On a cold December morning in Roanoke, Virginia, the body of 37-year-old Corey Tyrone Brown was discovered in the 600 block of Lucerne Street NW. It was Sunday, December 3, 2017, and a call to the Roanoke Police at 6:25 a.m. initiated what would become a homicide investigation. Brown, a Black / African American male, had sustained a fatal gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene.
His body was subsequently transported to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy.
As investigators began to piece together the events leading to Brown's death, they quickly identified a person of interest. Through evidence collected at the scene and witness interviews, the police were able to secure a warrant for the arrest of 45-year-old Byron Lamont Brandon, also a resident of Roanoke. The two men were known to be acquaintances, suggesting a personal conflict may have escalated with deadly consequences. The charge laid against Brandon was second-degree murder, signaling a significant breakthrough in the case.
The search for Brandon extended beyond the borders of Virginia. With the assistance of the Greensboro Police Department's Violent Crime Apprehension Team, Byron Lamont Brandon was located and apprehended in Greensboro, North Carolina. His arrest brought a sense of progress to the ongoing investigation, though the motive behind the shooting was not immediately made public. The case then moved into the legal system, with the Roanoke Police Department continuing their work to build a comprehensive case against the man accused of ending Corey Brown's life.
