In the late summer afternoon of September 4, 2017, a dispute over a drug debt in Indian Head, Maryland, escalated into a fatal encounter for 39-year-old Robert Tywaughn Branson. The male victim found himself in a confrontation with Brian Douglas Pierce, a 35-year-old acquaintance, outside of Pierce's residence in the 6000 block of Port Tobacco Road. The argument prompted Pierce to attempt to get a firearm from his father's nearby home.
When his father and brother refused to provide him with a weapon, Pierce returned to his own house and emerged with a shotgun.
Standing outside, Branson and another man, Karwin Carroll, were told to leave by Pierce. When Carroll reportedly laughed at the demand, Pierce discharged the shotgun twice, striking both men. Branson and Carroll fled on foot, but Branson had sustained a fatal gunshot wound to his arm and lung. Despite his grave injuries, he was able to identify Pierce as the shooter before he succumbed to his wounds. Charles County Sheriff's Office deputies and paramedics located the two men approximately 500 yards from the scene of the shooting. While Carroll was transported to a hospital in serious condition, Branson was pronounced dead at the scene.
Immediately following the shooting, Brian Douglas Pierce fled the area in his car, which was later discovered abandoned on Friendship Landing Road in Nanjemoy. A multi-agency search involving the Maryland State Police, Virginia State Police, and other law enforcement agencies was launched, but Pierce initially eluded capture. However, the following morning, on September 5, 2017, he surrendered to authorities at the Charles County Sheriff's Office La Plata District Station.
Pierce was subsequently charged with a litany of offenses, including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and first-degree assault. After a six-day trial in September of 2018, a Charles County jury found Brian Douglas Pierce guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Robert Branson. He was also convicted of first-degree assault for the shooting of Karwin Carroll and possession of cocaine, among other related charges. For his crimes, Pierce was sentenced to a total of 65 years in prison.
