Actions

Man who fired at Chesterfield police was involved in 2014 standoff

Posted at 6:10 PM, Dec 28, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-28 18:10:50-05

CHESTER, Va. – On Wednesday, roads were shut down around a home in the 300-block of Sunset Boulevard in Chester as officers exchanged fire with a man later identified as 38-year-old Kenneth Perna-Rutsky.

Around 10:30 a.m., emergency dispatch calls were made for a suicidal man and when police showed up, they said Perna-Rutsky fired at them. Officers fired at the suspect, who then retreated into the residence.

Police made entry into the residence and located Perna-Rutsky, deceased with an apparent gunshot wound. Upon further investigation, it was determined that police fatally shot and killed Perna-Rutsky.

The incident is similar to an episode three and a half yeAll Postsars ago just outside Salt Lake City, Utah, that also involved Perna-Rutsky.

In July 2014, police said Perna-Rutsky got into a fight with his fiancé and threatened to shoot her.

He turned the gun on himself, but it would not fire and he passed out. His blood alcohol level was 0.389 at the time. Officers evacuated about 40 apartments as a precaution, and after negotiating for about four hours SWAT team members entered the apartment, according to CBS 6 affiliates.

Perna-Rutsky was found guilty of two misdemeanors at the time, and nearly all his year-and-a-half jail sentence was suspended.

He was given two years of probation in Virginia and told to go through substance abuse treatment.

His record shows he received six verbal warnings for not finishing a substance abuse evaluation, but a court in Utah ruled his probation complete anyway.

"If that hadn't happened he really could have been under court control even to this day," CBS 6 legal analyst Todd Stone said.

"In his case because it was a misdemeanor, it's not something they would normally extradite someone all the way back out to Utah because it's expensive to do that, and they try to rectify that by having a memorandum where he agrees to be extradited and incur the expenses but in this case because of the timing that didn't happen so he was basically cut loose at the end of his unsuccessful termination," Stone said.

Perna-Rutsky also had a current protective order against him by his former employer. Court records show he attacked the employer while drunk because they dropped his health insurance.
The police department continues to investigate this incident. Anyone with information should contact the Chesterfield County Police Department at 804-748-1251 or Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660 or through the P3 app.

CBS6-News-at-4pm-and-Jennifer-Hudson-480x360.jpg

Entertainment

Watch 'The Jennifer Hudson Show' weekdays at 3 p.m. on CBS 6!

📱 Download CBS 6 News App
The app features breaking news alerts, live video, weather radar, traffic incidents, closings and delays and more.