by Jean Maly, in the Newport Dispatch

NEWPORT –– A jury in Orleans County Superior Court delivered a guilty verdict on Friday, October 19 in Brownswell Cedano’s murder trial for the 2019 death of 37-year-old Richard Poginy of Glover. Years of investigation and evidence came to a head with the deliberation, lasting less than two hours.

The trial, presided over by Judge Rory T. Thibault, saw contentious proceedings between the prosecution and defense as both sides repeatedly objected and requested to approach the bench. Cedano, 31, of Connecticut, faces a minimum penalty of twenty years to life in prison when sentenced for second-degree murder.

As reported in VDC and other media, Cedano, was attempting to collect a drug debt he mistakenly believed Poginy owed.

The case revolved around Poginy’s injuries that caused a subdural hematoma and ultimately caused him to go unresponsive and crash his car on November 2, 2019, near Hollow Road in Barton. Police affidavits indicated Poginy sustained injuries inconsistent with the crash. The prosecution provided evidence that there was minimal vehicle damage, and the airbags had not gone off.

First responders testified that Poginy had a bloody tissue in his ear, which was believed to have been put there by the victim to stop the bleeding from his ear.

Poginy was transported to North Country Hospital where Dr. Holland diagnosed him with a subdural hemorrhage. He was transferred to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire for emergency neurosurgery and ultimately died on November 9, 2019.

Autopsy reports from the NH Chief Medical Examiner determined the manner of death was complications of blunt impact head trauma sustained due to an assault, ruling it a homicide. 

Dr. Jenie Duval, the New Hampshire Chief Medical Examiner, testified that Poginy had two notable injuries to the head. One on the bridge of his nose, and a second one, which caused the hairline fracture in the floor of his skull that caused the bleeding from his ear. Duval noted the lack of additional injuries that would be present if the head trauma were caused by a vehicle crash.

During the trial, discussions became heated, with Judge Thibault instructing both the prosecution and defense to remain professional and to refrain from unnecessary interruptions.

At one point the defense moved for a mistrial, alleging an intentional violation of a pretrial ruling regarding witness identification by the state’s attorney. This was denied by Judge Thibault, who found the alleged error did not rise to the level needed to constitute a mistrial, and could be mitigated by a limiting instruction to the jury.

A key witness testified about an altercation between Cedano, also known as “Twin,” and Poginy. The witness, Robert Russell of Barton, admitted to initially lying to the police in 2019, 2020, and 2021, and his testimony was met with scrutiny due to inconsistencies with previous statements.

Russell maintained throughout his testimony that Cedano arrived first and described Poginy as being dazed and confused, and had blood coming out of his ear, contradicting earlier statements in the investigation where he said Poginy didn’t look too bad.

Another witness, Selina Garber (also known as Nicki), testified that she observed Cedano strike Poginy causing him to fall. She added that Cedano then pistol-whipped Poginy, hitting him in the head with a gun. Russell also testified to seeing Cedano strike Poginy at least once with the firearm. 

Testimony from one of Cedano’s former cell-mates testified that Cedano repeatedly spoke of the incident with Poginy, and that the man succumbed to his injuries.

Detective Sgt. Aron McNeil described the exterior and interior damage to Poginy’s vehicle, including a loose steering column and a broken light control stick. He also noted the airbags had not deployed, which could be seen in video evidence detectives took from the vehicle.

Near the end of the trial, the defense motioned for a general acquittal, which was denied. The judge concluded that striking a person’s head with a firearm, especially when they are on the ground, entails a great degree of risk and could produce great bodily harm, or death, indicating extreme negligence and indifference to the possible consequences.