In the early morning hours of October 20, 2016, the life of 37-year-old Marcus Dewayne Braswell was tragically cut short in his Macon, Georgia home. Two masked individuals broke into his Poppy Avenue residence, fatally shooting him. An autopsy later confirmed that Braswell sustained two gunshot wounds to the chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the homicide quickly led to the identification and apprehension of three suspects. Within a day of the incident, Bibb County sheriff's deputies arrested 21-year-old Andre Jackson and 31-year-old Lisa Harris, charging them both with murder. A third suspect, 26-year-old Brandon Haywood, was also taken into custody. The arrests came after a deputy spotted a stolen car that matched the description of a vehicle seen near the crime scene, leading to a brief chase.
The legal proceedings that followed revealed a plan devised by the three to rob Braswell at his home, where he was known to sell drugs. In a three-day trial, evidence was presented that included testimony from Harris and Jackson, who had both entered guilty pleas. They identified Haywood from home security footage captured before and after the killing. A. 40-caliber handgun recovered from the stolen vehicle was ballistically matched to the bullets that killed Braswell. Ultimately, a Bibb County jury found Brandon Trayvon Haywood guilty of malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in the fatal home invasion.
