen items turned up.
Manger says police were tracing a laptop stolen from a home on Seven Lock Road just a week before Havenstein was murdered. The laptop led police to Garcia-Perlera.
In a search of his Hyattsville home, police found items linked to other home invasion robberies. A subsequent DNA check also linked Perlera to the home invasions.
As far as police can tell, Garcia-Perlera lived alone in an apartment in Hyattsville. Police are continuing to investigate whether anyone else was involved.
There is no clear motive at this time.
A preliminary court date for Garcia-Perlera is scheduled for Nov. 14.