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Police: Man linked to Nathan Millard investigation tried to 'disguise' stolen car as case drew national attention

1 year 1 week 5 days ago Thursday, March 16 2023 Mar 16, 2023 March 16, 2023 5:00 AM March 16, 2023 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - A man believed to have information relevant to the investigation into Nathan Millard's death was arrested on unrelated charges late Monday night.

The Baton Rouge Police Department said 45-year-old Derrick Perkins was taken into custody without incident and booked Tuesday morning on charges including criminal damage to property, three counts of access device fraud and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, as well as for violating his probation.

Perkins' bond was set at $14,000, jail records showed Thursday. 

Police said last week that Perkins was "needed for questioning" in the Nathan Millard investigation but would not call him a suspect relative to that case. Hours after announcing his arrest, a BRPD spokesperson confirmed that the car Perkins was seen driving had been found burned Monday. 

An arrest warrant obtained by WBRZ says Perkins had been driving a 2004 Toyota Camry that was reported stolen Feb. 3 on East Buchanan Street. Police allege that Perkins spray-painted the car's bumper, removed a rear bumper sticker and swapped the car's plate in an effort to "disguise" the vehicle around the same time that Nathan Millard's disappearance "gained national attention" in late February/early March. 

Arrest records also said Perkins was caught on surveillance cameras using Millard's debit card at two different businesses on Highland Road, in the old South Baton Rouge area, within days of Millard's disappearance.

Perkins' listed address is less than a mile from the vacant lot off Scenic Highway where Millard's body was found wrapped in a rug and covered in plastic on March 6.

Millard, a contractor from Georgia, disappeared in Baton Rouge while he was in town for a business trip. He left a bar in downtown around 11:30 p.m. Feb. 22 and was seen on numerous surveillance cameras roaming around Baton Rouge over the next several hours.

One of those videos obtained by WBRZ showed Millard walking with an unidentified person along Florida Boulevard hours before he was last seen alive on surveillance cameras, which was around 4:30 a.m. Feb. 23, according to police.

Police have said there's no indication of foul play in Millard's death, though investigators are looking for whoever seemingly moved Millard's body after he died.

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