Opinion ID: 2383290
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Brandon's plea.

Text: Following the conclusion of the prosecution case, Martin's codefendant, Stephen Brandon, entered a plea of guilty to second-degree murder while armed and assault with a dangerous weapon. When questioned by the trial judge as to the underlying facts, Brandon, who had been placed under oath, stated that Martin Pegues and Clayton, Ricky Gray, they robbed me. And I seen them in the liquor store, and I approached this young lady named Vilencia, who set me up. And, you know, she laughed, and that is when I ran out of the store, and I shot him. Elaborating slightly as to the time and location of the incident, [14] Brandon stated that he and Paul Simms, Tyrone Martin, Ms. Stover got into the car, and that Ms. Stover told Martin, who was driving, to stop. Ms. Stover pointed the guys out, and that is when [Martin] stopped the car, and that is when I jumped out and shot him. He repeated that he did so because the men had robbed him. He said he also shot at Pegues, but that he missed because of bad aiming. Responding to a question from the judge as to whether self-defense was involved, Brandon at first stated yes, there really was. After consulting with his attorney, however, Brandon explained that Pegues and Gray had robbed him, but that this had occurred earlier, and that he was not in danger from them at the time of the shooting. The colloquy ended as follows: Q. Well, then, why did you kill one of them? A. Because they looked exactly like the persons who robbed me. Q. That is what I mean; you saw them in the liquor store and decided that they looked like the people who robbed you, so you decided to kill them? A. Yes sir. Brandon's attorney declined to allow her client to provide any information beyond that required to show that there was a factual basis for the plea. In response to a question about the origin of the murder weapon, counsel represented that if the government is seeking to have my client say that in some way or another he obtained it from Mr. Martin, that is not going to be the case because it simply isn't the case.