Petersburg slaying victim’s family concerned as prosecution efforts falter

The family of slain Petersburg businessman Robert L. Braswell Jr. was optimistic last fall when police announced the arrests of four people in the trusted shopkeeper's 2006 robbery and shooting.

But the closure they hoped for slipped away this week when a prosecutor advised that his case was too weak to proceed.

Murder charges were withdrawn Wednesday against one of the suspects, and identical charges are to be withdrawn today against the second suspected gunman.

The Braswells already were reeling from a Petersburg jury's June 1 acquittal of a third defendant -- an admitted crack cocaine dealer who police said served as the lookout and supplied the guns used to kill Braswell. Charges remain only against a fourth suspect, who testified against her co-defendants in the first trial.

"It's frustrating to know that they're going to be set free again," said Stacy Galle, Braswell's youngest sister. "Now we'll have to wait again, we'll have to start over. We were getting to a point where we thought we were going to get a little bit of closure, and now that's not going to happen."

Assistant Dinwiddie Commonwealth's Attorney Nelson Fisher, appointed special prosecutor in the case, said he felt he had no choice but to withdraw charges against Timothy Williams, 38, and Dantryl Ingram, 19, after a Petersburg jury acquitted co-defendant Antoine D. Myler, 29, on all charges this month.

Williams and Ingram were set to stand trial next week.

"After seeing the jury results against Myler and having substantially similar evidence against the two actual shooters, I felt like it was in the interest of justice not to proceed on the evidence as we have now, and to make additional efforts to further investigate and to collect additional evidence," Fisher said yesterday.

Fisher stressed that the charges could be reinstated as the investigation proceeds.

"It's a difficult case," he said. "I don't feel the commonwealth has the evidence necessary to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt."

Attorney Phillip DiStanislao, who represents Williams, said yesterday: "I do not anticipate that charges would be brought back against my client unless the commonwealth obtains substantially better evidence than what they have now."

Galle said her family is deeply disappointed by the developments but understands the issue.

"We would rather them do this than go ahead with a weak case and not win," she said. "If they really need to let [police] build the case stronger, then we support that because we want justice."

The family plans to proceed this weekend with its March for Justice rally, which they organized in response to the jury's acquittal of Myler. Galle said 100 people have indicated their intent to march on Father's Day from Colonial Heights Baptist Church to the Petersburg police station beginning at 3 p.m.

"We decided we're going to do the march to show that we want justice for him," Galle said. "And we're hoping that people will listen, and maybe some other people that have more information will come forward and tell what they know."

Galle and Carrie Hubert, Braswell's stepsister, said family members are considering federal help in prosecuting the case if it stalls in Petersburg.

"We're trying to get this brought up to the federal level as a hate crime, so they take it out of the city of Petersburg," Hubert said. "Because I don't think we're getting anywhere."

With some fanfare, Petersburg police announced in November that they had solved the difficult case, with Police Chief John Dixon III declaring: "We've been able to bring this to a conclusion for the family."

But the case fell apart during Myler's June 1 trial. The jury apparently had credibility issues with the prosecution's key witness -- co-defendant Shelly Grey, 48 -- who identified Myler and the two other defendants along with their involvement in the killing.

Grey testified that Myler helped plan the robbery, had provided the guns used in the killing and was present when Braswell was shot after he arrived to open his business, Lowry Tire, on the morning of Nov. 8, 2006.

Defense attorney Katina Whitfield, who represented Myler, believes the jury mistrusted Grey because of inconsistent statements she gave police about who actually was involved.

Myler testified that he was a crack-cocaine dealer and that he had previously smoked crack with, and sold crack to, the two defendants who Fisher said separately shot Braswell. Myler's alibi was that he was smoking crack with a friend at a motel three blocks away when Braswell was killed.

Fisher said he understands the Braswell family's disappointment and hurt, and he supports their March for Justice on Sunday.

"I certainly have no objections to them bringing attention to this case," the prosecutor said. "Perhaps the attention will cause more people to come forward and provide additional information."

Contact Mark Bowes at (804) 649-6450 or .