Current gun ownership laws could have been factor in Newport slaying
GUNS

Current gun ownership laws could have been factor in Newport slaying


AP
Perley Goodrich Jr. bows his head as attorneys confer during his Penobscot Superior Court appearance Friday afternoon, Oct. 30, 2009 in Bangor, Maine. Goodrich was arrested after being spotted in the Newport Big Stop early Friday morning. State and local police spent most of this week on a manhunt for Goodrich who is wanted for questioning following the Monday night murder of his father and severe beating of his mother at their home in Newport. (AP Photo/Bangor Daily News, John Clarke Russ) **NO SALES, INTERNET OUT, MAGS OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT**

NEWPORT, Maine — For Perley Goodrich Sr. and his son, Perley Jr., guns were once at the center of a positive aspect of their relationship: a shared love of hunting.

Both knew the woods around the family home in northern Newport and when Perley Jr. was younger, it wasn’t uncommon for father and son to spend hunting season together, dressed in blaze orange, hoping for a trophy deer. Sometimes, other family members would join as well.

“I don’t know anything about guns, but I used to go out and sit with my husband too, just to be with him,” said Sandra Goodrich on Wednesday.

Perley Goodrich Sr., 76 years old and suffering medical problems, would have been deer hunting again this month, according to Sandra. But that can’t happen because Perley Goodrich Jr., 45, allegedly shot and killed his father on Oct. 26.

“My husband was trying to figure out how he was going to get up and sit in his seat this year,” said Sandra Goodrich. “He was going to drive his tractor up back. A friend was going to help him.”

The fact that something once held so dear between father and son — guns — ended up playing a role in their darkest hour is just one more wave in a sea of tragic circumstances, said Sandra. There are a thousand reasons why Perley Jr. should not have been allowed a gun, she said, most of them centered on a long-festering ten-dency for violence that Sandra believes was a symptom of her son’s mental illness.

Despite all Perley Jr.’s violent outbursts, counseling and brushes with law enforcement, there is nothing in state or federal law that prevented him from owning a gun. Convicted felons and anyone who has been involuntarily committed to a mental institution are barred from owning firearms in Maine. Perley Goodrich Jr. came close to meeting each of those criteria over the years, said Sandra, but he never crossed the line.

Perley Jr. was accused of attacking his mother in 1991 and his younger brother Kenneth in 2001, according to Bangor Daily News archives. Each of those incidences, according to a criminal history record provided by the Maine Bureau of Identification, resulted in convictions for Class D criminal mischief, which are just below felonies in Maine’s system of classifying the severity of crimes.

Perley Jr. has seen numerous counselors for mental illness over the years and at times took medication for bipolar disorder, but Sandra doesn’t recall him ever being forced into a mental health institution by either police or the court system. Efforts by the Bangor Daily News to confirm that were unsuccessful because of privacy laws governing access to medical information.

Police have not said who owned the handgun that killed Perley Goodrich Sr. or what caliber it was, but they have said that when Perley Jr. fled the scene of the shooting, he had more than one firearm in his possession. According to an affidavit written by State Police Detective Brian Strout for Perley Goodrich Jr.’s arrest war-rant, Sandra Goodrich told investigators that Perley Sr. owned at least two guns and Perley Jr. had three.

Perley Jr. hasn’t held a hunting license in Maine since at least 1997, according to a spokeswoman for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, but Sandra Goodrich said his love of guns remained strong. A few months ago, she and her husband sold several guns to pay for a family member’s funeral.

“[Perley Jr.] was irate when he found out we sold those,” said Sandra Goodrich. “He went and somehow bought them all back. I don’t know how he did it.”

There may have been another reason for guns to be illegal in the Goodrich household. In 1962, Perley Goodrich Sr. was convicted of felony carnal knowledge of a minor in Piscataquis County, according to information provided by the Bureau of Identification.

Both state and federal law prevent convicted felons from possessing guns unless they obtain either a pardon for their crime from the governor or a permit to own a gun from the Department of Public Safety. Perley Goodrich Sr. had neither, according to Judy Leavitt, a pardon clerk in the Secretary of State’s executive clemency office, and Sgt. William Gomane of the Department of Public Safety.

Sandra Goodrich said the conviction happened before she met her husband and that Perley Sr. never said anything about being disqualified from owning a firearm. As an avid hunter who tagged a deer most years — the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife confirmed that he has held a license every year since at least 1997 — being disqualified from owning a firearm would have been terrible for Perley Sr., said Sandra.

It’s Perley Jr.’s right to own a gun that she questioned, and so did he.

“He wasn’t sure whether he could have a gun or not,” she said of her son. “He always had lots of guns, though.”

Whatever the law does and doesn’t require, it wouldn’t have kept guns out of Perley Jr.’s hands, said Sandra.

