A man wanted for questioning in the case of a Georgia man found dead last month after going missing in downtown Baton Rouge is accused of using the missing man’s debit card in the days after his disappearance have, as police documents show.
Police also said a car stolen by Derrick Perkins was discovered yesterday near where Nathan Millard’s body was found last week.
Derrick Perkins was arrested late Monday on charges of violating probation, criminal damage to property, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and triple fraud with access devices, Baton Rouge Police said Tuesday.
The department announced last week that Perkins is wanted in the disappearance of Nathan Millard, whose body was found wrapped in a rug and plastic on March 6 near the Scenic Highway. Police have repeatedly emphasized that Perkins is not currently a suspect in Millard’s death.
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Perkins was seen on surveillance footage with Millard’s debit card in two Highland Road grocery stores on the night of his disappearance, according to an affidavit.
Perkins, 45, is also accused of stealing a blue 2004 Toyota Camry from an unrelated victim on February 3. Multiple scans from license plate readers showed the car’s license plates had been replaced several times during February and the first week of March, documents say Perkins allegedly removed the vehicle’s bumper sticker and attempted to replace the spot where the sticker had been when Millard’s case began to garner national attention.
Millard, an Advanced Construction employee of Covington, Georgia, arrived in Baton Rouge on February 22 for a 24-hour business trip to meet with a client and tour a job site.
According to Millard’s wife, Amber, he and the client went to an LSU basketball game and then for drinks before parting ways when Millard began walking from Happy’s Pub to his hotel a few blocks away.
The client contacted police after Millard, a father and stepfather of five, failed to show up for their 8am meeting the next day.
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In a news conference last week, Chief Murphy Paul said detectives were able to trace some of Millard’s movements after he left the pub through surveillance camera footage from multiple facilities in the area. Paul said Millard was last found at 4:30 a.m. on February 23.
Kevin Heinz, a captain in the BRPD Violent Crimes Unit, once said Millard was seen at a Greyhound bus stop where a security guard offered him a ride, which he declined.
Heinz said the security guard noticed that Millard did not appear to be in distress.
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Almost two weeks later, Millard’s body was discovered behind an abandoned funeral home. Autopsy results from the Baton Rouge coroner’s office said his body showed no signs of internal or external trauma. A final cause of death is still awaiting toxicological testing.
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