Connecticut man fights off two car robbers
The Westport Police Department responded to a carjacking in which two suspects assaulted the owner of an Aston Martin in a garage in Norwalk, Connecticut. (Credit: Westport Police Department)
- Donald Rayner, 38, was acquitted of murder and released after his third trial after the state Supreme Court overturned his conviction.
- Rayner was arrested in 2013 on suspicion of shooting Delano Gray in his car in 2007.
- Although the first trial resulted in a hung jury, Rayner was found guilty in the second trial in 2015 and sentenced to 60 years in prison.
A Connecticut man who denies leading a violent Hartford gang has been acquitted of murder and released after a third trial that resulted in the state Supreme Court overturning his conviction.
Donald Rayner, now 38, broke down in tears when a state court jury announced the not-guilty verdict on Monday, his attorney Trent Larima said. He was released after being held on bail for the past 10 years.
“I feel great, but I want to shine a light on how these people are going too far and it’s not a fair process,” Rayner said in a phone interview Tuesday. “And jurors don’t seem to fully understand their duty to protect the public from the arbitrary power of prosecutors and judges.”
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Larima added: “Donald Raynor spent 10 years in prison waiting for a jury to say he was not guilty, and now that day has finally come.”
Donald Raynor, 38, broke down in tears when a state court jury announced the not guilty verdict on Monday, his attorney Trent Larima said. He was released after being held on bail for the past 10 years. (Fox News)
Raynor was arrested in a cold case and charged with murder in 2013 for the 2007 drive-by shooting death of 22-year-old Delano Gray. Police claimed Rayner led the violent Money Green/Bedrock gang, which had a “hit squad”. Gray was a drug dealer in the city’s North End, and Gray was a rival gang member.
Rayner’s first trial ended in a hung jury. He was convicted of murder in a second trial in 2015 and sentenced to 60 years in prison.
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The state Supreme Court vacated the conviction in December 2020 and ordered a third trial. The justices ruled 6-0 that the trial judge had wrongly denied Mr. Rayner’s request for a hearing to contest the ballistics evidence in the case, and that Mr. Rayner had not been charged with evidence of a crime for which he was not charged. He said it was an unfair admission.
Raynor has maintained his innocence since his arrest. Lalima argued that the state’s key witness was charged with other murders and shootings, and that Rayner was involved in Gray’s shooting to get a better plea deal.
The state Division of Criminal Justice, which includes prosecutors, said in a statement: “We respect the jury’s decision and thank them for their hard work.”
Now that he is free, Rayner said he wants to study Islam and start a dump truck company. In the meantime, he said he is readjusting to society.