“You can go buy a gun anywhere,” she said. “You can buy one off the guy down the road and no one ever knows.”

Carol Carothers, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Maine, said living in fear of a mentally ill person is a reality many people face. She advised anyone in that situation to develop a detailed safety plan, which includes removing firearms from the person’s access.

“It’s a kind of common-sense approach,” she said, though she acknowledged that doing so can be difficult, as it was for Sandra and Perley Goodrich Sr. Carothers said anyone seeking assistance in developing a safety plan can call NAMI at 800-464-5767.

Penobscot County Sheriff Glenn Ross said restricting a potentially dangerous person’s access to weapons is “always a good idea,” but stressed the act alone can’t stop every crime.

“It’s not hard to find any type of weapons if you want to do someone harm,” he said. “This isn’t about gun control. It’s about the underlying problem of trying to get help for people who need it. We continue to downsize our mental health institutions ... and a lot of these people have no where to go.”

William Stokes, who heads the criminal division for the Attorney General’s Office, wouldn’t comment on specifics in the Goodrich case because the investigation is ongoing, though he said determining who was legally able to own a gun and who wasn’t is way down the list of priorities if it’s on the list at all.

“I’m not concerning myself with whether someone had a gun they shouldn’t have had,” said Stokes. “The focus of our investigation is the homicide.”

Sandra Goodrich, for many reasons, wants the ordeal to end, including the return of one of the guns seized by police, an old .30-30 caliber hunting rifle given to Perley Sr. years ago by his father.

“I’d like my daughter to have that,” said Sandra. “It was very important to my husband.”

Not registered? Click here
E-mail this
Print this
Guidelines for posting on bangordailynews.com

Bangordailynews.com is pleased to offer a forum for readers to react to our stories, discuss them and provide additional information. We are reluctant to delete comments, but do reserve that right for those who abuse our forum. For more on using this site, please see our terms of service.

The primary rule here is pretty simple: Treat others with the same respect you'd want for yourself. What does that mean specifically? Here are some guidelines (see more):

Comments
48 comments on this item

Although a tragic story, this article is once again blaming the gun instead of the individual. Perely Jr. should have been charged and convicted of domestic violence in the attack against his mother and brother. Why not blame the prosecutor in that case for Perely Sr. death? The prosecutor is just as much to blame for letting him go with criminal mischief instead of domestic violence. The prosecutor is just as blameworthy as the accused. The issue here is the gun. It is oblivious the BDN is taking sides of this issue instead of publishing the facts. The proof is in the following: "Convicted felons and anyone who has been involuntarily committed to a mental institution are barred from owning firearms in Maine."

As far as I can tell, domestic violence is a misdemeanor, but is does preclude you from gun ownership.

Just an example of the yellow journalism in the BDN.

What kind of story is this?!! First the reporter tries to give you the warm and fuzzys by painting this idylic picturer of a father and son sharing the sport of

hunting together and then they lay the bomb on you of the father's history of child molestation....all with the underlying message of how GUNS are BAD!

Give me a break! I'm convinced this family had problems that would have played out in the same manner no matter if the son had access to a gun or

not. I wish the BD would stop trying to sell the rest of us on their myopic view of gun ownership and get on with telling the NEWS!

Death is always tragic, but I for one am getting a little tired of what seems like the BDN's daily anti-gun agenda.

shocking story, considering all the other "gun" news stories they've been leading up to with. time to take them away right, with all the other freedoms we had.

More Liberal agenda from the Bangor Leftist Daily Snooze!!

All these articles about guns, guess we know where this is headed. Prepare to defend your rights,

AS having a NRA card and having a gun to travel card.

I can not believe every time an article comes up

people are whining about someone is out to take the GUN<<

God is Great~~Beer is Good~~and People are Crazy

One of the most popular songs in the Country>WHY I wonder??<<

I`ll answer that ? for me<<

People listen to the tune and

NOT the Message<<

Sorta the Same as REading the Bible

If your NOT Careful<<

Sad situation...But guns are not to blame. If some psycho wants to kill someone bad enough they will find away, regardless if they have a gun or not. So, If he would have stabed him to death with a Ginsu Knife would they be talking about outlawing the Ginsu Knife because it stays sharp longer then a normal knife? Seriously. I'm not trying to be cold hearted however I'm tired of this gun control crap any time the BDN has an excuse to express their views.

An even bigger factor in the Newport slaying is .....Why was Perley Jr released from the mental institution?

this article is bogus,, who would even write something like this.... if he had strangled him with a rope it would of been titled,, "New float rope law could have been factor in newport slaying" how many tragedys have guns stopped,,, figure that one out and write a story,,, pleaseeeeeee

hmm...even though i'm what many of you may call a 'moonbat' I"m getting a bit tired of BDN's anti-gun pieces. not really helping anyone...

