A gun peddler is one step closer to cashing in on his son’s tragic death.
The Department of Correction decided to settle a lawsuit Wednesday filed by career criminal Nicholas John, who is seeking a paternity test from behind bars so he can prove he’s the biological father of 6-year-old Zymere Perkins and sue the city for neglect.
Zymere’s bruised and lifeless body was found in his mother’s Harlem apartment in September.
The boy’s mom, Geraldine Perkins, and her boyfriend, Rysheim Smith, have been charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
Perkins told cops that Smith beat her son with a broomstick, sources said at the time. Smith’s lawyer has said he doesn’t think prosecutors can prove his client was responsible for the boy’s death.
Zymere seemed to have fallen through the cracks of city bureaucracy as the Administration for Children’s Services had been investigating the mother for abuse since 2010.
At first child welfare officials said John needed a court order to get a paternity test on Rikers Island, where he’s awaiting sentencing for selling illegal weapons.
The city reversed course Wednesday and signed a deal to allow the test.
“There is no basis in law to deny him access to DNA testing to try to prove paternity,” a city Law Department spokesman said.
John’s name is not on the boy’s birth certificate, but his lawyer claims the mother acknowledges he’s Zymere’s dad.
John, 30, who has 15 arrests over the last 10 years, was never involved in the boy’s life, according to friends and family. He only surfaced earlier this month as he neared a deadline to file a wrongful death claim.
His long rap sheet includes charges for sale of narcotics, sale of firearms, and driving on a suspended license.
His attorney, Abe George, said, “We appreciate that the city conceded to a paternity test for Mr. John. Nicholas John’s only concern right now is seeking justice for Zymere Perkins by holding the city and ACS accountable for their inaction in his son’s case.”
John has said in court papers that if he’s found to be the biological father he wants to sue ACS, the NYPD and a social services nonprofit “for their negligence and failure to intervene to prevent the child abuse that led to the wrongful death of” Zymere Perkins.
A spokesman for the nonprofit, Safe Horizon, said, “The details that have been released surrounding Zymere Perkins’ abuse and death are truly heartbreaking.”
“We are not aware of a Nicholas John or any intentions he may have,” the spokesman said.