Fedner-Pierre Louis’ decade-old conviction for murdering a prominent physician at an Elizabeth hotel has been upheld by a Union County Superior Court Judge, Acting Union County Prosecutor Grace Park announced today.
According to Park, in December 2004, Pierre-Louis, now 31, was found guilty at trial of first-degree aggravated manslaughter; first-degree robbery; first-degree felony murder; third-degree unlawful possession of a firearm; and second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose in the March 2002 shooting death of Dr. Jeffrey Perchick outside of the Wyndham Hotel in Elizabeth.
Perchick, an oncologist from Poughkeepsie, New York, was staying at the hotel with his wife Jo Anne in anticipation of a trip to Mexico the following day.
After dropping his wife off at the hotel’s entrance and parking his car, the victim was confronted by armed Pierre-Louis. Pierre-Louis gunned Dr. Perchick down as the victim tried to flee, and made off with several hundred dollars he had stolen from Perchick.
In March 2005, Pierre-Louis was sentenced to an aggregate term of forty-five years, of which he was required –pursuant to the No Early Release Act (NERA) -- to serve eighty-five percent of that term prior to being eligible for parole. Pierre-Louis, seeking a new trial, subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief (PCR), which was denied in Union County Superior Court by the Honorable John S. Triarsi in 2009.
In 2014, after reviewing the case, the New Jersey Supreme Court determined that the matter was to be remanded to the Union County Superior Court for purposes of holding an additional evidentiary hearing.
In May of this year, the Honorable Joseph P. Donohue presided over that three day hearing, at which the State was represented by Acting Assistant Prosecutor/Special Deputy Attorney General Scott M. Peterson. During the hearing, numerous witnesses provided sworn testimony.
On July 2, 2015, after thoroughly assessing the testimony and credibility of the witnesses adduced at the hearing, Judge Donohue issued an opinion denying defendant’s petition for post-conviction relief.