The man who is accused of setting a plan in motion to kill his ex-friend last June was charged with murder and held without bail yesterday. But Brooklyn native Ragene Powell-Dickerson claims he's innocent, and says he didn't hire hitman Jimmy Copeland for $10,000 to kill Dwayne Burnett. So has Powell-Dickerson been set up as a patsy, or is he truly a terrible criminal mastermind?
Police have accused Copeland, who is already in custody, of getting his sister and her friend to sext nude photos to Burnett, inviting him to a threesome "sex party", as a set up for the murder. Copeland claimed that Powell-Dickerson hired him to kill Burnett. But Powell-Dickerson has been playing the part of bereaved best friend, taking Burnett's mother to his funeral, mourning with the victim's family in their home, and even paying for T-shirts and bandannas memorializing Burnett.
The victim's mother told the News that she didn't entirely buy it though: "He said, 'Ma, did they find any fingerprints?' Why would you worry about fingerprints? ... He tried to come and cover his butt." Powell-Dickerson's lawyer told the court yesterday that Burnett "was like a brother to him, he knew him since high school," and implied it was all Copeland's doing. One thing is for sure: if someone sexts you for a raunchy "sex party," and you aren't Charlie Sheen, it's probably better to err on the side of caution.
