The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

TWO men accused of a high-profile double murder in Grand Bahama six years ago were acquitted by a Supreme Court jury yesterday, ending a case in which one defendant alleged police beat him and tried to force him to confess to killings he maintained he knew nothing about.

Trevor Reckley Jr and Shamaz Brown were found not guilty of murdering Kim Smith and Denny Rolle, who were shot in the head during a daylight attack on Limewood Lane, Freeport, on May 11, 2020.

An eight-member jury returned 6-2 not guilty verdicts on both murder indictments after deliberations, bringing to an end a trial in which prosecutors alleged that Reckley drove the vehicle used in the attack and Brown, who was a juvenile at the time, carried out the shooting.

Justice Andrew Forbes thanked the jurors for their service before discharging both men and telling them they were free to go.

Outside court, Mr Brown, now 23, said the acquittal had lifted a burden he had carried since he was a teenager.

“I feel amazing just to know I get off something that I had nothing to do with,” he said. “I just thank God. You know, He bring me from far. He stayed with me from the start.”

Mr Brown said the case had followed him since he was 16 and affected his ability to move forward with his life.

“I just turned 23years, so it is a beginning for me,” he said.

He acknowledged that he still had another legal matter to address but said it did not compare with the murder charges he had faced.

Mr Reckley said the prosecution had disrupted his employment and prevented him from making progress in his life.

“I feel I would have gone further if I didn't have this obstacle in my way,” he said. “I lost my job and everything, and I could just finally go back to my job and tell the people what happened eventually.”

He described his acquittal as “one of the sweetest things you could ever get” and thanked his family for supporting him throughout the case.

Mr Reckley also expressed sympathy for the families of the two victims while maintaining his innocence.

“Like I said, I really feel sorry for the victims' family, but I am an honest man. I didn't know nothing of the crimes,” he said.

The Crown had alleged that Mr Reckley and Mr Brown, accompanied by a third man, Dillon Williams, arrived at Limewood Lane in a dark-coloured Honda Accord shortly after 3pm on May 11, 2020.

According to the prosecution, Rolle was standing near a blue Ford Focus when shots were fired from the Honda. Rolle was wounded and later died in hospital, while Smith, who was inside the Ford Focus, died at the scene.

During the trial, Assistant Superintendent of Police Remardo Russell testified that Mr Brown had admitted to police that he fired shots at two people. The court also heard that Mr Williams had told investigators he saw Mr Brown shoot Rolle.

Both defendants denied involvement in the killings when they testified.

Mr Reckley rejected the prosecution's allegation that he had driven Mr Brown and Mr Williams to the scene, supplied a firearm and encouraged the shooting.

Mr Brown, meanwhile, alleged that police assaulted him after taking him into custody as a 15-year-old.

He testified that officers slapped him repeatedly, punched him in the stomach and placed a bag over his head while questioning him at the Criminal Detective Unit.

Following his acquittal, Mr Brown repeated his accusation that officers had tried to force a confession from him.

“That's a normal thing they do, they is beat you when they can't get you to confess,” he said. “So, they will try to beat it out of you, to lie on yourself.”

Mr Reckley's attorney, Ryszard Humes, said the defence had identified weaknesses in the prosecution's evidence.

“We're happy with the verdict today,” Mr Humes said. “We had concerns about gaps in the evidence led by the prosecution.”

He said his client had consistently denied involvement and that he believed the jury had reached the correct decision.

Mr Brown's attorney, Krystal Newman, also welcomed the outcome and raised wider concerns about allegations of improper police conduct during criminal investigations.

She said defence attorneys regularly encountered clients who claimed they had been pressured into making false statements or confessions.

Ms Newman argued that such conduct should not be accepted as routine policing and called for further training to ensure officers followed proper investigative procedures.

“You cannot work on things that are not true, and you cannot gather a confession through those sorts of means,” she said.

The double murder case began more than six years ago, when Mr Reckley and Mr Brown, then a juvenile, were charged in Freeport in May 2020.

Sean Smith represented the Office of the Attorney General in the trial.