VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Defense attorneys are working to overturn the conviction of a man who was driving three friends who were killed when they were hit by a wrong-way driver in December 2022 in Volusia County.
During a hearing Friday, the defense argued there was a mistake made by a former attorney of Devin Perkins, 24, during his trial that could have impacted the outcome.
Last fall, Perkins and the other driver, Thomas Petry, 55, were separately tried and found guilty of vehicular homicide.
The crash resulted in the deaths of Perkins' passengers: Alexandra Dulin, a TikTok star known as Ali Spice, Kyle Moser and Ava Fellerman.
Perkins' current attorneys contend that a former lawyer’s questioning of an EMT about the smell of marijuana from Perkins “opened the door” to previously inadmissible evidence regarding Perkins' marijuana use.
The state, however, maintains that their focus was not on marijuana but rather on Perkins driving at speeds exceeding 100 mph at the time of the crash.
Perkins is currently awaiting sentencing and faces up to 30 years in prison. However, that could change if the judge determines that his previous attorney was deficient and orders a new trial.
During Friday’s hearing, the judge said she would take arguments from the defense and prosecution under consideration and make her ruling at a later date.