Attorney For Accused Banana Joe’s Shooter Says His Client Didn’t Do it

BIRMINGHAM: Attorney Mitch Damsky met with his new client for about an hour this morning at the Jefferson County jail.

During that conversation, 16 year old Pierre Smith told him why he was at the club, how he had been there before, and that Birmingham Police did not arrest the trigger man.

The gunshots early Saturday morning scattered a nightclub crowd.  Two men were killed and two others wounded.  Police say 16 year old Pierre Smith is the man responsible.  Smith’s newly appointed attorney Mitch Damsky says his client insisted he was innocent.  Smith told him he was hit in the head with a beer bottle, and was taking a beating of his own when the shots were fired.

“It’s about five inches worth of stitches,“ says Damsky.  “He’s got stitches on his ears.  He said that he was on the ground being pummeled when he heard shots.  He denies being the shooter.“

Police think otherwise.  That’s why Smith was taken into custody and charged with two counts of capital murder and two counts of attempted murder.

“When he was taken to the jail he asked for a lie detector test and a gunshot residue test, which were not administered,“ claims Damsky.  “Basically his position is, he didn’t to it.“

Smith told his attorney he was at the club with his brother and friends. In fact, the 16 year old claimed he had visited Banana Joe’s before, and security let him in without any questions

“He doesn’t have a driver’s license,“ says Smith’s attorney, Mitch Damsky.  “He doesn’t have a car.  He says he does not own a gun.  And he reports to me they will find no fingerprints of his on any guns.“

However, it’s what police report to a judge which will decide if the case moves forward.

To see more of my interview with Smith’s attorney Mitch Damsky, click on the video player.