The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN who survived a shooting incident that claimed his friend’s life told a Supreme Court jury yesterday that he watched the gunman press a weapon to his head before opening fire, as the trial into the 2022 murder of Emmanuel “Manny” Brown began before Justice Jeannine Weech-Gomez.

Prosecutors allege that Donte “Drey” Deveaux, 28, shot and killed Brown and attempted to kill Samuel Joseph on Seventh Street, Coconut Grove, on the night of May 2.

Mr Joseph testified that he and Brown were sitting in the yard of a wooden car wash when Deveaux approached and asked to borrow $10. He said he handed the money over, and the man walked away, only to return about ten minutes later to repay him. As he escorted Deveaux back to the front of the property, Mr Joseph said he suddenly felt the barrel of a gun pressed against his temple.

He told the court he turned to see the defendant standing beside him and heard him ask “what you be dealing with” before the gun went off. Mr Joseph said he was shot in the jaw and ran, holding his wound, as the attacker continued firing.

He said he saw Brown fall to the ground behind an unfinished building and that when he regained consciousness moments later, Deveaux was standing over Brown’s body. Mr Joseph demonstrated to jurors how he shielded his head before being shot again, suffering additional wounds to his arm and hand.

Police arrived quickly, he said, and he identified Deveaux to one of the first responders, an officer he knew named Sands. He told the court that paramedics later said he had been shot six times.

Mr Joseph, who wore dark glasses in court and needed help to take the stand, said a bullet entered the back of his right eye, forcing doctors to remove part of it. He is now blind in that eye and said his vision in the left eye is blurred.

He testified that he had known the defendant for 16 years, having been friends with his late uncle and visiting the family’s Eighth Street home often. Mr Joseph said he picked Deveaux out of a photo lineup, identifying him as suspect number nine, and also pointed him out in court.

Photographs of the crime scene showed a domino table and the body of the victim lying outside the car wash. Mr Joseph confirmed that the photos matched what he saw that night.

During cross-examination, defence attorney Dr K Melvin Munroe pressed Mr Joseph about inconsistencies between his police statement and his court testimony, including his failure to mention that the gun had been placed against his head. Mr Joseph conceded that parts of his earlier statement were inaccurate but insisted his present account was true.

He said he could not recall how long he was unconscious but believed it was brief because the shooter was still on the property when he awoke. He also said he did not see Brown get back up or check on him after the shooting.

When Dr Munroe suggested he was mistaken about the gunman’s identity, Mr Joseph replied that Deveaux was the man who shot him and killed Brown, adding that he had no reason to lie.

He told the court he had been wearing an electronic monitoring device at the time of the shooting and previously served time in prison for armed robbery and receiving.

Calnan Kelly, Tenielle Bain, and Timothy Bailey represented the prosecution.