FOND DU LAC COUNTY, Wis. (WFRV) – Two men have officially been charged for their alleged involvement in a homicide that happened last year.
According to court documents, Julius Freeman Jr. and Eric Perry both made their initial court appearance in Fond du Lac County Monday morning on several charges including First Degree Intentional Homicide.
Julius Freeman
- First Degree Intentional Homicide, as a party to a crime, repeater, use of a dangerous weapon
- Armed Robbery with use of force, repeater
Eric Perry
- First Degree Intentional Homicide, as a party to a crime, repeater, use of a dangerous weapon
- Armed Robbery with use of force, repeater
According to a criminal complaint, on October 17, 2021, around 11:56 p.m., two officers were sent to 8th Street in the City of Fond du Lac for reports of a person saying there were people running out of her house and a man laying in a pool of blood. That person was later identified as Benzel Rose.
A detective arrived sometime later and determined that Rose had been shot in the head and a single shell casing in the dining room of the home was found. They also found a plastic bag containing a clear crystal-like substance, which officials believed to be methamphetamine.
The witness said that she, three of her kids and Rose had gone out to eat when he pulled out a ‘wad’ of cash. No money was found on Rose at the time of his death. They also learned that he had a Glock model gun on or around him at the time of his death.
During their investigation, officials couldn’t didn’t find the money or the gun. On October 19, 2021, officials received a call from an anonymous source that said they had information on the shooting, saying “Lil E is responsible for the shooting.” They also identified a vehicle they should be looking for and that the gun used in the homicide would be with him.
As the investigation continued, a search warrant was issued for a home of a witness, which is the girlfriend of Eric Perry. During that time, officials received a video of a Snapchat story showing money being placed on a counter at the home where Rose was found dead.
On December 3, Julius Freeman was interviewed and he admitted to going to the house with Eric Perry, also known as Lil E. According to the criminal complaint, Freeman says he didn’t go inside the house but when Perry came out he said “He ain’t here no more.”
During an interview in December of 2021, a witness had told detectives that Perry said Rose had “upped the gun on him”, and then Perry allegedly shot Rose. In February, Freeman’s girlfriend at the time said that Freeman had blood on a pair of pants that he had tried to bleach, when she asked Freeman at the time how the blood got there, he said it had splattered on him. She went on to tell detectives that Freeman was in the kitchen at the time of the alleged shooting when he heard the first shot, but didn’t see who shot.
On April 18, DNA from Freeman’s pants was tested and it came back as a match to the victim, Rose.
Eric Perry was previously convicted of a felony in June of 2021 and Julius Freeman was convicted of a felony in 2019. They are both being held on $1 million bonds and are scheduled to appear back in court on July 22.
