STATEN ISLAND — A man accused of shooting and killing two men during a 2014 robbery was acquitted of the charges Wednesday, his lawyer said.
After a month-long trial, a jury found Darren Brown, 29, not guilty of the 2014 murders of Kenrick Gray, 34, and Noland Whistleton, 41, in Clifton.
"I'm very satisfied that the jury took their time and deliberated and listen to all of the evidence," his lawyer Mario Gallucci said. "My client is extremely happy to be a free man."
In court, Gallucci said police charged Brown based on testimony from two witnesses who lied and tried to frame Brown for the murders, the Staten Island Advance reported.
On Jan. 21, 2014, Gray and Whistleton were shot and killed inside 140 Park Hill Ave., near Roff Street, during a suspected robbery, police said at the time.
Gray, who won a $125,000 stop-and-frisk settlement before his death, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at Richmond University Medical Center, the New York Post reported.
Whistleton, Gray's friend who lived nearby on Park Hill Avenue, was shot in the torso and leg and pronounced dead at Staten Island University Hospital, police said at the time.
Brown was arrested a day after the killings and charged with murder, attempted robbery, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal use of a firearm, police said.
After two days of deliberation, a jury cleared Brown of all the charges Wednesday, Gallucci said.
