'Stunna's' murder may have been mistake
In the seventh part in The Royal Gazette's series on Bermuda's unsolved gang murders, Sam Strangeways looks back at the June, 2010 murder of Freddy Maybury.Sixteen months have passed since Freddy Maybury was murdered and detectives are hoping that's enough time to convince those with information about his killers to speak up.Two men, thought to have been masked and each brandishing a firearm, crept up on foot and gunned down the father-of-two as he left Woody's bar in Sandys to return home to his 13-year-old son.The pair, wearing hooded tops, fled as fast as they appeared and police still aren't certain what prompted them to pull the trigger, why they chose Mr Maybury as the target or whether they made their escape by land or sea.Detective Chief Inspector Nicholas Pedro, who is leading the murder inquiry, told The Royal Gazette: “We know very little. They came from the roadside very quickly on foot and shot at the victim multiple times and left very quickly.“We had reports following the murder that some people thought the suspects had escaped by boat or by a vehicle on the roads. Obviously we are keeping an open mind; there's nothing really definitive at this point that would point us either way.“We still do not know, and may never know, whether Mr Maybury was the intended target. There is some suggestion that he may have been mistaken for someone else.”The senior officer said the June 14, 2010 killing had “hallmarks and indications that it was committed by gang members” though he would not comment on whether the 34-year-old victim had gang links.Police have never previously indicated that Mr Maybury was in or connected to a gang but they have revealed in court that one of the two calibrated guns used to kill him was also used to murder alleged 42 members Kenwandee Robinson, Kumi Harford and Perry Puckerin.The .40 semi-automatic weapon has not been recovered by officers but has been linked to the four fatal shootings and several non-fatal ones by analysis of unique markings on bullets and casings found at the crime scenes.Det Ch Insp Pedro would not provide any details on the second gun used in the murder of Mr Maybury.A long-running feud between 42 and the Parkside gang has been blamed for the majority of the 16 gun deaths in Bermuda since May, 2009.Mr Maybury, a self-employed plumber, was killed in an area frequented by members of Somerset's MOB gang, which police have said in court has ties with 42.Det Ch Insp Pedro said: “Woody's is a popular Somerset nightspot. All I can say is, from a police perspective, we know gang members go there from time to time.“Certainly, the modus operandi of the shooters and where it took place certainly leans very strongly to it being committed by gang members.”He added: “There were a number of people there in the vicinity and we have had some cooperation but certainly not the level of cooperation that we would like to see or that would assist in placing the offenders before the courts.“It was a warm summer's night and we know that several people were outside. Unfortunately, the natural reaction when gunfire goes off is that people take cover.“We hope that sufficient time has passed for people to think about it and come forward or they may know something post-event that could assist the investigating team.“We don't think that everyone that has information has come forward. Whether or not that's through fear for their own safety or simply not wanting to cooperate with the police, we simply don't know.”The officer in charge of special investigations for Bermuda Police Service noted that Mr Maybury's killers left two young boys without a father, the eldest having already lost his mother to cancer.“That should make people think that the reckless actions of a select few in the community should not be allowed to go without them having to answer for their actions,” he said.“I'm certainly hopeful that people in the community still have a conscience and want to help the police do the right thing. This really is a case that has stalled.“We obviously have some forensics but this is one where we are really reliant on people to come forward and assist us.”* Part eight of our series on Bermuda's unsolved gang murders will appear in The Royal Gazette on Monday, October 17, when we'll focus on the February 2011 shooting of Colford Ferguson.We want to speak to anyone affected by the shootings who has yet to see justice done. If you'd like to share your story, call senior reporter Sam Strangeways on 278-0155 or e-mail sstrangeways[AT]royalgazette.bm.