Cop killer released after serving 22 years

TRENTON, N.J. Fernando Odom walked out of Bayside State Prison in Leesburg a free man on Sunday after serving two decades for killing a Port Authority Police Officer during a scuffle that spilled from a PATH train in Jersey City.

``The word unfair comes to mind,'' said Lt. Michael Brogan, a colleague, friend and classmate of William Perry, the officer gunned down a few days before Christmas in 1980. He left a wife and two toddlers.

Odom was convicted of murder, weapons and other charges in the officer's death and has been incarcerated since 1981. Now 44, Odom was released after serving 22 years, the mandatory minimum term under guidelines in effect when he was sentenced, said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Deirdre Fedkenheuer.

Because Odom was released not paroled he was not required to provide an address or any other information to the state. His online prison record indicates he has used the aliases Fernando Malik and Fernando McCoy.

Fedkenheuer termed the sentencing code that freed Odom ``liberal'' compared to today.

State law was modified in 2001 to ensure that killers serve at least 85 percent of their sentences before having a chance at parole. But that does nothing for those who'd hoped Odom would remain behind bars indefinitely.

``There are certain things that you do, the cost is the rest of your life,'' said Brogan, who still works the same PATH detail that he and Perry pulled when the officer was gunned down.

It was just before Christmas, and Perry was assigned to court, Brogan recalled, so he was wearing civilian clothes even though he was on-duty. He was ``such a stickler for old rules and regulations, for efficiency, that he was wearing his bulletproof vest'' under his clothes.

Perry was riding a PATH train at Journal Square when he confronted Odom, who was playing loud music and smoking, said Port Authority Police Officer Peter Seaman.

Odom and Perry scuffled onto the platform and the pair rolled the three or so feet down to the tracks, Brogan said. There, Perry was shot in the throat, above the protective reach of his vest.

``It really was such a devastating blow,'' Brogan said. He called the killing ``senseless, purposeless, malicious'' and the killer ``openly hateful.''

He said the Port Authority police union has written letters opposing Odom's freedom, but his release was a legal matter beyond its control.

Brogan said he often points new recruits to a stationhouse plaque in Perry's honor. ``I bring it up all the time,'' he said. The memorial serves as a daily reminder that ``even if you're as careful as you can be, even if you make no mistakes, there is no guarantee you're going home.''

Cop-killer's parole raises survivors' ire

Summer release set after half of 44-year term
Thursday, June 19, 2003

BY RON MARSICO
Star-Ledger Staff

The man convicted of the 1980 murder of a Port Authority police officer at a Jersey City PATH station is to be released from prison Sunday after serving half of a 44-year term, state Department of Corrections officials said yesterday.

Fernando Odom, now 44, was convicted in May 1981 of shooting Officer William Perry, 32, after the two fought on the Exchange Place station platform and fell onto the tracks. The incident occurred after Perry, who was from Roselle Park, arrested Odom for refusing to stop smoking on a train.

Perry, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was shot five times. The vest deflected four of the bullets. The fifth pierced the officer's heart.

Odom of Irvington was convicted under more lenient sentencing guidelines than exist today. He was able to reduce his term at the Bayside State Prison in South Jersey because of good behavior and by earning work credits, corrections officials said.

Under today's system, killing a police officer is grounds for the death penalty or a minimum prison term of 30 years to life.

The state Parole Board rejected Odom's first bid for parole last summer.

Odom's release has angered the wife and sister of the slain officer, who say they did not receive adequate notification. They also said 22 years is too little time for such a heinous crime.

"It just doesn't seem fair," said Valerie Perry, the officer's widow, who raised the couple's two children after her husband's death. "This man (Odom) is only 44. He has his whole life ahead of him."

Gov. James E. McGreevey also protested the release.

"Gov. McGreevey finds it unacceptable that any cop-killer would be released after serving a minimum sentence," said Ellen Mellody, his spokeswoman. "The governor would be supportive of legislation that demands mandatory life sentencing for any person killing a cop in New Jersey."

No attorney of record is listed for Odom.

Charles De Rienzo, superintendent of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, also expressed dismay.

"Mr. Perry's outstanding service to this department has not been and never will be forgotten, and we are outraged that Officer Perry's murderer is being set free long before serving out his full sentence," said De Rienzo.

Betty Ann Scuderi, the officer's sister, said the family found out on its own months ago that Odom was to be released this summer and only received official notification last week of the release date.

William Plantier, director of the corrections department's Division of Operations, said notifications of family members are done by the county prosecutor's office. He said officials in Hudson County were notified both in January and in recent weeks of Odom's release date.

Hudson County Prosecutor Ed De Fazio confirmed that his office sent the most recent letter to the family. As for the January letter, De Fazio said his office "might have gotten" it, though he could not be certain.
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