Dane Gillett is Acquitted of Murder

Dane Khalil Gillett, twenty-seven, has been acquitted of the shocking, execution-style murder of fifteen-year-old Dwayne Gabourel, an SJC student, who was gunned down in September 2021. Gabourel’s death was believed to be a gang-related retaliation for Michael Henry’s murder. Wearing a red shirt, Gabourel was shot four times by a masked gunman who jumped off a motorcycle, approached him at a shop, and fatally shot him before speeding away. After his acquittal, we spoke with Gillett and his attorney. Here’s News Five’s Isani Cayetano.

 

Dane Gillett, Acquitted of Murder

“Dis just go fi show that di system full ah lotta abstract, yoh undastand. Di court clearly prove todeh that whateva dehn mi charge me fah, no evidence deh fi prove that di person, da me da di one weh pull di trigga.  No evidence deh fi prove that.”

 

After spending three years and five months on remand for the shocking murder of a fifteen-year-old SJC student, the alleged shooter, Dane Gillett, is now a free man. Today, Justice Derick Sylvester delivered a thirty-five-page ruling, setting a new precedent.

 

Orson “OJ” Elrington, Attorney-at-law

“We had both oral submissions and, as well as written submissions, and at the conclusion, the judge felt as though the evidence was so tenuous that a conviction on the evidence presented by the crown would have been unsafe and, therefore, upheld our no case submission.”

 

The case relied heavily on video and circumstantial evidence, which was too weak to convict. Justice Sylvester concluded that the evidence was so tenuous that a jury couldn’t safely convict the accused.

 

Dane Gillett

“And dehn know that fi dehn evidence weh dehn got mi cyant prove that from di start.  Dehn still mek I sihdown da jail three years and five months and tek weh lotta time outta my life and outta my family, yoh undastand. I just mi wah mek people sih.  End a di day I just wahn di system do dehn job properly because then at the end ah di day fi deh backa dehn place deh soh, man di suffer back deh, back deh rough.”

 

Dwayne Gabourel was tragically shot on September twenty-fifth, 2021, while running an errand for his mother at a grocery store on North Front Street. He was an innocent bystander, targeted simply because he was wearing a red shirt. The murder was thought to be in retaliation for Michael Henry’s execution. After being released, Gillett expressed his condolences to Gabourel’s family.

 

Dane Gillett

“I just woulda wahn tell di lady condolences fi ih loss.  I know how ih feel fi lose somebody close, like that. I got somebody weh mi dead, fourteen years old, dehn shot he up nine times, yoh undastand.  No justice neva come out fi he neither.  So I know how da lady wah feel. I know dehn mussi di sihdown deh and dehn mussi bex right now because dehn mussi feel like da me kill dehn pickney.  Ah hope dehn realize that di court prove todeh that I da noh di one weh do di crime, yoh undastand.  So I just would wahn dehn clean fi dehn heart towards me.  I just wahn dehn clean it up. Condolences and everything towards di people and love all the time.”

 

Isani Cayetano for News Five.