WINDSOR – A Lewiston-Woodville man will spend a minimum of 28.75 years in prison after a jury found him guilty here last week of a crime that occurred nearly seven years ago.

On Oct. 11, Salim Abdu Gould, 37, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Cy Grant to a minimum of 28.75 years and a maximum of 37.3 years on the jury’s guilty verdicts of attempted first degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

In building its case against the defendant, the State, led by local District Attorney Valerie Asbell, presented evidence during the trial that Gould shot the victim, Jeffery Perry, in the back at nearly point-blank range with a 12 gauge shotgun on Dec. 31, 2012. That shooting reportedly took place at Perry’s residence on Governor’s Road near Lewiston Woodville. When officers arrived they found Perry outside of his home with a gunshot wound to his back.

Gould fled from the scene. Meanwhile, the victim was initially transported to Vidant Bertie Hospital in Windsor and then quickly airlifted to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville. There the victim underwent in excess of 20 surgeries and stayed in the hospital over four months.

After talking to the victim and witnesses at the scene, the Bertie County Sheriff’s Office arrested Gould. He had previously been convicted of possession of a firearm by felon in Bertie County in 2006.

After the jury’s verdict was read at last week’s trial, Judge Grant sentenced Gould to 238-298 months for attempted first degree murder; 88-118 months for assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury with intent to kill;  and 19-32 months for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Judge Grant ordered those sentences to run consecutively for a total of 345-448 months in the Department of Adult Corrections.

“With the increased number of violent crimes in our communities, this verdict sends a clear message that this type of conduct will not be tolerated in our communities here in Judicial District 6,” said Asbell. I am glad that this part of the process is over for Mr. Jeffery Perry and we appreciate him being willing to come forward and testify about such a heinous crime.

“I want to commend Assistant District Attorney Lisa Coltrain and Victim Service Coordinator Kalen Smallwood for their hard work on preparing this case for trial. I also want to thank Detective Naomi Mizelle, Sheriff John Holley and the Bertie County Sheriff’s Office for their hard work on the investigation. My staff is dedicated to seeking lengthy active sentences for these violent offenders. This is another step toward that goal,” Asbell added.

According to court records, this case had been set for trial at numerous prior Superior Court sessions in Bertie County. However, there were changes in Gould’s legal representation following his arrest and also conflicts with other Superior Court trial sessions, which delayed the trial until last week.