In the late hours of a July night in Texarkana, Arkansas, a fatal encounter unfolded outside the Whiskey River nightclub. Aaron Brown, a 33-year-old man, was walking across the street in the 300 block of East 49th Street when a small silver car came to a stop nearby. Words were exchanged, with someone in the vehicle shouting, “You got a problem?”. Brown approached the car, and moments later, the sound of multiple gunshots shattered the night. He fell to the ground, fatally wounded.
The incident, which occurred on July 10, 2021, also resulted in a woman nearby being struck in the leg by a stray bullet.
The ensuing investigation led authorities to identify two individuals in connection with the shooting. Tandraniqua Burris, then 28, was allegedly the driver of the silver car, with 19-year-old Jacarious Johnson as her passenger. Warrants were issued for their arrests on charges of murder and aggravated assault. In the days following the shooting, the search for the suspects continued. On July 16, Burris turned herself in to the Texarkana Arkansas Police Department. A little over a week later, on July 26, Jacarious Johnson also surrendered to the authorities.
Both Burris and Johnson were formally charged with murder in the first degree for the death of Aaron Brown and aggravated assault for the injury to the second victim. Burris faced an additional charge for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The Miller County Prosecuting Attorney's Office moved forward with the case against the pair, holding them responsible for the violent death of Aaron Brown in the roadway outside the nightclub.
