CHEYENNE — The families of two murder victims got their first look Friday at the man accused of gunning down George Manley, 76, and Dwight Brockman, 67, during a 2015 robbery at the The Coin Shop in downtown Cheyenne.
Douglas Mark Smith, 68, wasn’t arrested until last week in California and had his initial hearing in Laramie County Circuit Court on Friday afternoon facing two charges of first-degree murder. If convicted, Smith could get life in prison without parole.
The Laramie County Attorney’s office told Cowboy State Daily last week it does not intend to seek the death penalty against Smith.
Laramie Circuit Court Judge Sean Chambers wouldn’t give Smith a bond, which means he will have no opportunity to be released from prison until at least his preliminary hearing next Friday.
Wearing black-rimmed glasses, a white bushy beard beneath a balding head and an orange and white jail jumpsuit, Smith showed little emotion at Friday’s short hearing.
Some in the courtroom, including Brockman’s family, cried upon the sight of Smith, who appeared virtually from the Laramie County Detention Center.
Laramie County Prosecuting Attorney William Edelman said despite the fact Smith has no criminal history, he requested no bond because of the nature of the crimes he’s accused of and the fact he has no family in the area.
Chambers agreed without any follow up questions.
A Few New Details
When speaking to Cowboy State Daily after the hearing, Laramie County District Attorney Sylvia Hackl provided a few bits of new information on the case.
She said Smith is actually a citizen of Canada who was living in America legally at the time of his arrest and the murders in 2015.
Hackl said Smith primarily lives in northern California now, but frequently traveled between Wyoming and California when he was living in Wyoming.
Hackl also told Cowboy State Daily that although Smith had claimed to investigators that he had walked in on an alleged suspect in the act of robbing The Coin Shop, it was impossible to determine what, if anything, might have been stolen during the event because of the nature of the business and the state of its inventory records.
Hackl was scheduled to meet with some of the victim’s families after Friday’s hearing. She said it’s unknown whether they knew Smith.
Smith had been a lead witness in the case until 2023, when authorities started to discover inconsistencies in his statement from the event.
Bringing closure for the families involved and those who investigated the crime is her first priority, Hackl said.
“Justice was delayed in this, but it’s important that it be served,” she said.
Contact Leo Wolfson at leo@cowboystatedaily.com
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
