On a summer night in 2017, the life of 26-year-old Brandon Hudgins was tragically cut short in Suffolk, Virginia. Police responded to a call on July 1st and discovered a chaotic scene in the 300 block of Gloucester Street in the downtown area. Another man, 21-year-old Anthony Hale, was found in the street with life-threatening gunshot wounds. As the investigation deepened, officers located Brandon Hudgins, a male, near a residence in the same block.
He had also been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene.
For nearly a year, the case remained under investigation, a period of uncertainty for the community and Hudgins' loved ones. Then, in the summer of 2018, a breakthrough occurred. Following direct indictments, Suffolk Police began making arrests. On June 28, 2018, they took two young men into custody. Joshua James Williams, 19, and Justin Stephen Fransee, 20, were both charged with involuntary manslaughter, use or display of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and conspiracy to commit a felony. Williams faced additional charges of a second count of use or display of a firearm in the commission of a felony and attempt to commit a non-capital offense.
The series of arrests was not over. A few days later, on July 5, 2018, police apprehended a third suspect, Anthony Rayshawn Hale, who was 22 years old at the time. Hale was the same man who had been found injured at the scene of the shooting a year prior. He faced a lengthy list of charges, including involuntary manslaughter, robbery, two counts of use or display of a firearm in the commission of a felony, brandishing a firearm, attempt to commit a non-capital offense, conspiracy to commit a felony, possession of burglary tools, and wearing a mask in public. At the time of the arrests, authorities stated that the investigation was still ongoing.
