BY PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THE mother of 27-year-old Dino Bain, who was shot and killed by police two years ago, testified yesterday that she witnessed her son take his final breath as he lay bleeding in a neighbour’s backyard on Dean Street.

Marva Bain gave her testimony before Coroner Kara Turnquest Deveaux during the inquest into her son’s death, which resumed after a two-month delay caused by the absence of key witnesses.

Dino Bain was fatally shot by a reserve officer on December 28, 2023, in the yard next door. While the officer claimed Bain was armed, the family insists he was unarmed.

Mrs Bain said she was inside her home talking with her grandson when she heard a loud gunshot. Although she could not determine the shot’s direction, she ran outside to find police officers everywhere.

Her neighbour, Brandicka, informed her that “DJ got shot”. After running through the neighbour’s house, she found her son lying face down in a pool of blood.

She described seeing him take his last breath as blood spurted from his mouth, recalling, “He gone, he gone, he gone.”

Police prevented her from touching or approaching her son.

While she could not recall if the officer was in uniform, she identified the officer involved in court and said he was present in the neighbour’s yard.

Mrs Bain said police never explained why they were near her home and that she only spoke to them about the shooting because of her lawyer’s involvement. She, her daughter-in-law, and her lawyer were present when she spoke to officers at the Criminal Investigation Department; she said.

The mother claimed she had not been contacted prior to that.

She described her son, once a CC Sweeting student, as a good person who never disrespected anyone. Although he had prior drug and traffic offences, he had no other run-ins with the law.

Mrs Bain’s voice trembled as she identified a photo of her son in the morgue.

She told Glendon Rolle, the attorney for the implicated officer, that she did not know how Dino ended up in the neighbour’s yard, which was separated from her property by a fence.

Mrs Bain said she often heard gunshots in the area but that police had never been to her home before this incident.

Mr Rolle offered his condolences to Mrs Bain.

During questioning by K Melvin Munroe, attorney for the deceased’s estate, Mrs Bain said she did not see a gun in her son’s hand or nearby.

She said police never told her that Dino had a weapon or why he was shot.

Mrs Bain told the jury that Dino was not wearing a monitoring device at the time and would have told her if he were in trouble.

Detective Inspector Horatio Armbrister of the Crime Scene Investigation unit also testified about his involvement in the case.

He photographed the scene near the fence of 28 Dean Street and collected a 9mm cartridge casing. He said he saw the deceased lying in a pool of blood in the yard of 26B.

Photographs showed Bain on the ground wearing a green shirt and red pants pulled down to reveal his underwear, with both his face and shirt soaked in blood.

Inspector Armbrister said Corporal Lightbourne directed him on what evidence to collect. He could not confirm if measurements were taken between the bullet casing and the body’s location and said he was not instructed to do so. He also did not receive forensic analysis of the spent casing.

He described the scene as hostile with many police and civilians present.

He confirmed to Mr Munroe that the body and bullet casing were found on separate properties but said he did not investigate how the casing got there.

Inspector Armbrister said he only followed instructions from the lead investigator and that he collected no firearm at the scene. He was never informed the deceased had a weapon.

He did not examine the body and could not confirm if anyone else did.

Detective Corporal 4355 Deveaux testified that on January 17, 2024, he photographed the deceased at the morgue and collected blood and urine samples.

He showed the jury a photograph revealing gunshot wounds just below the neck and on the back.

A family member was visibly upset as the morgue photos were displayed.

DC Deveaux said he requested analysis of the samples but never received the results, which he said was the responsibility of the lead investigator.

He said Inspector Leonardo Dean instructed him to go to the morgue.

He told the jury he did not collect any bullets.

A vigil was held at the shooting site on the first anniversary of Bain’s death.

Angelo Whitfield marshalled the evidence.     Marva Bain speaking to the media at the scene of the shooting in December 2023.