Perron jailed for firing at deputies
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The defendant, Brett Perron, 35, entered guilty pleas Wednesday before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley to two counts of aggravated assault and one count of reckless endangerment. His eight-year sentence will be served consecutively with a violation of probation charge he faces in general sessions court.
The sentence comes after Perron shot through the windshield of his wife’s car last July. The victim said her husband, who had not been abusive in the past, became angry at her and began hitting her. She said his violent outburst prompted her to get into her vehicle and leave.
However, as she was leaving, Perron fired three shots through her windshield. She was uninjured and later suggested her husband may have been under the influence of drugs at the time.
When deputies arrived, Perron opened fire on them, taking aim at sheriff’s units parked across the road from his Highway 56 South residence. A three-hour standoff then ensued as negotiators tried to convince Perron to surrender and members of the SWAT team prepared to move in. The negotiations were broken several times by the crackling of gunfire coming from inside Perron’s house.
Perron eventually threw out his gun and walked onto the porch, holding a machete to his stomach, threatening suicide. Members of the sheriff’s SWAT team, who had moved into position quietly on the side of Perron’s house, swarmed him after a stun grenade was detonated near him to temporarily confuse the armed suspect.