Cold case murder from 1989 settles

Nearly twenty years after Bobby Perruquet drove away from his Daly City home in his prized baby blue Monte Carlo with three friends, never to be seen again, one of the occupants pleaded no contest to prompting another to kill the 26-year-old man for his car parts.

Mohammed Monie pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and other felonies in return for 30 years in prison. The deal came less than two complete days after jurors began hearing the case against Monie, accused of masterminding the plan to kill Perruquet and prodding Jesse Rodriguez, then 14, to carry out his wishes with a stolen handgun.

Monie, now 41, will spend a minimum of 15 years incarcerated under the terms of the deal reached Wednesday afternoon. Monie also pleaded no contest to the use of a weapon, infliction of great bodily injury, robbery with the use of a weapon, car theft, possessing stolen property, selling drugs and providing drugs to others at a residence.

The parents of victim Bobby Perruquet were supportive of the deal, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe who called the decision a good settlement.

"We were finding as witnesses testified that the years since the crime occurred were weighing on their memory and might lead to questions about their accuracy,” Wagstaffe said.

The witness testimony was expected to be key to the case, as jurors would not have any physical evidence or even Perruquet’s body to consider. Adding to the challenge, admitted shooter Jesse Rodriguez could not stand trial alongside Monie because he was a 14-year-old at the time of Perruquet’s April 29, 1989 disappearance and assumed death.

Instead, the prosecution focused on Monie, then 21, who it contended masterminded the fatal shooting so he could have parts from Perruquet’s prized baby blue Monte Carlo. Monie also had a Monte Carlo but it was less pristine.

According to opening statements presented Monday, Perruquet’s mother last saw him when he stopped at home for a shower before heading out with Monie, Rodriguez and a female friend.

Perruquet’s disappearance was odd as he was only weeks away from a scheduled drive to Southern California with a family friend to start a new job and his uncle was about to have a birthday party.

But Perruquet’s car was found four days later abandoned at a train station near San Francisco, stripped and sprayed with primer. Rodriguez and Monie drew suspicion but the investigation was dormant until 2005 when the cold case was re-evaluated. Rodriguez, now a father of two, reportedly told police after the men drank and smoked marijuana, Monie urged him to kill Perruquet by making throat slitting and shooting hand gestures. Rodriguez said he shot Perruquet multiple times with a gun stolen from his father and the men drove the body in the car’s trunk to Half Moon Bay where it was dumped down a ravine. The remains have never been found.

Defense attorney Connie O’Brien conceded Monie helped dispose of the body but told jurors he did not request the killing. She said Rodriguez, who could not recall the victim’s name, implicated her client after being intimidated and interrogated by authorities.

"This case is not about how Mohammed Monie committed murder. This case is about how Jesse Rodriguez got away with it,” O’Brien told jurors.

Rodriguez could not be tried because, in 1989, a 14-year-old could not be charged as an adult for murder and now at 33, he is past the 25-year age limit for juvenile inmates. Instead, Rodriguez was expected to testify for the prosecution.

Monie’s plea change ended a case that already had one other false start. In Fall 2007, a judge declared a mistrial after a police chief testified to information previously barred from the trial.

Monie remains in custody on no-bail status. He returns to court June 2 for sentencing.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102.