In a tragic sequence of events on October 26, 2020, 38-year-old Brandon Van was killed in Mesa, Arizona, during a violent crime spree. The day's turmoil began when four individuals, later identified as 18-year-old Jaquan Jaheem Bailey, 18-year-old Stephon Mitchell, 38-year-old Vincent Culbreath, and 37-year-old Ashley Herrell, were involved in an armed robbery at a convenience store.
In that incident, Culbreath brandished a handgun after stealing two bottles of alcohol.
Following the convenience store robbery, the group encountered Brandon Van around noon in the vicinity of 1700 W. Bentley in Mesa. Initially, they appeared to ask him for directions. However, their intentions soon turned violent as they pursued Van, firing shots at him as he tried to take cover behind a planter in a residential neighborhood. Despite Van surrendering his backpack, he was physically assaulted and fatally shot multiple times at close range.
The suspects fled the scene and continued their string of crimes. They were later involved in the theft of four tires from a home in another part of east Mesa. Their crime spree extended to the town of Guadalupe, where they attempted another armed robbery. During this incident, a woman who intervened was shot and critically injured, although she was expected to survive. The group's final reported act of violence occurred in Phoenix, where an argument over a gun led to more shots being fired. This last incident led to their arrest by the police.
All four suspects, Jaquan Jaheem Bailey, Stephon Mitchell, Vincent Culbreath, and Ashley Herrell, were subsequently taken into custody. They were booked into jail on charges of first-degree murder and armed robbery, with the possibility of additional charges related to the entirety of their destructive path that day.
