Perricllia v. Commonwealth

Tried by a jury under an indictment charging him with the first-degree murder of James E. Mercer, Rex Allen Perricllia was found guilty of murder of the second degree. The trial court sentenced him in accordance with the jury verdict to confinement in the penitentiary for 20 years. At trial, Perricllia admitted having shot Mercer but testified that he did so in self-defense. On appeal, Perricllia contends that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict and that the trial court improperly instructed the jury.

The chief witness for the Commonwealth was Mark Anthony Wilson, age 19, a…