Lynn man exonerated of robbery, firearm charges

SALEM – A Superior Court jury exonerated a Lynn man of participating in an attempted robbery and firearm charges Thursday morning.Brandon Payne, 22, of 95 Woodman St., Lynn, went on trial earlier this week on charges of armed assault with intent to rob, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, carrying a firearm without a license, carrying a loaded firearm without a license and buying and receiving stolen property over $250, a televisions set.The jury, comprised of seven women and five men, deliberated for about two hours and 15 minutes over a two-day span before reaching their decision, finding Payne innocent of all five charges.Payne, who has been held in custody since his arrest in May of 2010, left the courtroom a free man with his family.Prosecutors accused Payne in trying to steal a computer from an 18-year-old youth on Timson Street on May 18, 2010.The victim, Elder Palmer, then 18, of 142 Timson St., told authorities he was walking toward his home carrying a laptop computer when two men wearing hooded sweatshirts approached him and demanded he turn over the computer.Palmer said he was scared and started to run away, but as he fled the thieves chased him, firing two shots at him, striking him in the chest and lower back.Palmer was taken to Union Hospital with non-life threatening gunshot wounds and was treated and released.In the meantime, police spotted a red Oldsmobile on Grant Street that authorities later linked to the shooting incident. Two .25 caliber handguns were found in the car and a television set that had been reported stolen earlier from a Burrill Avenue home.Payne did not take the stand in his own defense.His attorney, Jeffrey G. Sweeney, successfully argued that his client was not involved in the incident and the jury agreed.A second man, Darkens Bonnett, 20, of Lynn, awaits trial on the attempted robbery case. He remains held in custody and is scheduled to be in court on July 12 for trial assignment. The two were not tried together because of recent information turned over to the defense attorney by the government involving his client, which he had to explore further.Bonnett also is under indictment and awaits trial for fatally shooting Vincent K. Gaskins, 30, outside a club on Market Street in 2009, an allegation he has denied.