Police arrest and charge 'John Doe Duffel Bags': Suspect 'confesses' to killing two of three shopkeepers brutally murdered in Brooklyn

A low-end clothing dealer was arrested Wednesday in the killings of three Brooklyn shopkeepers, police said. Salvatore Perrone, 63, of Staten Island, confessed to two of the killings after turning himself in to police, according to the New York Post. Before police knew his identity, the suspect was dubbed the 'John Doe Duffel Bags' for the bag that he was seen carrying the most recent attack, which was visible in surveillance videos.

• Salvatore Perrone, of Staten Island, arrested in killings of three shopkeepers
• Peronne 'confesses to two of the killings'
  
• Casings from the same .22 caliber handgun found at all three crime scenes
  
• Killer may have chosen stores based on lack of surveillance cameras

A low-end clothing dealer was arrested Wednesday in the killings of three Brooklyn shopkeepers, police said.

Salvatore Perrone, 63, of Staten Island, confessed to two of the killings after turning himself in to police, according to the New York Post.

'He puts himself at all three scenes,' a source told the Post. 'The motive is still unclear.'

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Is this 'John Doe Duffel Bags'? Salvatore Perrone, a businessman from Staten Island, has been named in connection with the Brooklyn murders

Before police knew his identity, the suspect was dubbed the 'John Doe Duffel Bags' for the bag that he was seen carrying the most recent attack, which was visible in surveillance videos.

Perrone carried clothing in the duffel bag, which he had tried to tried to sell to the shopkeepers, police said.

Police recovered a bag containing a sawed-off rifle believed to have been used in the killings. The other killings happened in July and August. All three shopkeepers were men alone in stores that had no video cameras.

After being questioned by detectives for hours, Peronne admitted to the slayings of Mohammed Gebeli, 65, in Bay Ridge and Isaac Kadare, 59, in Bensonhurst.

Weapon: Police say that Perrone used this rifle to kill three New York shop keepers

In the most recent killing, Rahmatollah Vahidipour, an Iranian, was shot three times in the head and chest at his store, the She She Boutique.

After that killing, detectives discovered the same gun was used in the fatal shootings of two other shopkeepers when ballistics matched the .22-caliber gun shell casings on all three. On July 6, Gebeli, an Egyptian, was found shot in the back of his shop, Valentino Fashion Inc. On Aug. 6, Kadare, also Egyptian, was shot in the head in his store, Amazing 99 Cent Deal.

The suspect was taken into police custody after he voluntarily entered the 68th Precinct in Bay Ridge. He was later transferred to another police location for additional questioning.

Revealed: The balding, mustachioed man dubbed 'John Doe Duffle Bags' who was seen near at least two crime scenes in Brooklyn voluntarily submitted himself for questioning Tuesday 

Ballistics tests matched in each killing, all of which occurred in Brooklyn shops with an '8' in the address.

Peronne was caught on surveillance footage a block and a half away from the Flatbush store where Rahmatollah Vahidipour was killed on Friday evening. 

Minutes later, the same moustachioed-man is seen in a different video two blocks away from the store.

Murdered: Vahidipour Rahmatollah was killed with three gunshots, but it seems nothing was stolen

The New York Post reports that a different surveillance camera, located by the scene of the second murder in Bensonhurst also shows the same man. 

The video is of poorer quality, but they feel confident that the same duffel bag-toting man was in the area around the time that shopkeeper Isaac Kadare was killed on August 2.

‘”John Doe Duffel Bag” wore a long overcoat and carried a duffel bag,’ police commissioner Ray Kelly said.

‘He was seen in the vicinity of Vahidipour’s store just after 6 p.m. The shop owner’s body was found at 7.11pm.’

This is not the first person-of-interest in the case, and a number have since been ruled out.

Previously unidentified suspects, dubbed ‘Jane Doe Green Jacket’ and ‘John Doe Bubble Jacket’, were on the police’s watch list since they were seen in the area of Vahidipour’s shop at the time of the murder.

They have since been eliminated from the suspect pool as it turns out that ‘Green Jacket’ stole a bottle of perfume from street vendor ‘Bubble Jacket’ who was chasing after her following the theft.

Two remaining possibilities are ‘Jane Doe Long Coat’, a woman who was seen near the crime scene wearing sunglasses and a scarf.

Looking for the man: He appeared near at least two of the three crime scenes over the past four months

Near the scene: None of the stores where the shootings took place had video cameras inside

There also was a police sketch released following the first murder that took place earlier in the summer at a 99 cent store that left Mohammed Gebeli dead on July 6. 

