Brandon Ray Parlanti was a 50-year-old Black male from Kingman, Arizona, who was shot to death on or about August 20, 2022, in what investigators describe as a drug-related dispute that ultimately turned into a homicide. According to later court testimony, he had driven from Kingman to a rural property in Yucca, owned by Bryan Keith Gibson, to confront him over a methamphetamine deal. During that confrontation, prosecutors say an argument escalated into gunfire.
At a sentencing hearing, co-defendant Shannon Powell told authorities that Gibson fired first, striking Parlanti, and that he then shot the victim several more times, claiming he was trying to end his suffering. The prosecutor rejected any suggestion of a “mercy killing,” emphasizing that neither man had the right to decide whether the victim lived or died.
Rather than report the killing, the men worked to hide what had happened. Authorities believe the body was wrapped in a tarp, secured with wiring, and transported off Gibson’s property to a remote stretch of Mohave County desert near Alamo Road and Boriana Mine Road, in the Yucca area. There, it was left in a large trash and debris pile in a wash sometimes referred to as Happy Jack Wash, concealed under an old vehicle liner. Months passed with no discovery. On December 4, 2022, a man riding a side-by-side utility vehicle through the desert came across the debris pile and saw what he believed to be human remains. He contacted the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office, and deputies responding to the scene confirmed that the remains were those of an adult homicide victim, wrapped in tarp and surrounded by rubbish.
At first, no one knew who the victim was. An autopsy confirmed that he had been killed by homicidal violence, and investigators documented his clothing and personal effects: a dark Professional Fishing Gear shirt, jeans, Durango Rebel boots, silver jewelry, a watch, and a phone case decorated with the phrase “Fishing is calling you,” along with a single tattoo bearing the name “Chase” and a partially legible date. Despite these details, traditional identification methods failed, and the case was entered into national databases as an unidentified homicide victim. In February 2023, Mohave County authorities partnered with Othram, a forensic genetic genealogy lab, submitting DNA from the remains in hopes of finding family matches. By July 2023, advanced DNA profiling and genealogical work led to a relative, and follow-up testing confirmed the victim’s identity as Brandon Ray Parlanti of Kingman.
Once investigators knew who had been killed, the focus shifted to who was responsible. On August 2–3, 2023, Mohave County Sheriff’s detectives arrested Shannon Allen Powell of Yucca, then 29, and booked him on charges including second-degree murder and abandonment or concealment of a dead body, with a very high bond set. A few days later, on August 7–9, they announced a second arrest: 52-year-old Yucca resident Bryan Keith Gibson, already in custody on unrelated drug charges, was charged in connection with the killing. Initial filings accused him of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and abandonment or concealment of a dead body, all serious felonies tied directly to the desert homicide.
Over the next several months, the case moved through the courts and the narrative of what happened became clearer. In one detailed account from a sentencing hearing, authorities said Powell had been living in a separate trailer on Gibson’s property when the confrontation over drugs occurred. After the shooting, Gibson allegedly provided the wiring and materials used to secure the tarp around the victim’s body before it was dumped in the remote junk pile. Ultimately, Powell entered a plea agreement, admitting to second-degree murder; a Mohave County judge imposed a 22-year prison sentence, just shy of the maximum allowed under the plea terms. Gibson, initially portrayed by prosecutors as the more culpable figure, later accepted his own plea deal, pleading guilty to abandonment of a dead body in the homicide case and to methamphetamine possession in the separate drug matter. In exchange, he received a 10-year prison sentence with credit for time already served in custody.
Together, these arrests and convictions mean that law enforcement now considers the killing of Brandon Ray Parlanti a solved homicide: a drug-fueled dispute that escalated into a fatal shooting, followed by a months-long attempt to erase any trace of the crime until a chance discovery in the desert and cutting-edge DNA work finally revealed who he was and led detectives to the men responsible.
