Calling the disappearances of Terrance Williams and Felipe Santos “an injustice,” entertainment mogul Tyler Perry offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to their location while in East Naples on Thursday.
Perry, the Rev. Al Sharpton and NAACP President and CEO Ben Jealous spoke before about 150 people at Collier County’s South Regional Library, bringing attention to the nearly decade-old cases of Williams(below left) and Santos (below on right). The two men, both in their 20s, both were last seen in North Naples with the same now-fired deputy, Cpl. Steve Calkins.
“This is injustice and we have the power to change this,” Perry said. “We have the power to see someone brought to justice.”
The mystery of Williams and Santos stretches back to October 2003, when Santos went missing after he was picked up by Calkins for driving without a license. Calkins said he didn’t take Santos to jail, instead dropping him off at a Circle K.
In January 2004, WIlliams went missing after witnesses saw him getting help with car trouble from Calkins. Calkins(SEEN BELOW), who is white, denied doing anything more than dropping off the young men at different convenience stores. He was never charged but was fired after he stopped cooperating with investigators.
Calkins remains a person of interest in the case, Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said. Calkins was fired after giving inconsistent statements and FAILING a polygraph about the cases, but no evidence has been publicly presented that could warrant his arrest.
Perry took an interest in the cases last year after seeing a television show featuring the two cases. Sharpton and Jealous joined after hearing from Perry.
