Palms of Archer shooting suspect lived with victim, claimed self-defense

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Dequante Marquise Perry, 29, was arrested yesterday and charged with attempted homicide for allegedly shooting a man he lived with; he was also charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an altered serial number.

Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to Palms of Archer Mobile Home Park at about 3:15 a.m. Thursday morning to a call about a man who had been shot.

A deputy interviewed the victim at the emergency room and reported that the bullet entered the front of the man’s bicep and exited on the back side, fracturing a bone. The injury is not considered to be life-threatening.

The victim reportedly said that he and a woman got into an argument in their bedroom at their home in Palms of Archer at about 3 a.m. and that Perry, who also lives at the home, came into their bedroom and also began arguing with him. The victim said Perry pulled out a gun and shot at him about five times, with one of the shots hitting him in the arm. He said he believed Perry was trying to kill him.

The woman reportedly called 911 and said the victim had shown up at the residence with a gunshot wound and she didn’t know where it happened. However, she later reportedly changed her story and said it occurred inside their home. She said she and the victim had been arguing when Perry came in and started arguing with the victim. She said she and Perry left the bedroom, then Perry went to his bedroom before going back to the first bedroom. She said she heard multiple gunshots, and when she went into the bedroom, she saw the victim on the floor with an injury to his arm. She said she never saw Perry with a gun and that Perry left the home after the shots were fired.

When deputies arrived at the home, they did a protective sweep to make sure nobody else was injured. During the sweep, they reportedly saw bullet holes in the bed where the victim had been; there was a blood stain on the bed and blood on the floor by the bed. They also reportedly saw a handgun holster on the floor of Perry’s bedroom.

Perry reportedly returned to the home after the woman called him and asked him to turn himself in. He was detained in handcuffs and transported to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office for an interview.

Post Miranda, Perry reportedly said he had been asleep in his room and woke up when the victim yelled something about car keys. He said he went to the other bedroom and confronted the victim, who pushed the woman and then punched him in the face. He said the victim threatened to shoot him, then went to the other side of the bedroom and knelt down beside the bed. Perry said he then “defended himself”; he said he’d had a gun in his pocket when he went to the bedroom, and when the victim knelt beside the bed, he thought he was grabbing a gun. He said he pulled out the gun and shot at the victim and stated that he only pulled the trigger once but the gun went off several times. He said he didn’t know he had shot the victim, but he admitted shooting at him with the intention of defending himself and the woman.

Perry reportedly said later in the interview that he shot once into the mattress as a “warning shot” but that the victim did not react to that and kept “messing with something” on the other side of the bed, so after “several minutes” passed, he fired approximately nine rounds in the direction of the victim from a distance of about 10 feet. He reportedly said he was aiming at the victim’s chest but said he didn’t know the victim had been shot.

Perry reportedly said at first that he had put the gun back in a briefcase in his closet but later said he put it under his mattress after the shooting.

Perry reportedly said at first that he had left after the shooting because he had to be at work, stating that he didn’t know the victim had been shot or that the woman had called 911. He later reportedly said that she may have been calling 911 when he left the house and that he saw a deputy pulling into the complex as he left, but he did not attempt to get help for the victim because he was “scared of the State of Florida.”

Deputies obtained a search warrant and reportedly found the gun under Perry’s mattress. The serial number appeared to be scratched off the gun. Nine shell casings were reportedly found in the bedroom.

Perry was previously arrested on October 5, 2023, and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly produced a handgun during an argument with his mother’s boyfriend over missing cans of beer. At the time, Perry reportedly said he keeps his gun in a safe at his cousin’s house and that the gun was never at his mother’s house or in his vehicle. However, he reportedly denied consent to search the vehicle. The charge was later dropped.

Perry has three felony convictions (three violent). Judge Mark Moseley set bail at $540,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.