That possible suspect was a man with dark skin and wearing sunglasses, who witnesses described as being ‘disturbed’ and talking to himself about putting a bullet in someone’s head.

That man is said to be roughly 5-foot-5 and around 140 pounds.

The Daily News reports that the shop owner Vahidipour of Great Neck was behind the counter of She She in Brooklyn's Flatbush section when he was shot Friday night.

The gunman dragged the victim's body toward the back of the store and covered it with clothing.

Victims: Isaac Kadare and Mohammed Gebeli were killed by the same handgun earlier this year

Police found the 78-year-old with two gunshot wounds to the head and one to the torso, DNA Info reported.

On the floor of the shop were the killer's calling card: shell casings matching casings left at the scenes of the last two homicides.

'Now it's like he's telling us, 'It's me again,'' a police source told the New York Daily News.

The way Rahmatollah's body was hidden was also consistent with the previous shootings. 

On July 6, Mohammed Gebeli, 65, was found shot through the neck in his Bay Ridge clothing shop. His body was also hidden.

Police believe the methodical killer does this to buy himself more getaway time by delaying the discovery of the bodies.

'I hope they catch the son of a b****,' Gebeli's son, Mourad said.   

When Rahmoatollah didn't come home at the usual time Friday his family called the police, who discovered his body.

It wasn't not clear if the killer actually took anything, or if the murder was his sole motivation.

'He never had in his whole life one enemy, he didn't have, he was a very kind man,' his sobbing wife, Naima Rahmatollah, told reporters. 

VIDEO: A community on edge as three shopkeepers are murdered

Suspect: Following one homicide at a 99 cent store that used the same gun, police released this sketch of the suspect

He was supposed to be at his grandson’s Bar Mitzvah on Saturday.

Police believe the murderer had been watching the store in preparation for the attack, noting that he'd chosen a shop with no security cameras.

Issac Kadare, 59, was found dead in his Bensonhurst store at 1877 86th St., was shot in the head and stabbed in the neck. 

Besides owning stores, each victim was of Middle Eastern descent, prompting suspicion the killer could be racially motivated. 

It appeared nothing was taken from Rahmatollah's shop but both Kadare and Gebeli had money taken from them, and it remains unclear whether robbery is a motive. 

Unguarded: believe the killer was attracted to the store because, as with previous crime scenes, there were no cameras

Fernando Mateo of the Bodega Association of the U.S. said they were sending copies of the police sketch to their members but were mostly concerned with those fitting the previous victim's description.

'The only members that we would be concerned about are Middle Easterners,' he said. 

It's also possible the killer has a fascination with numerology, as the address for each homicide includes the number 8: Kadare at 1877 86th St., Gebeli at 7718 5th Ave., and Rahmatollah at 834 Flatbush Ave. 

None of the stores had working surveillance cameras. 

Scene: Police believe the killer may have been casing the shop, as it had no security cameras to catch him in the act

Neighbors called Rahmoatollah a 'neighborhood staple.'

'He was a regular guy,' said customer Xanius Patterson. 'He never hurt nobody.'

Police are offering $12,000 for any information leading to the killer's arrest and conviction. 

VIDEO: Surveillance shows 'John Doe Duffle Bags' near two different crime scenes

Police now have a picture of the man they believe killed three storekeepers in Brooklyn, and are calling for the public's help in catching the mystery man they call 'John Doe Duffle Bag'. Police suspect this man (left) in the three recent murders of Brooklyn shopkeepers Mohammed Gebeli (inset left), Rahmatollah Vahidipour (inset center) and Isaac Kadare (inset right).

• Casings from the same .22 caliber handgun found at all three crime scenes
  
• Killer may have chosen stores based on lack of surveillance cameras
• All three victims are Middle Eastern, prompting fears of racial motivation
• Police offering $12,000 reward for information

Police now have a picture of the man they believe killed three storekeepers in Brooklyn, and are calling for the public’s help in catching the mystery man they call ‘John Doe Duffle Bag’.

The man in question is balding with a dark mustache and was seen walking near the scene of the most recent murder in Flatbush.

Three store owners have been killed in their shops over the past four months and the killings are connected as all three were shot with the same .22 caliber handgun.

Ballistics tests matched in each killing, all of which occurred in Brooklyn shops with an '8' in the address.

John Doe Duffle Bag: The balding man with a mustache was seen twice in Flatbush minutes before and after the third shop keeper was killed on Friday

The latest suspect, ‘John Doe Duffle Bag’, was caught on surveillance footage a block and a half away from the Flatbush store where Rahmatollah Vahidipour was killed on Friday evening. Minutes later, the same moustachioed-man is seen in a different video two blocks away from the store.

