Man Convicted in Md. In Murder, Break-Ins

The handyman accused in a series of home invasions that alarmed residents in wealthy areas of Montgomery County and culminated in the slaying of a Bethesda woman was convicted last night on murder and other charges.

Jose Garcia-Perlera, 34, was accused of breaking into four homes where widows ages 63 to 92 lived alone, the first in September 2007. He hogtied all the victims, according to testimony during the week-long trial. A jury deliberated less than three hours before finding him guilty on 14 of 15 counts.

"I'm glad to know he can't rob and hurt any more old women living alone," said one of the victims, Margaret Arnold, now 94. "It's a great relief."

In interviews, four jurors cited evidence tying the alleged illegal immigrant to the crimes: Stolen items from all four victims were found stashed in his Hyattsville apartment, including an unusual ring purchased by one of the victims, Ann Wolfe, in Afghanistan in the 1950s.

The other items taken from the women and recovered in Garcia-Perlera's apartment included jewelry, eyeglasses and a medallion from the Mercury space project.

"The jewelry and the stuff he took from their houses was overwhelming," Wilbert Johnson, the jury foreman, said.

In his closing argument, State's Attorney John McCarthy said the victims were "bound like animals in their homes."

He pointed to Arnold, Wolfe, 79, and another victim, Betty Tubbs, 78, in the front row. All three testified at the trial.

"These are women of great dignity. They each deserve justice," McCarthy said, adding that the same applied to the slaying victim, Mary Frances Havenstein.

On Tuesday, Arnold, the first victim, took nearly a minute to get to the witness stand, using a walker. She described how she was attacked in September 2007, when she went into her basement to check a circuit breaker after her lights went out.

Also Tuesday, Tubbs described a similar attack two months later. She managed to free herself after the intruder left and flee to a neighbor's house.

On Wednesday, Wolfe described being bound for more than two days, calling out "Help, help, help" in her basement before being rescued by her daughter, who had come to the house because they were planning to have lunch.