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Donation Fund Established for Paralegal Shot in Head

By Lynne DeVenny

On June 12, 2010, a South Carolina paralegal opened her car door to a slender and polite teenager who reminded her of her 12-year old daughter - and almost lost her life.

Danielle DelPercio, who lives in Conway, was shot in the head, allegedly by a 14-year old boy who has been charged with attempted murder and carjacking with great bodily injury. He is in custody and on suicide watch. DelPercio still has the bullet lodged in her skull, has no health insurance and is unable to work.

According to DelPercio's MySpace page, she has an associate degree in paralegal studies from Horry Georgetown Tech College and a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies from Coastal Carolina University. She worked as a legal assistant and office manager for attorney Ralph Wilson in Conway for approximately nine years, and was most recently employed as a legal assistant for the Irvin Law Firm in Conway.

In today's column "After fight for life, a long road ahead" in the Myrtle Beach Sun News, journalist Issac Bailey writes of DelPercio:

She's the one who spent three decades of her life "standing up for the underdog, even in school," as her mother remembers it.

She's the one who has spent years as a paralegal in criminal defense cases, maybe even making too many excuses for the lives led by some of the clients she helped.

She's the one who will have to determine just how high she will put up her guard to the new world and how far she's willing to walk away from the carefree woman she was, one trusting enough to pick up a strange boy at night.

I can't imagine how DelPercio and her family must feel. I know they are beyond grateful that she is alive and on the road to recovery, but also struggling to deal with the consequences of DelPercio's fateful decision to help a teenage boy who appeared to be vulnerable, but instead took advantage of her vulnerability.

This incident reminds me of a hot summer day about ten years ago when I was stopped at an intersection, and a young woman with an infant suddenly opened my unlocked passenger door, slid into my car, and asked for a ride home because she had missed her bus. It was 95 degrees that day, and you could fry eggs on the sidewalk. I couldn't say no.

I drove her to an area of town well known for drug-dealing and violence, and let her out in front of a rundown apartment building. Several males in their late teens walked in front of my car and stood there so that I couldn't drive away. In that few minutes, I wondered if I had made the biggest mistake of my life by giving the young woman a ride. Finally, they slowly stepped aside while still staring at me, and I drove away - thinking I would never leave my car doors unlocked again.

It's a tough world when trying to be kind could end up costing so much.

I hope that Danielle DelPercio recovers fully from this tragic act of violence, physically and mentally, and is still able to be that person who stands up for the underdog - even though she'll likely never fully trust the underdog again.

If you'd like to donate to the Danielle DelPercio Fund, here is the link: http://www.danielledelperciofund.com/Danielle_DelPercio_Fund/Donation_Page.html

Sources: The Horry Independent; Myrtle Beach Sun News

Full post as published by Practical Paralegalism on June 27, 2010 (boomark / email).