Visited by ‘evil’

Serial-slay trial tale

Another Brooklyn shopkeeper recounted a brush with death at the trial of accused serial killer Salvatore Perrone on Friday, saying the man had ambled into his store “acting strangely” just three days before another merchant was murdered nearby.

Jacob Hamui testified in Brooklyn Supreme Court that Perrone — on trial for the murders of three shopkeepers of Middle Eastern descent in 2012 — came into his Midwood store at around closing time on Nov. 13, 2013, carrying a large black duffel bag and “looking around.”

Hamui, whose shop does not have surveillance cameras, told the court he felt lucky to escape with his life.

A different shopkeeper had testified that Perrone came into his shop at around the same time but fled when he saw security cameras.

Hamui testified that Perrone said he was there to sell him “ladies’ clothes” but didn’t have any with him and was carrying only a “black bag.”

Prosecutors called the black duffel his “kill kit,” used to carry a sawedoff shotgun and a knife.

Perrone eventually left, and Hamui said he was so spooked by the encounter that he called his son.

Perrone struck three days later, killing clothingstore owner Rahmatollah Vahidipour as he closed up shop, prosecutors say.

Asked to identify the suspect Friday, Hamui angrily gestured toward the bespectacled defendant. “This guy,” he said. Perrone, his thinning hair slicked back, looked up from his notes and returned the dirty look.

Hamui said he didn’t realize he had crossed paths with a suspected serial killer until he and his wife saw the TV news after Perrone’s arrest.

“I saw his face, so I tell my wife. She says, ‘This is the guy!’ ” he recalled.

Defense lawyer Howard Kirsch asked to examine the storekeeper’s police report Friday before it was admitted into evidence.

Kirsch handed it to Perrone, who took so long looking over the document that prosecutor Melissa Carvajal griped, “Your honor, do we really have to sit here while he reads every word of the interview?”

Perrone, who has been prone to outbursts, remained quiet during the proceeding and chewed on his glasses as he scribbled notes on Hamui’s testimony.

At one point, he turned around and stared down a reporter, locking eyes for a solid minute before he righted himself and returned to his notetaking.