Yesterday there was an article about the 19 year old who was an accomplice in a brutal machete attack. Some people do bad things. I'd rather be armed around potentially "baddies" than not!

I figured it wouldn't take long for the BDN to guide the public into gun control mode. I knew their current poll of gun owners was just a ruse to start the ball rolling in their favor. My first thought is to never let anyone know how many guns and weapons are at my disposal. You must think gun owners are pretty stupid!

5forfightin, just tell them "more than I need but not as many as I want"!

Mandatory firearms training for everyone starting at age 10. Don't like it, move elsewhere. Should be the law in Maine. I like the title of this article. "Current gun-ownership laws could have been factor in Newport slaying." By who's standard? Changing a law because of a few incidents is not going to make everything perfect and trouble free. The media is a much larger problem than firearms. Every time some waco goes on a shooting spree the news displays the homemade video they have made of themselves prior to their rampage or display a letter they wrote. This is only incentive for the waco's to do something bad because they know the media will show their lives and what they left behind, a lot of times blaming someone else for what they did. The less publicity given to criminals the less crime their would be.

Anything is possible, but if it wasn't a gun...it probably would have been something else.

Crazy people do crazy things. Either force the meds down his throat or lock him up. I'm tired of mental illness being an excuse for such violence!

Would it make anyone feel better if he had been fed through a wood chipper or run over by the family car? It's rediculous to blame an inanimate object for a crime.

I heard they are going to put a 10 day waiting period on tire irons also..

"Current gun ownership laws could have been factor in Newport slaying" is a dispassionate telling of the news? I know, when they say "current gun ownership laws," they mean that they are currently too restrictive, right?

tell me about it my neighbor son has the mind of a five year old, he is 30 and was able to buy a hand gun. this man or kid can not even read yet was able to buy the hand gun from a store. so where are the laws? I reported it he still has the gun and nothing was done to the store owner.i have nothing against owning guns for i have several ,but something should be done so someone like him can not buy one!!!!!!!!!

What's with the BDN's more and more liberal agenda going from subtle to in your face? Did the fact that we have the Osama (sorry Obama) administration embolden them?

So wait let me get this straight, the super intelligent individual who wrote this article is blaming the gun? Did it leap into this lunatics hands and fire itself? You can have an entire room full of guns but guess what not one of them will fire unless somebody pulls the trigger...THINK BEFORE YOU WRITE

Sure--like having a gun makes sons want to shoot their fathers.

BDN you are absolutely ensuring that I will never subscribe to your paper. Ridiculously slanted articles such as these not only turn away potential customers, but make you look incredibly stupid. I think you should seriously reevaluate your approach to spreading news to be much more impartial.

Went past a sign at a house yesterday that said : CONCEALED WEAPONS LESSONS . Why would these lessons be any different than any gun handling lessons , unless it's to tell you where you can and can't hide the gun ? Or maybe that you shouldn't put a loaded gun in your waistband--- in case it should accidently fire.

Whoever wrote the headline, It's been my experience that the writer of the article doesn't necessarily write the headline, picuture caption, etc., " CURRENT GUN OWNERSHIP LAWS COULD HAVE BEEN FACTOR IN NEWPORT SLAYING."

Coulda, woulda, shoulda, BALONEY. The current laws are either a factor or not a factor. Sure, CREATE another gray area that doesn't exist and clamor for ANOTHER LAW. Enough is enough. We have enough local, county, state and federal laws as it is. More gun laws will only serve a future of banning guns. BDN THNIKS PEOPLE HAVE STUPID WRITTEN ACROSS THEIR FOREHEADS. Of course they're playing to the left wing rabble rousing antigun nuts, treehuggers, greenpeace crowd, etc. and maybe the few ignorant breeders out there.

Tragic story but not the fault of current gun ownership laws. COULD HAVE is pure speculation, NOT FACT NOR OBJECTIVE NEWS.

Maybe so TheTruth, but when the lunatics come to my door, I will be the one firing back, you can save yourself with your pathetic reasoning......

you remember the old saying..its not guns that kill..people kill..

Why even bother to attempt discussion?

This whole "gun series" is just another sh!tty, Liberal editorial from the dishonest activists at the BDN.

You'd have to figure that someone who is so enamored with himself/herself to choose the user name "The Truth", as if they were the last word on every subject, would come on here and start name calling. Take a hike .... a very long one ....say, to Massachusetts or NY where you can live in peace with all the other anti-guns fanatics.

If the BDN is going to participate and publish such ridiculous coulda, woulda, shoulda articles to try to get their anti-gun view across to the populace then all businesses that sell guns or any related supplies should boycott advertising in this paper. Do you hear us:

Dick's Sporting Goods

Old Town Trading Post

LL Bean

Van Raymond's Outfitters

Poulin's

Wal-Mart

3 Rivers Canoe

.... and many more

The loss of advertsing revenue is the only thing that might change BDN's tactics.

