Fugitive lawyer nabbed in Virginia

The whereabouts of defense lawyer D. Scott Perrine are no longer a mystery. He was arrested by authorities in Arlington, Va., Friday afternoon.

Perrine, 31, had been under house arrest on charges of contraband and possession of a controlled substance in relation to an October 2007 prison incident. He was wanted on a bench warrant after he cut his electronic-monitoring bracelet and fled his Center City apartment March 25.

Perrine was arrested without incident by the Washington FBI and Arlington police about 2 p.m. outside the Hilton Garden Inn in Arlington, according to Thomas Press, managing investigator of the First Judicial District Warrant Unit in Philadelphia.

Press said yesterday that authorities in Philadelphia had information leading them to believe that Perrine was staying at the hotel, and that information was relayed to the Washington FBI and Arlington police. Perrine was staying at the hotel under an assumed name, Press said.

When Perrine was stopped outside the hotel Friday afternoon, he claimed he wasn't the person whose name and photo were posted on a "wanted" flier that investigators had, Press said, but authorities were able to identify him through fingerprints.

"He wasn't combative; he just denied it was him," Press said. "He was cooperative."

As of yesterday afternoon, he remained in custody at the Arlington County Detention Facility. It was not clear when he would be extradited to Philadelphia.

Perrine is accused of bringing a small vial of cocaine into the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, where he was visiting a client, on Oct. 24, 2007

Twice last year, he failed to show up to court on his drug-related charges. Common Pleas Judge Joan Brown then issued a bench warrant for Perrine's arrest. After Perrine was placed in county prison for about a month, Brown said in December that Perrine could be released from jail, but ordered that he be placed under house arrest.

Perrine was allowed to leave his apartment for work.

But on March 25, he cut his electronic-monitoring bracelet and took a train to Washington, a court officer monitoring Perrine's house arrest has testified.

Because of that, Common Pleas Senior Judge John J. O'Grady Jr., now the presiding judge in Perrine's drug case, issued a bench warrant for Perrine's arrest.

Perrine, an outspoken attorney, had been representing one of three suspects accused of attempted murder in a shooting in North Philly last May. The three suspects were seen later that night being beaten by Philadelphia police, footage that was captured by a Fox 29 News helicopter.

Perrine was removed as defendant Pete Hopkins' attorney by Common Pleas Judge Ramy I. Djerassi after failing to show up in court March 27 for a pretrial conference in the attempted-murder case.

Perrine also failed to show up to court March 30 before Judge O'Grady for a scheduling conference in his drug case.