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The man accused of snatching a sleeping Dallas boy from his bed now faces a capital murder charge in the boy’s death.
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Police have filed the charge against 18-year-old Darriynn Ronnell Brown, saying Wednesday night that evidence returned from the crime lab connected him to the slaying of 4-year-old Cash Gernon.
Brown’s attorney, Heath Harris, said Wednesday night that he was frustrated by how slowly authorities were moving but hoped that the new charge would mean that he’d be able to request an examining trial and get access to evidence.
“It’s almost a month after this tragedy and I’m still waiting to prepare this kid’s defense,” he said. “We can’t do that till we have all the evidence.”
Harris, who has previously said that it’s “not an open-and-shut case,” said he is also waiting to have a doctor evaluate Brown’s mental health and determine whether he’s competent to assist in his own defense.
In the meantime, though, rampant speculation about the case and the release of a video from inside the child’s home have made it harder for his client to get a fair trial, he said.
Police did not elaborate on what the evidence was that linked Brown to the slaying. Police have said for weeks that they expected to file a capital murder charge against him as soon as they got back forensic evidence.
“There is no doubt who took him, and as soon as I get the lab report back there will be no doubt who killed him,” Lt. Carrie Wise said at a community meeting in late May.
Brown remained in the Dallas County jail Wednesday, with bail set at $1.625 million. He faces charges of burglary and kidnapping related to Cash’s abduction, as well as counts of burglary and injury to an elderly person stemming from a February incident.
Cash’s body was found by a jogger the morning of May 15 in the 7500 block of Saddleridge Drive, about eight blocks from where the boy was staying in southwestern Dallas’ Mountain Creek area. He was not wearing a shirt or shoes, and the woman who found him said there were ants on his feet.
Surveillance footage from inside Cash’s bedroom showed a man standing over the boy and his twin brother about 5 a.m. as they slept, then grabbing Cash and walking out of the room. The man returned about two and a half hours later and lifted the blanket covering Cash’s twin but then left, the footage showed.
Monica Sherrod, who had dated the twins’ father and was caring for the boys at her family’s home on Florina Parkway, reported Cash missing about five hours after he was taken from the home. She identified the man in the surveillance footage as Brown, according to an arrest-warrant affidavit.
Brown, who lives in a nearby neighborhood, was arrested later that day.
The boys’ father, who is wanted on felony charges in Harris County, left the twins at the home in March after missing a court date. Cash’s brother has been reunited with his mother, who police said had searched extensively for the boys.
Police said that Brown knew Sherrod and her teenage son, but they have not spoken about a possible motive in the case. They have said Brown is the only person believed to be responsible for the boy’s death, and no one else has been arrested in connection with the case.
Brown is also accused of walking into a Dallas home on Feb. 8 and grabbing a young child. Police said he broke in and rummaged around, then punched the homeowner after being confronted.
He picked up the man’s 2-year-old granddaughter, but the man was able to get the girl back from him, according to an affidavit. The homeowner didn’t want to press charges at the time and told police that Brown had apologized to him later.