Canadian man faces death penalty for Wyoming coin shop double murder

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A Canadian man accused of the double-murder robbery of two elderly men at a Wyoming coin shop is now looking down the barrel of the death penalty.

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Douglas Smith, 68, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the 2015 slayings in Cheyenne.

He was arraigned Monday after being escorted from California, where he now lives, by U.S. Marshals.

On July 20, 2015, the Cheyenne Frontier Days pancake breakfast was coming to a close when cops received a 911 call for a robbery in progress at The Coin Shop located at 510 W Lincolnway.

Inside, a bloodbath. Store owner Dwight Brockman, 67, and George Manley, 76, both from Cheyenne, were dead at the scene. The two old friends had been shot.

According to the Cowboy State Daily citing court records, Smith was the original 911 caller. As the case grew cold, detectives noticed that Smith offered inconsistent evidence throughout the nine-year probe.

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His ever-evolving story and inconsistencies led cops to believe he was the killer.

“The information provided by Smith distracted and diverted Cheyenne Police Department resources during the early stages of the police investigation,” the arrest affidavit said.

“Smith initially called 911 and advised dispatch there was a robbery at The Coin Shop, and that “Doc’ was in there shot.’”

In the initial investigation, Smith told dispatch that he saw the suspect pilfering the safe, then the man pointed a .45-calibre firearm at him and told him to leave the store.

He also told detectives that he called the store at 9:22 a.m. on the day of the murders to see if it was open before driving there.

Smith claimed he entered the store “two or three minutes” after the shootings.

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But examining phone records, video footage and speaking with additional witnesses torpedoed his claims, cops say. Brockman was on the phone with another man when Smith said the two spoke.

There was no phone record of his alleged call to The Coin Shop.

Smith is represented by Christina Williams and Rob Oldham of Just Criminal Law in Gillette, WY. He has asked the court to reconsider his bond status.

Few details about Smith have been released and it isn’t known where in Canada the alleged killer is from. He does not have a criminal record but is in the U.S. illegally.

Asst. District Attorney William Edelman said Smith lived in a mobile home, wasn’t a U.S. citizen and that the charges carry the potential to make it a death penalty case. He told a judge he worried Smith would flee.

If the accused made his way back to Canada, this country would be reluctant to extradite him with the death penalty on the table.

Prosecutors have not decided whether they will seek the death penalty. The state has not executed anyone since 1992 and death row currently sits empty.

As of Monday, the prosecution has 45 days to decide whether it will seek the death penalty. He remains caged in the Laramie County Jail.

A trial date was set for Dec. 3.

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun

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