Kevin Lamont Brown, a 47-year-old Black man from Fort Worth, Texas, was shot and killed outside his home on January 25, 2022. That day, Brown walked down the driveway of his residence in the 2100 block of Beacon Way to check his mailbox while talking on his cellphone. As he stood there, a black Chrysler sedan steered around the corner and slowed. A passenger, Damond Cotton, leaned from a rear window and fired a rifle, striking Brown in the head.
At first, police theorized the shooting
might be gang retaliation aimed at Brown's son, Braylin Brown, a documented member of the Crips who was in jail at the time. But the investigation shifted after detectives used surveillance video of the suspect vehicle to identify the driver, Ashlynn Durham, and the gunman, Damond Cotton.
A search of Cotton's apartment revealed handwritten letters he had written to Braylin Brown. The letters suggested a friendly relationship and led investigators to a shocking new theory: that Braylin had orchestrated his own father's murder from behind bars. Prosecutors later argued the motive was rooted in a secret relationship Kevin Brown Sr. had with a woman who also had children with another of his sons.
Four people were ultimately arrested and charged with murder in connection with the killing: Damond Cotton, Ashlynn Durham, a woman named Alexis Abeyta, and Braylin Brown. Braylin Brown, a member of the Lake Como Crips gang, was accused of masterminding the plot while incarcerated on separate charges.
The two principal figures in the plot have since been brought to justice. On November 9, 2023, a jury found Braylin Brown guilty of murder for orchestrating the shooting. He was sentenced to life in prison. In a separate trial, the gunman, Damond Cotton, was convicted of murder by a jury in March 2024.
