UPDATE: Hearing reveals evidence tying suspects to the killing of Jessica Brandon
Suspects in the murder of Jessica Brandon appeared before a federal judge Thursday morning.
The accused killers of the 36-year-old Lincoln woman, Tawhyne Patterson, Damon Williams and Dante Williams, allegedly broke into Brandon’s Belmont home July 31st in an attempt to steal drugs and money from Brandon’s boyfriend Michael Robertson.
Lesley Woods, Assistant U.S. Attorney, said Robertson was a known drug dealer. $85,000 in cash and bags of marijuana were recovered from the home.
That’s how the case landed in federal court, Woods said.
Woods said if the suspects had gotten away with money or drugs, like they intended, interstate commerce would have been affected, making this a federal case.
She said it’s clear that’s what they intended to do. Police said an informant told them Patterson said he was in the area of Brandon’s home looking for a large amount of money inside a safe. Jail phone records from Dante said they were looking for a safe with $250,000 in it when the robbery “went south.”
But Woods said it’s also clear they got overwhelmed by the situation inside the home, possibly because Brandon had been shot and was dying in front of them, prompting them to exit the home before taking what they were after.
Neither Woods nor FBI Agent Brandon Day said which of the suspects they think shot Brandon in the shoulder.
Day described the evidence tying the three men to the crime from the witness stand.
He said video surveillance showed the three men unmasked with a gun and bat “casing” Brandon’s home on July 30th, the night before the murder.
Day said that video, and video from the night of the murder, lead Lincoln Police investigators and several witnesses to positively identify Patterson, Damon and Dante as the men in the videos.
Day said Patterson was wearing a coat that had unique patches on it in both videos and Damon was wearing a Husker sweatshirt, the same sweatshirt police recovered when he was arrested in Texas. Dante was seen in the video wearing uniquely printed pants and police found similar pants upon serving a search warrant.
Day said Damon’s DNA was found on a heavy winter glove, similar to what was seen in the surveillance video, in the trash can of the home he shared with Patterson. Dante’s cell phone also “pinged” in two different locations around the time of the crime- the home Patterson and Damon lived in and near Brandon’s home.
Witnesses inside the home have also identified the suspects, though Day said he wasn’t sure in how much detail the witnesses were able to describe them after the murder.
According to Day those witnesses were bound with duct tape and zip ties. A piece of tape recovered in Brandon’s home had Dante’s DNA on it. Video also showed a man patchy facial hair matching Dante’s facial hair.
No DNA evidence ties Patterson to the scene, but police found evidence of him researching zip ties on his phone. Witnesses also told police he pawned televisions after the crime to afford to flee to Texas, where he was arrested.
Woods said all of this evidence and more is enough to charge the men with use of a firearm resulting in Jessica Brandon’s murder during a crime of violence.
The men’s defense attorneys questioned whether or not this case should be in federal court because no drugs or money were taken and Judge Cheryl Zwart asked them to write briefs on their opinions.
The fourth suspect seen in surveillance video from the night prior to the murder that police haven’t identified was brought up briefly. Day said he couldn’t comment on whether or not police knew who that person was, neither would Lincoln Police investigators.
None of the defendant’s attorneys or those in the audience of the courtroom would comment on the proceedings.
