Judge to rule on request to interview juror in Devin Perkins trial in Ali Spice case

Defense attorneys for Devin Perkins, who was convicted in a crash that killed TikTok star Ali Spice and two others , asked during a hearing Thursday to interview a juror amid allegations he had knowledge about the case that he did not reveal during jury selection, a request opposed by prosecutors .

Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols did not rule on the request Thursday, saying she would further research the legal issues and arguments involved before making a ruling.

Perkins, 24, was found guilty of three counts of vehicular homicide and one count of reckless driving — serious bodily injury. The jury of four women and two men deliberated for about 20 minutes on Sept. 30 before returning the verdict.

Perkins, of New Smyrna Beach, was driving an Infiniti when it collided with a pickup traveling the wrong way on State Road 44 on Dec. 11, 2022. The man driving the pickup was drunk. Three passengers in the Infiniti were killed: Perkins' girlfriend, Alexandra Dulin, 21, who was also known as Ali Spice with almost a million TikTok followers; Kyle Moser, 25, of Daytona Beach; and Ava Fellerman, 20, of Treasure Island.

The case has created an unusual split with the families of Dulin and Moser opposing the State Attorney's Office decision to prosecute Perkins as well as the wrong-way driver. Fellerman's father has supported Perkins' prosecution.

Ali Spice's parents: Prosecutors treated them like adversaries, threatened with arrest

Perkins was driving 100 mph just before the crash , according to prosecutors. Blood tests showed he had a blood alcohol content of 0.028, well below the 0.08 level at which a person is legally considered intoxicated. The blood tests also found THC, indicating Perkins had used marijuana. He testified he had smoked the day before.

Thursday's hearing included testimony from Stacey Laroche, the mother of Moser's former girlfriend. Three new attorneys represented Perkins during the hearing: William Ponall, Eric Sorice and Laura Cepero.

Under questioning by Sorice, Laroche testified when she attended the trial she recognized Juror Number 1, identified in a motion as Xavier Enrique Feliciano-Vazquez, as an employee of a Dunkin' Donuts in Orange City she frequently visited.

Laroche said she had talked to Feliciano-Vazquez in April or May of 2023 about the crash. She said after the initial discussion, Feliciano-Vazquez asked her twice if there were any updates in the case and she responded no. She also said that Feliciano-Vazquez had told her he had heard about the crash from another source. She said they discussed Perkins arrest and that he had been charged.

She said when she saw Feliciano-Vazquez in the hallway of the Volusia County Courthouse in DeLand Sept. 24 before opening statements in the trial, she said "Hey" to him. She said he turned toward her but a bailiff then led him into the courtroom. She said she was surprised to see him there. She said someone told her she could not speak to the jurors.

Under cross examination by Assistant State Attorney Michael Willard, Laroche said she did not tell any of the defense attorneys, the prosecutors or a bailiff that she recogized the juror. She said she decided to tell a defense attorney a few days after the verdict because she did not know if the juror had been asked if he had any knowledge about the case. She said decided to tell the defense after reflecting on the judge's daily instructions to jurors not to research the case or speak to anyone about it.

Willard said to Laroche that she had been there every day of the trial and had heard the judge tell jurors not to look up the case every day.

"Even after hearing it three, four or five times, it was only three or four days later that you decided to come forward with some information?" Willard said.

"That's correct," she said.

Laroche said after the crash, she developed a friendship with Moser's mother. She said she was aware that Kyle Moser and Perkins were best friends, but she did not have contact with Perkins.

She said the employee may have asked why Perkins was being charged if the other person was driving the wrong way. She said he did not express an opinion about the case.

In response to Willard, Laroche said she shared a Facebook post to a site to raise funds for Perkins' defense. She said she also shared a website created by Perkins' mother about the case.

Ponall argued that the defense had met a "low bar" to be granted a request to interview the juror. Ponall said that they should be able to ask the juror questions such as what he knew about the case, did he form any pre-determined opinion, whether he shared any of that knowledge with other jurors and why he didn't say he had prior knowledge about the case during jury selection.

Ponall said they have no way currently to see if they are entitled to a new trial.

At one point, Ponall said Feliciano-Vazquez and Laroche had discussed the case three times. The judge responded that there was one discussion and two times he asked if there were any updates and Laroche said "no" both times.

Willard said that the issue came down to one five-minute discussion a year and several months before the trial where Laroche alleged she had a conversation with an employee at a busy store.

Willard said the court could not assume that, even if the conversation occurred, the juror would have realized it was about the same people from a conversation more than a year earlier.

Willard said that the privacy of jurors must be protected and "that they are not going to be harrassed and that they are not going to be put through a fishing expedition by another party who may not agree with the outcome of the trial."

"There's no basis to honor this request," Willard said.

The judge said she would issue a written ruling at a later time.

Judge Nichols said to everyone in the courtroom that she assumed that "no one will in any way encourage or tolerate any negative contact toward Juror Number 1."

The wrong-way driver

Thomas Petry, 55, of Orange City, was driving the pickup that was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of State Road 44 east of Interstate 4 after leaving an establishment where he had been drinking , police said. Petry fled the scene of the crash.

He entered an open plea to three counts of vehicular homicide, three counts of leaving the scene of a crash with death, leaving the scene of a crash involving serious injury and reckless driving - serious bodily injury. The open plea means there is no agreement with prosecutors and Petry will face up to life in prison when he is sentenced Nov. 6.

Family and friends of Perkins, including Moser's and Dulin’s family members , have sent emails to the court after his conviction stating he should not have been prosecuted and that he should not receive jail time.

Perkins was remanded into custody after the guilty verdict and is being held at the Volusia County Branch Jail awaiting his sentencing. A date has not yet been set.

Nichols previously rejected a defense motion for a new trial. The defense has filed another motion for a new trial.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Judge to rule on request to interview juror in Devin Perkins trial in Ali Spice case