DENVER — Handyman Todd Perkins is uncouth, rude and anti-social, his attorney Victoria Eidsmo said Wednesday morning in Denver District Court.
Those qualities made Perkins an unpopular person among the tenants he served, but also created the perfect scapegoat for a building explosion on Aug. 14, 2018, in the 400 block of Santa Fe Drive. Nine people were injured.
Perkin’s attorney offered his defense Wednesday during opening statements in his trial. He faces 29 charges, including attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault in connection with the apartment building explosion that rocked the Baker neighborhood like an earthquake.
Eidsmo painted the picture of a man who lacked interpersonal skills and rubbed people the wrong way, leading residents to blame him for a crime he did not commit.
“There are no witnesses who saw him disconnect any pipes,” the defense attorney told the jury. “There no witnesses who said they saw him pour any gasoline, and no witnesses who say they saw him light a match.”