Brandon Eischens, a 24-year-old white man, was taken to an emergency room in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in the early hours of July 29, 2017, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds after what investigators later said happened inside an apartment near the area of 55th Street and South Louise Avenue. He did not survive.
In the first chaotic telling, his older brother, Jeremy Allen Eischens, brought him in and claimed the shooting was a drive-by.
Police say that story unraveled as detectives pressed for details and the scene was pieced together. The brothers had been together at Jeremy's apartment, and investigators came to believe Brandon had arrived to hand over vehicle keys so Jeremy could make a drug run to Colorado. At some point, Jeremy produced a small-caliber handgun and Brandon was shot twice in the upper torso.
A search of the apartment deepened the sense that this was more than a sudden, inexplicable tragedy. Authorities reported finding drugs and about $29,000 in cash, and prosecutors later tied the case to drug-related counts as well as the fatal gunfire. Police described the shooting as reckless, and Jeremy was arrested and charged with manslaughter and drug offenses, including possession with intent to distribute marijuana; later accounts also noted the gun was never recovered and that other men were present in the apartment when the shots were fired.
As the case moved through court, Jeremy ultimately pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and he also entered a guilty plea tied to marijuana distribution. The version that remained on the record was that he initially lied about a drive-by, then admitted the gun discharged while he was handling it, with police stating he had been drinking and using marijuana at the time.
In early February 2019, a judge imposed a prison sentence that amounted to 15 years to serve, structured as a longer term with a substantial portion suspended. At sentencing, family members attended and the grief was described in stark terms: parents who had already lost Brandon asked the court for mercy, pleading not to lose another son to the system after losing one to a bullet.
