Jury clears Burchall, Symons of murder
Half-brothers Ronniko Burchall and Leroy Symons were cleared by unanimous verdicts yesterday of murdering 30-year-old Shane Minors.Mr Minors, an innocent man, was gunned down outside his home in South Terrace, Pembroke in the early hours of December 17 2009. His family found his body five hours later.News of the verdicts after a three-week Supreme Court trial prompted disappointment from the police and tears from the victim’s family.Meanwhile, the family of the defendants greeted the outcome with relief and tears of their own.The brothers protested their innocence, but cast the blame on each other for the murder during the trial.Their differences seemed forgotten after the verdicts, however, as they clasped each other’s arms while clearly overcome with emotion.Mr Symons’ girlfriend Shanderlie Tucker, 25, who is the mother of his one-and-a-half-year-old son, said: “I’m just happy my son can have his whole family together again.“It’s been difficult. I’m so happy my son can have his daddy and uncle together again.”Asked if the brothers could ever be friends after giving evidence against each other, Ms Tucker replied: “They will always be friends. People can forgive and forget.”Meanwhile Mr Symons’ father, Charles Symons, 41, said: “I’m feeling overwhelmed. I’m feeling happy but I do feel sad for the Minors family.“It is a tragedy; there’s no real winners, but I can’t help it. I love my son, I love Ronniko and I just don’t know what to do with myself right now.”Mr Symons, from Warwick, was escorted back into prison custody to continue serving time for another matter [see separate story] but Mr Burchall, from Pembroke, walked free from court. He declined to comment, as did the Minors family.The murder was said to have been carried out by the Parkside gang as part of an ongoing feud with the 42 gang.Prosecutors suggested the victim’s younger brother Shaki Minors, an alleged member of the 42 gang, may have been the intended target, since Shane Minors had no gang connections.The jury heard evidence that Mr Burchall, 23, was the gunman, and Mr Symons, 21, aided and abetted him in the killing by giving him directions to the scene and showing him how to use the gun.Prosecutor Robert Welling called evidence from police gang expert Alexander Rollin who described Mr Burchall as an associate of the Parkside and Middletown gangs, and Mr Symons as a “wannabe” gangster.Shaki Minors was the victim of an attempted murder the month before his brother was killed, when he was shot in St David’s.He survived the attack and, according to his father Alan Minors, moved out of the family home amid safety fears.Sgt Rollin told the jury Shane Minors was not a member of any gang and Mr Welling suggested he was killed outside the family home simply because of his brother’s gang links.The prosecutor suggested Mr Burchall carried out the shooting to gain status in the Parkside gang.Mr Symons told police Mr Burchall showed him a gun and asked for directions to the Minors residence on the night of the killing.Mr Symons admitted to detectives that he used knowledge from his Regiment training to show Mr Burchall how to operate the gun. He also admitted giving his brother directions, after Mr Burchall asked him how to find the back way to “Shak’s house”.He said his brother subsequently confessed that he had carried out the murder and told him where he had dumped the gun, which belonged to alleged Parkside member Jahkiel Samuels.Mr Samuel’s father, Andrew Laws, also told the trial that Mr Burchall confessed the killing to him.Mr Welling said Mr Symons was guilty of the killing just as much as his brother, as he aided and abetted him in the crime.Mr Symons denied murder, telling police he had no idea his brother really intended to carry out the murder.Mr Burchall told the jury he has no criminal convictions or gang links, and was asleep at his aunt Belvina Burt’s house in North Street, Pembroke at the time of the murder.Ms Burt testified to this when she was called as a defence witness.Mr Burchall described Mr Symons as someone who cannot be trusted and told the jury he never had any gun and never showed one to his half-brother or asked for directions to the Minors house.Mr Symons maintained his right not to take the stand to give evidence in his own defence.The eight women and four men of the jury delivered unanimous not guilty verdicts against both men after five hours of deliberations yesterday.FAMILY DIVIDEDThe family of half-brothers Ronniko Burchall and Leroy Symons was divided by the murder allegations they faced.Their mother, Oneika Burchall, gave evidence on behalf of Mr Burchall and suggested Mr Symons confessed to the killing.Mr Burchall’s paternal aunt, Belvina Burt, told the jury he was asleep at her house at the time of the murder. While Mr Burchall walked from court a free man, Mr Symons remains in prison as an indirect result of the murder investigation.He had been on probation for 16 counts of stealing and dishonesty at the time of the murder probe, and breached the terms of that probation by going to the UK while under investigation. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment for the breach in April 2010.During that court appearance, he threw a chair at his father, Charles Symons after making a string of allegations against him to Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner. Mr Symons, had tricked his son into attending a drug rehabilitation programme in the UK and feared for his safety in Bermuda. His son left the programme and spent several weeks homeless before returning.
Police greeted not-guilty verdicts against the pair accused of murdering Shane Minors with disappointment, and confirmed the case is now closed.
Ronniko Burchall and Leroy Symons were cleared of the killing by the unanimous verdicts of a jury yesterday, after a three-week trial.
Mr Burchall was accused of shooting Mr Minors, the father of a young daughter, on the doorstep of his family home early on December 17 2009.
The victim's body lay undiscovered for five hours after the killing, which hampered the collection of forensic evidence. The two accused men were not arrested until early January 2010. Mr Symons was accused of aiding and abetting Mr Burchall in the crime.
The brothers blamed each other during their trial, which relied purely on the testimony of witnesses in the absence of forensic evidence.
Speaking after the pair were cleared, Detective Chief Inspector Nicholas Pedro said: “Obviously we're disappointed with the verdicts coming out of the court but it's important to remember that we do operate in a democracy, and we must respect the decision of the jury.
“That will not be of comfort to the victim's family and friends who obviously are also disappointed with the verdict from the jury today.”
Det Chief Insp Pedro continued: “This only serves to strengthen the resolve of the Bermuda Police Service in seeking to bring dangerous offenders to justice. This case was a difficult one from the outset, in which there was limited forensic evidence from the scene.
“We deployed strategies in the case which we thought was compelling evidence to bring before the courts. Obviously the jury has chosen to find both defendants not guilty and we must respect that decision.”
Det Chief Insp Pedro praised the team who worked on the investigation saying: “They did an excellent job in working on this and working with the limited evidence that we had.”
Asked if the investigation would continue, he replied: “The evidence in this case was pointing towards these two individuals; hence why they were charged. They have been found not guilty. If there is new evidence that brings new offenders to light, obviously we will pursue that, but for the moment this would remain closed.”
The trial heard that the gun used in the murder was linked, through bullets found at the scene, to other shootings. Those were listed by Police Sergeant Alexander Rollin during the trial as the fatal shooting of 42 gang member Kumi Harford on December 5, 2009, the fatal shooting of 42 gang member Jamiko Leshore on March 1, 2011, and the non-fatal shooting of 42 gang member David Cox on March 21 2010.
The gun was also linked to two other non-fatal shootings; those of Demarlo Curtis on December 30, 2009 and David Godwin on February 21, 2010.
Det Chief Insp Pedro said yesterday that the gun has not been found.