As I read a lot of papers online I am seeing one glaring fact. They are being hijacked by those who want cradle to grave service. Anything less is not going to cut it. They want you and I to get all warm and fuzzy about how, if the had their way, all would be good and no bad. That is not going to happen anytime soon, as far as I can see. I feel for the family, but I think the laws let them down. As more people get diagnosed as mentally ill the loonies will just pooh pooh it when they mess up. They'll say cut them some slack, they're just sick. This man had MAJOR anger issues and was not handled properly in the first place.

Do not blame guns. They are not the crux of the problem. The "experts" on mental illness are. There are people out there who need help and do not get it because they weren't deem a harm to themselves or others. And sometimes medication just doesn't work.

It was not the guns fault that Perely Sr. was killed, it is the Mental Facility that let Perely Jr leave after he tried to admit himself stating "he felt like he was going to hurt someone" They need to be held accountable for this!!!! If it is the facility I think it probably was their way of treating mental patients is medicate, medicate, medicate and if that doesn't work medicate them more!!!! Don't treat the actual problem just give them pills!!

sounds like neither one of them deserved to own guns, but somehow that happened.anyone with a mental illness, should never be allowed to own one, just for this reason.

Get real this guy that killed his dad was nuts, period. his parents knew that he was crazy and had a bad temper and did nothing about it. Sadly to say they were the ones to pay the price.

Guns did not do this. They do not have the power to act alone. This family and society, well aware of this individual's mental condition failed to act. Even though they want to blame this on something or someone else, It is their fault.

Had the mother carried a gun, this whole ordeal would have ended a lot quicker. While this was playing out, I had to visit a relative's currently unoccupied house located off the beaten path in Newport. Needless to say, I carried one of my handguns with me; I practice my God given, Constitutionally protected right to defend myself and my family.

The states with the most restrictive gun laws have the highest gun crime incidence rates. Ever since the "assault" weapon ban expired, violent crime and gun crime rates have plummeted. It would be nice if journalism school taught people how to research and how to separate fact from misguided and incorrect personal beliefs. Perhaps BDN should do an article comparing the incidence rates of rape in Canada versus the United States. Canadian rapists know that their (potential) victims are unarmed so they are much more prolific.

My guns never killed anyone. That cannot be said about Ted Kennedy's car, Joe Biden's motorcade, or a 2x4 piece of lumber in Obama's hometown.

tysmom 11:36 PM~ I completely agree with you. Perley Jr. asked for treatment, and his mother drove him to the hospital. The hospital felt he needed to be sent to another hospital who ended up sending him home. The mental health facility FAILED miserably, no need to place blame elsewhere if you ask me.

people kill people, not guns, if there had not been a gun then it would have been a knife or club, get over it (gun control) already bangor daily!

As in so many cases, the BDN staff member writing the story fails the public good by misdirecting the real issue of the story to one of how he or she personally feels about an issue. Here, the issue clearly isn't guns, but one of mental health. The story could have taken on the shape of what we are doing about those who need help with these issues, but the writer fails us.

What is this fascination with guns that Americans have? You don't need a gun to prove that you are a man..

RevGerald:

Without guns, there would be no America - we would still be subjects of a monarchy. Guns allow law-abiding citizens to exercise their God-given right to self defense. Let me ask you this, you're against a CCW permit holding woman from drawing her firearm to stop the advances of a rapist? What is the fascination of preventing Americans from exercising their liberties that liberals have? You don't need to be against guns to prove that you are metrosexual...

The point note pursued in this article was that even the laws did not keep guns out of the hands of Perley Sr. a convicted felon. Perley Jr. though because of his alleged crime is under attack because of his assumed tendencies and mental state. Which needs to be mentioned never crossed the legal line, therefore, unlike Perley Sr, the restrictions did not apply. If we start getting into he could a, should a, would a... then everyone will be contradicted upon wanting to possess a firearm. Of course the criminals wanting guns will avoid the application process and just buy outside the law and legal boundaries. I think this article is sided towards the anti gun movement. If we notice Mrs. Goodrich wants Perley Sr's 30-30 returned...this doesn't sound like a women that is anti gun to me. I feel for her loss, upset, and understand her questions of the laws application, but the push by the BDN is too directed in one direction on assumptions towards Perley Jr. in hopes possibly of rewriting gun laws to be stiffer towards possibilities of mental illness. Which could include just about everyone out here, and it being used as a loophole to prohibit or control guns.

i agree with most of you guys for once its not the gun its the person. Also if that person has not committed a crime barring them from owning a gun then he still can. That is a stupid comment by BDN thats like saying that person almost was speeding.

You must be logged in to post a comment. click here to log in.

Powered by: Creative Circle Advertising Solutions, Inc.