Murdered: Vahidipour Rahmatollah was killed with three gunshots, but it seems nothing was stolen

The New York Post reports that a different surveillance camera, located by the scene of the second murder in Bensonhurst also shows the same man. The video is of poorer quality, but they feel confident that the same duffle bag-toting man was in the area around the time that shopkeeper Isaac Kadare was killed on August 2.

‘”John Doe Duffle Bag” wore a long overcoat and carried a duffel bag,’ police commissioner Ray Kelly said.

‘He was seen in the vicinity of Vahidipour’s store just after 6 p.m. The shop owner’s body was found at 7.11pm.’

This is not the first person-of-interest in the case, and a number have since been ruled out.

Previously unidentified suspects, dubbed ‘Jane Doe Green Jacket’ and ‘John Doe Bubble Jacket’, were on the police’s watch list since they were seen in the area of Vahidipour’s shop at the time of the murder.

They have since been eliminated from the suspect pool as it turns out that ‘Green Jacket’ stole a bottle of perfume from street vendor ‘Bubble Jacket’ who was chasing after her following the theft.

Two remaining possibilities are ‘Jane Doe Long Coat’, a woman who was seen near the crime scene wearing sunglasses and a scarf.

Looking for the man: He appeared near at least two of the three crime scenes over the past four months

Near the scene: None of the stores where the shootings took place had video cameras inside

There also was a police sketch released following the first murder that took place earlier in the summer at a 99 cent store that left Mohammed Gebeli dead on July 6.

That possible suspect was a man with dark skin and wearing sunglasses, who witnesses described as being ‘disturbed’ and talking to himself about putting a bullet in someone’s head.

That man is said to be roughly 5-foot-5 and around 140 pounds.

The Daily News reports that the shop owner Vahidipour of Great Neck was behind the counter of She She in Brooklyn's Flatbush section when he was shot Friday night.

The gunman dragged the victim's body toward the back of the store and covered it with clothing.

Victims: Isaac Kadare and Mohammed Gebeli were killed by the same handgun earlier this year

Police found the 78-year-old with two gunshot wounds to the head and one to the torso, DNA Info reported.

On the floor of the shop were the killer's calling card: shell casings matching casings left at the scenes of the last two homicides.

'Now it's like he's telling us, 'It's me again,'' a police source told the New York Daily News.

The way Rahmatollah's body was hidden was also consistent with the previous shootings.

On July 6, Mohammed Gebeli, 65, was found shot through the neck in his Bay Ridge clothing shop. His body was also hidden.

Police believe the methodical killer does this to buy himself more getaway time by delaying the discovery of the bodies.

'I hope they catch the son of a b****,' Gebeli's son, Mourad said.

When Rahmoatollah didn't come home at the usual time Friday his family called the police, who discovered his body.

It wasn't not clear if the killer actually took anything, or if the murder was his sole motivation.

'He never had in his whole life one enemy, he didn't have, he was a very kind man,' his sobbing wife, Naima Rahmatollah, told reporters. 

Suspect: Following one homicide at a 99 cent store that used the same gun, police released this sketch of the suspect

Saturday he was supposed to be at his grandson’s Bar Mitzvah.

Police believe the murderer had been watching the store in preparation for the attack, noting that he'd chosen a shop with no security cameras.

Issac Kadare, 59, was found dead in his Bensonhurst store at 1877 86th St., was shot in the head and stabbed in the neck.

Besides owning stores, each victim was of Middle Eastern descent, prompting suspicion the killer could be racially motivated.

It appeared nothing was taken from Rahmatollah's shop but both Kadare and Gebeli had money taken from them, and it remains unclear whether robbery is a motive.

Unguarded: believe the killer was attracted to the store because, as with previous crime scenes, there were no cameras

Fernando Mateo of the Bodega Association of the U.S. said they were sending copies of the police sketch to their members but were mostly concerned with those fitting the previous victim's description.

'The only members that we would be concerned about are Middle Easterners,' he said.

It's also possible the killer has a fascination with numerology, as the address for each homicide includes the number 8: Kadare at 1877 86th St., Gebeli at 7718 5th Ave., and Rahmatollah at 834 Flatbush Ave.

None of the stores had working surveillance cameras.

Scene: Police believe the killer may have been casing the shop, as it had no security cameras to catch him in the act

Neighbors called Rahmoatollah a 'neighborhood staple.'

'He was a regular guy,' said customer Xanius Patterson. 'He never hurt nobody.'

Police are offering $12,000 for any information leading to the killer's arrest and conviction.