Man charged in fatal birthday party shooting pleads before case goes to trial

Amid angry mutterings from the victim’s family, a man facing trial on murder charges in a 2014 fatal shooting triggered by a birthday party fight pleaded to voluntary manslaughter Tuesday.

Now 27, Otis James Perry pleaded guilty in the Dec. 1. 2014, death of Marquise Alante Shivers, who was shot twice during a dispute around 10 p.m. at 4006 Sixth Ave., where friends had gathered for a birthday celebration.

Perry pleaded right before the case was to go to trial, as attorneys had spent Monday picking a jury. He first huddled in the courtroom with about 10 relatives to discuss whether to plea or let the trial proceed with opening statements.

He entered a “cold plea,” meaning no sentencing arrangements were negotiated. Judge Bobby Peters sentenced him to 20 years in prison for manslaughter and five years on probation for using a firearm to commit a crime.

Shivers’ family was not pleased with the outcome: “I believe my husband was poorly represented,” said Charmaine Shivers, the victim’s wife.

Though Perry will go to prison, his children still will be able to visit their father, she said. Shivers’ children will never see their father again.

Perry’s family also addressed the court. His mother Margaret Jones apologized to the Shivers for her son’s conduct or “whatever caused the commotion.” A sister said of Perry: “I do not feel he’s a threat to society.”

Speaking with reporters after Perry’s plea, defense attorney Jennifer Curry gave this account of the fight that night in the North Highlands area:

She said Decarlos Tallo Stephens, Perry’s cousin, was at the birthday party when he got into a fight with a girlfriend and hit her. Other women came to the woman’s defense, and in the struggle that ensued, Stephens was shoved into Deborah Mckelvey, a guest whose daughter shouted that Stephens had knocked her mother down.

Shivers heard this, rushed over and punched Stephens so hard he collapsed to the ground, and Shivers started stomping on him, Curry said.

Shivers weighed 288 pounds and was known to be aggressive, she said: “His reputation preceded him, if you will.”

Perry, who is thin, knew he could not fight Shivers hand-to-hand, Curry said. So he pulled a .40-caliber pistol and fired four times, with one shot hitting Shivers in the chest and another in the back.

Shivers was rushed into surgery at the Midtown Medical Center, where he died at 3:20 a.m.

A native of Tacoma, Wash., who moved here in 1999, Shivers was 25 years old, and left behind three children. Born Dec. 9, 1988, he died about a week before his 26th birthday.

Perry also has three kids, ages 5, 8 and 11. He had no felony history before this, Curry said.

Though police identified Perry as their prime suspect soon after the shooting, he did not surrender until April 17, 2015. He has been held in jail since.

Judge Peters said Perry was “reckless” for firing four shots where so many people had gathered. “There are no winners in this case,” he said. “There never is, in a murder case.”

This story was originally published January 9, 2018 at 1:04 PM with the headline "Man charged in fatal birthday party shooting pleads before case goes to trial."