Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

A local family is seeking closure from an incident that happened on Beale Street that took the life of a cherish family member who is truly missed. Thirty-one-year-old Samuel Reynolds was shot on September 26, 2020 by an assailant that is yet to be identified; the family is wondering why the case is taking so long to solve. The family is also perplexed by what they see as a "lack of communication" on the status of Samuel's death between them and the Monroe Police Department. Eunice Bell and her mother Letha Hewitt said that since the time of the shooting, they have been in the dark, as little to no information has been given by the police department. According to the family, Samuel was on Beale Street just to check on his younger brother as brothers sometimes do. That innocent gesture of wanting to be around his brother would be the last thing that Samuel would do. Family members said that they heard shots ring out, not realizing that when it was safe to go outside, they would find their loved one on the ground suffering from gunshots wounds. The police arrived quickly after receiving a 911 call and converged at the scene. Eunice, who is Sam's sister, said that one of the officers said that a pulse was detected and CPR was administered to him. When asked by Eunice where had Sam been shot, one officer allegedly replied that he "didn't know", as Sam was taken by ambulance to St. Francis Medical Center. While investigating the crime scene, Eunice said police saw many casings on the ground, indicating that a lot of shots were fired. Out of curiosity, Eunice said that she asked one of the officers what type of gun would fire the casings found on the ground, and she was told that they "couldn't tell". Eunice believes that Sam suffered a head wound, but that wasn't revealed to her at the crime scene.

She said that police officers were on the scene for about 45 minutes before leaving; the family contacted St. Francis and was told that he would be transferred to another facility because of his condition. The next day, Sunday, September 27, Sam was declared brain dead and the family began to make preparations for his burial. From information gathered at the scene by those who heard of what happened, it was revealed to officers that Sam got an alleged text from someone who texted that he was "going to kill Sam" because of Sam's alleged association with someone that person didn't like. But as far as the family understood, Sam was on cordial terms with everybody, as he was not seen as a troublemaker. The police allegedly questioned the individual and confiscated his cell phone along with Sam's. No details of what was found on the phones has been revealed by the police department.

It has been three weeks since Sam died and the family says that they are no nearer to closure, as the detective handling the case has not kept in close contact with the family. Eunice and her mother, Letha said that they tried numerous times to speak to the detective and that they believe that he may be avoiding them. They said that they are trying to be patient, that even a courtesy call to let them know that the police are doing all that they can to solve the case and bring some sort of closure to the family would help. They said that Sam was the peacemaker of the family, was easy-going, and a "life of the party" kind of person. They also said that Sam worked hard and loved his job at a local eatery. However, it is the pain of waiting to bring someone to justice that is agonizing for Eunice, Letha and the rest of the family. They can only hope that closure is coming and coming soon. In the mean time they welcome the courtesy of an update. The family wants and needs your prayers.