DNA under girl’s fingernail leads to attempted kidnapping arrest, charge

A man’s DNA profile – found under the fingernail of a 16-year-old girl he allegedly tried to kidnap in August near Kent – led to his arrest Thursday by King County Sheriff’s Office deputies.

Kevin J. Perkins, 52, with a last known address in Federal Way, faces a first-degree attempted kidnapping charge for grabbing the girl and pulling her into his vehicle on Aug. 13 as she walked/jogged in the area of South 272nd Street and 42nd Avenue South near Star Lake (east of Interstate 5) in unincorporated Kent, according to charging papers. The girl managed to escape after she kicked Perkins. She also scratched his face.

Deputies arrested Perkins on Thursday at a home in Tukwila, according to the Sheriff’s Office. He had a $500,000 warrant for kidnapping. Perkins remained Friday in the county’s Seattle Correctional Facility with bail set at $500,000. He is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 11, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Nicole L. Weston described the incident in charging papers filed Sept. 28.

“The defendant attempted to kidnap a 16-year-old girl off a neighborhood street,” Weston wrote. “The defendant repeatedly struck the victim, choked her and threw her into the vehicle he appeared to be associated with. The defendant then attempted to remove the victim’s pants. The victim fought back and was able to scream, kick, scratch and knock the defendant down and escape.”

Weston write the girl ran into the middle of the street to flag a vehicle down for help. She gave deputies a description of the suspect and a sketch was produced, which the Sheriff’s Office released to the media in August.

Detectives were able to match the DNA through the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). Perkins was in the system because of a lengthy criminal history. He has prior felony convictions for unlawful possession of a firearm in 2008 and 2005; residential burglary in 2008, 2005 and 1996; second-degree burglary in 1989, 1986 and 1984; and violation of the uniformed controlled substances act in 2008.

Deputies tracked down ear buds, a shoe and sweatshirt that belonged to the girl. She lost the items when she struggled with Perkins, losing the sweatshirt and shoe as she fled his grasp.

The girl told deputies that after babysitting for her sister, she arrived home at about 10 p.m. Aug. 13. She washed dishes and then decided at about 11 p.m. to go for a walk/run to a gas station/store at South 272nd Street and Military Road South. On the way home from the store, she left 272nd Street for a neighborhood street when she saw a man outside of his vehicle. She said the man looked weirdly at her, so she started to turn around when the man grabbed her with both hands.

The man pushed her onto the driver’s seat of his vehicle. He put his hand over her mouth and told her to shut up. The man took the girl’s phone from her. After a short struggle, she managed to escape.

After the girl got away, she tried to stop three vehicles for help, but they would not stop. She then went to the middle of the road and a fourth vehicle stopped for her. The girl told the woman and man in the car what had happened and that she wanted to go to her friend’s house because she was afraid her mother would scream at her if she went home.

The girl got to her friend’s apartment and described what had happened. The friend’s brother took the girl home and police were called.

The woman, who stopped her vehicle to give the girl a ride, posted about the incident on Facebook.

“This young girl probably 6 to 8 years younger than me could have had her life taken and so much more,” according to a portion of the Facebook post. “How can another human being do this. To the girl crying in my car I wish you all the strength and comfort in the universe and hope to hear you are doing much better than probably the worst night of your life.”