Furious residents of Pinewood Gardens are giving the Attorney General a one-week ultimatum to bring the killers of Deron Bethel to justice.
“If Allyson Maynard-Gibson doesn’t bring charges by then, there is going to be trouble,” a source told The Tribune yesterday.
“The people of Pinewood are determined that there will be no cover-up of this crime. If they don’t get justice, there will be confrontations with the police. It’s as serious as that.”
The warning came four days after the funeral of father-to-be Deron, 20, who was shot dead in his car while parked outside his Pinewood home two weeks ago.
Neighbours are concerned that there will be a cover-up because two police officers were allegedly involved in the shooting.
However, sources close to the family now say it was not a “police shooting” in the strictest sense of the word because a love triangle was at the centre of the killing.
They say Deron was the innocent victim of a situation involving a neighbour who called her boyfriend to sort out a domestic argument in which she was involved.
The boyfriend, it is claimed, was an off-duty officer who turned up with a police colleague, who was also off-duty.
Deron, they claim, was the victim of mistaken identity. Residents say one of the officers fired
a shot through Deron’s car window, killing him instantly, thinking he was another man who had allegedly gun-butted a woman living nearby. Although early medical reports suggested three bullets, were fired, residents now believe there was only one shot.
This was fired into Deron’s heart and then hit his collarbone before entering is brain. Because of the route the bullet took, it looked as though Deron had been hit by three shots.
A Pinewood source said: “There was concern at one point that police might plant bogus evidence near the scene to obstruct justice.
“But the attitude in the community is absolutely clear. Whoever is responsible for this must be charged. The Attorney General must act.
“The people are urging Mrs Maynard-Gibson to get on with it. They are giving her one week in which to act. If the matter is not resolved, Pinewood will deal with it in their own way.
“These people are anxious to have a real confrontation with the police. Deron was killed with one shot from a service revolver. Now they need justice.”
Deron’s mother, Ms Diana Bethel, is said to be determined to ensure that the culprit is put before the courts. “She will not rest until a resolution is found,” the source said.
Deron, a hotel worker, was said to be planning to marry his five-month pregnant fiancee Shakira Coakley in November this year.
Last week, Ms Bethel told The Tribune that Deron had been deprived of his opportunity of fatherhood and his unborn child had been robbed of its father.
“He told me he would always make sure his baby got the best of everything,” said Ms Bethel. “Now he will never get that chance.”
The Tribune
