Freddie McGrier slaying Devin Campbell, lost DNA evidence from clothes
Suspect acquitted of Bronx murder following the loss of evidence during Hurricane Sandy is now charged with homicide in Harlem.
Authorities said Tuesday that a Harlem ex-con who was exonerated of murder in 2012 due to an act of God now faces new accusations in a cold-blooded Harlem slaying during this year's epidemic heat.
Freddie McGrier, 30, was arrested Monday in connection with the June 28 death of Devin Campbell, who detectives say lived just a block away from his alleged attacker.
McGrier was acquitted in the previous homicide when Hurricane Sandy destroyed critical NYPD evidence, undermining the prosecution's case.
"I can't believe they allowed it to happen with the other murder evidence," Campbell's enraged uncle Dale Campbell said Tuesday. "It was one needless murder followed by another..." He murdered that unfortunate child, and then he murdered my nephew."
"It makes no sense," he continued. "(McGrier) should have never been released."
Campbell, 32, was allegedly shot as he exited his blue Mercedes-Benz outside the Grant Houses on W. 125th St. near Amsterdam Ave. shortly after 7 p.m. Prosecutors allege that he shot Campbell 11 times, continuing to pull the fire after the victim hit the pavement.
Nine years prior, Bronx authorities charged McGrier with murdering Bronx gas station worker Lamin Sillah during a botched heist. However, Hurricane Sandy damaged their case six weeks after McGrier's arrest. The clothing of the victim — a critical component of the prosecution's case — was destroyed in the storm.
Without DNA evidence from the clothing, jurors were left with shaky surveillance film of the shooting. The suspect's hooded New York Giants sweater was pulled over his head, obstructing a definitive identification.
McGrier was acquitted after only two hours and 35 minutes of deliberation by a Bronx jury.
Sillah had been sending money to Gambia in order to support his family. With his paltry earnings, he was supporting more than a dozen people back home.
"Lamin was only here for eight months and was assassinated instantly," Sillah's uncle, Ebou Cham, explained. "Everything has been a source of pain ever then."
McGrier's karma had now come up with him, he explained.
"He assumed he had escaped, but God returned him to us," Cham explained.
McGrier, wearing a face mask, a blue baseball cap, and a Tommy Hilfiger shirt, authorities allege, left his apartment with his brother in tow and shot Campbell about a dozen times. McGrier, according to authorities, walked away quietly following the gunshot.
"I was sitting right there," a witness who requested anonymity told the Daily News during the slaying. "He was laying face up in the roadway, dead. He sustained numerous gunshot wounds. It was insane. It occurred during broad daylight."
McGrier and his brother fled the site of the killing in a Honda, which detectives tracked to an apartment complex in Edgewater, New Jersey, according to prosecutors. Surveillance camera allegedly saw the couple arriving at the residence with baggage hours after the crime. McGrier had changed into a new outfit. His brother was reportedly dressed in the same clothing as he was when McGrier opened fire.
Prosecutors assert that the murder completed an extraordinary history of mayhem.
McGrier was released from jail on June 15, 2012, after serving a two-year term for a Manhattan heist. Three months later, he was charged with murdering Sillah.
His time on the streets following Sillah's murder acquittal was brief. Four years later, he was found guilty of attempted robbery and attempted assault in the Bronx and sentenced to another year in prison, authorities said.
McGrier was on parole on July 28, 2018 when he was arrested for allegedly carrying a.22 caliber two-shot derringer weapon in a fanny pack stuffed with marijuana while playing dice with pals on Amsterdam Ave. Federal authorities charged him with felon in possession of a handgun.
McGrier was arrested in May 2021 on state counts of firearm and drug possession while on supervised release for the federal prosecution, court records show.
Then, on June 28, he allegedly fatally shot Campbell. On July 6, marshals executed a search warrant at his Edgewater apartment, where he was staying with his mother and brother. Prosecutors claim they discovered a.38-caliber pistol, two 9-mm magazines, fake paperwork, and drugs, as well as the cap and sneakers McGrier allegedly wore when he murdered Campbell.
McGrier entered a not guilty plea in Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday in connection with Campbell's death. He was ordered imprisoned without bail by a judge. McGrier has been disruptive in federal court, prosecutors said, stating he is a "sovereign citizen" who does not accept the court's authority.
Campbell, who was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to eight years in jail in 2011, was working as a flagman on a construction site at the time of his death, according to relatives.
"Devin was quite kind to everyone. He grew raised in this area. He was married and had a stepson. "Everyone around here adored him," said Dale Campbell, 68, an uncle. "He was not deserving of this."
Campbell and McGrier grew raised in the same neighborhood, according to family. The tragic shooting was the result of a pointless disagreement over Campbell's practice of giving high fives and fist bumps to passersby.
McGrier declined Campbell's fist bump, telling Campbell's uncle, "I'm not going to f—k with you."
"They began arguing, then fighting, and my nephew eventually won. Then (McGrier) began sending bizarre texts about how he intended to murder my nephew," the uncle explained.
"My nephew was attempting to put an end to the beef. 'Be cautious,' I advised my nephew. Don't you realize this person has already murdered someone?'"
Dale Campbell claims that his nephew carried a gun in his suitcase out of self-defense. However, he did not have time to pull it out before McGrier reportedly murdered him.
"His life was taken as a result of some folly," Dale Campbell stated.
"Justice will be served to my nephew," the uncle pledged. "I'm hoping that (McGrier) never sees the streets again."