Grisly details revealed in Paso Robles killing: Victim was shot in the head point-blank
An investigator testified in court Thursday that a Paso Robles man was shot in the head at point-blank range while sitting in a car in the city and then buried in the back yard of a house in Riverside.
The grim testimony also alluded to a possible motive in the case.
Homicide victim Trevon Perry, 27, of Paso Robles was allegedly shot to death by Nicholas Ron Jr., also of Paso Robles, in March 2020, San Luis Obispo County Assistant Chief Investigator Casey Neall testified in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Thursday.
Perry had been missing for three months last year before his remains were found by San Luis Obispo County detectives. Ron has pleaded not guilty to Perry’s murder.
Victorville resident Marie Holquin, Ron’s mother, is also charged with felony counts of acting as an accessory to the crime as well as threatening a witness and is being tried separately from her son.
Holquin was in court Thursday for a preliminary hearing, in which Superior Court Judge Jesse Marino heard testimony in determining whether to forward her case toward trial.
Body was found buried near chicken coop
During Thursday’s hearing, Neall testified that he spoke with members of Holquin’s family in Riverside who helped bury Perry’s body.
Neall said that Ron brought Perry’s body wrapped in shower curtains and plastic to the family members’ Riverside home, and that those family members admitted the group considered various methods of disposing of his remains.
But they decided against burying Perry in a riverbed area because they observed people in the area, and instead buried the body in a chicken coop area of the back yard of the home, Neall said.
“(His uncles) and Nick used shovels to dig a hole in the chicken coop area,” Neall said.
It is unclear from testimony who owns the home.
Neall also testified that one of Ron’s uncles, whom he interviewed as part of the case, told the investigator that Ron shot Perry in the head because of an argument over an eviction.
“Ron was kicked out of an apartment based on something Perry had done,” Neall said in court. “Ron drove out (in Paso Robles) and shot him.”
Cause of death a gunshot at close range
DNA confirmed Perry’s body was the one discovered buried in the chicken coop after investigators went to the scene. A Riverside County coroner investigator determined the cause of death to be a gunshot wound fired at point-blank range.
Holquin is accused of helping transport Perry’s body from Paso Robles to the Riverside house, and Neall testified that other members of the family admitted to being involved at varies steps in the process.
Holquin’s daughter’s boyfriend at the time overheard Holquin and Ron discussing the situation from the next bedroom of Holquin’s Victorville home, Neall testified that person told him in an interview.
“(Holquin) said that she would help (her son),” Neall said.
Neall also said the daughter’s boyfriend told him that Holquin threatened to kill him and his family if he spoke to authorities about the incident.
DA Investigator Nick Coughlin also testified that he responded to the report of a burned Chevrolet HHR — believed to be the car Perry was shot in — found in Victorville with a shattered right passenger side window.
Also during the hearing, prosecutors argued for Holquin to remain in jail without bail because of her risk to the community and threats against one family member who spoke to investigators.
But defense attorney Jimmy Askew argued before Marino that while other Holquin family members were captured on camera footage at various gas stops along the way to Riverside after the murder was committed, no video surveillance footage showed his client.
Askew also challenged Holquin’s daughter’s boyfriend’s ability to accurately hear the conversation between Holguin and Ron through the walls of the home.
Marino ultimately ruled that sufficient evidence was presented to proceed to a trial and denied Holquin bail. A further arraignment will be held Jan. 26.
Thursday’s hearing focused on Holquin’s alleged involvement in the case, and more details are expected to be revealed when testimony is presented in a similar preliminary hearing for Ron, tentatively scheduled for later this month.
Suspect’s mother arrested in December
Holquin, 44, was arrested Dec. 4 in San Bernardino County on an outstanding warrant after being charged by San Luis Obispo County prosecutors with being an accessory after the fact and witness intimidation.
The Paso Robles Police Department said in a news release that Holquin was transported to the San Luis Obispo County Jail, where she was questioned by detectives.
Her arrest brings to six the number of people who have been charged in connection with the killing of Perry, who also went missing a few months after he testified against a North County man accused of murdering Perry’s best friend in 2019..
Court records show he testified for the prosecution in the murder case of Kejuan Bynum, who is accused of fatally stabbing Christopher Vento Wilson.
Ron, who is believed to have been an acquaintance of Perry’s, was arrested June 29 at his place of employment in Paso Robles following a months-long, multi-agency investigation and the service of dozens of search warrants across the state.
The case shocked residents of Paso Robles, many of whom attended a vigil for Perry in late June, telling a Tribune reporter he loved his family and “personified joy, which radiated to everyone around him.”
If convicted, Ron faces the possibility of life in prison. He is in custody at San Luis Obispo County Jail in lieu of $1.25 million bail, and he’s scheduled to be in court Thursday for a preliminary hearing Jan. 28.
Authorities also arrested Vivianna Rodriguez, 24, of Paso Robles in June related to the case. Police say Rodriguez also acted as an accessory to Perry’s murder but have not detailed her alleged role.
She was released after posting an unspecified amount of bail.
Three more people — Nyessa Ron, 22; Valente Holquin III, 18, and Alberto Garzon, 25 — were arrested in Victorville and Riverside in September on suspicion of accessory after the fact, and have since bailed out of San Luis Obispo County Jail custody.
The Paso Robles Police Department says the investigation into Perry’s death remains ongoing and it’s asking anyone with information to contact Det. Bryce Lickness at 805-237-6464, or make an anonymous tip at Crime Stoppers’ hotline at 805-549-STOP, or by texting “SLOTIPS” plus a message to CRIMES (274637).
This story was originally published January 14, 2021 at 6:52 PM.
