In the early morning hours of October 2, 2022, Brandon Wims, a 31-year-old male from Maryland, was fatally shot while sitting in a vehicle at the Old Mill Gardens apartment complex in Mount Vernon, Virginia. Wims was in the car with two other people when a man approached the vehicle and opened fire, striking him multiple times in the upper body. The driver of the vehicle rushed Wims to Inova Mount Vernon Hospital, and he was later transferred to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The other two occupants of the vehicle sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Detectives from the Fairfax County Police Department quickly identified Kyjuan Omar Braxton Trott, a 43-year-old from Mount Vernon, as the suspect. Investigations revealed that Trott and Wims were acquainted, and the shooting stemmed from a dispute between Trott and his wife, who was one of the individuals in the car with Wims. Trott allegedly approached the vehicle and, after a verbal altercation, fired multiple shots into the car before fleeing the scene in a silver Nissan Sentra. Authorities subsequently issued warrants for Trott's arrest on charges of second-degree murder and firearm offenses.
For nearly two months, Trott remained at large, evading capture by law enforcement. A significant manhunt was launched, and a reward was offered for information leading to his arrest. On December 1, 2022, after a brief police pursuit, Kyjuan Trott was apprehended in the Mount Vernon area. Following his arrest, the case proceeded through the legal system.
In March 2024, a Fairfax County Circuit Court jury convicted Kyjuan Trott-McLean of second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony for the death of Brandon Wims. Subsequently, in April 2025, Trott-McLean was sentenced to serve 33 years in prison for his crimes.
