Court of Appeals upholds convictions in 2020 murder, attempted robbery at Staunton apartment complex

RICHMOND – The state Court of Appeals has upheld a Fishersville man’s first-degree murder conviction stemming from a 2020 shooting at an apartment complex in Staunton.

In an opinion released Tuesday, a three-judge panel rejected JaQuez Eshaun Jerome Brown’s claim that the commonwealth did not produce adequate evidence to justify Brown’s sentence for the murder and attempted robbery of Bruce Williams at Springhill Village Apartments. Brown, now 22, was sentenced to 60 years in prison with 25 suspended for murder, six years on two weapons charges, and 10 years each on counts of attempted robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. The 10-year terms were ordered to run concurrently with the other sentences.

Brown’s lawyer argued that he did not plan to rob or kill Williams when he and a cousin went to buy marijuana from Williams on the night on July 9, 2020, despite evidence of a video call among Brown and two others to the contrary. They both testified that Brown admitted to killing Williams, but the defense claimed the witnesses were not credible because they had a history of perjury and inconsistent statements to police on other occasions.

The defense also stated that Brown should not have been convicted of attempted robbery because the victim still had the money when police found his body. According to Circuit Court testimony, Brown and his cousin paid Williams $240 for the pot, but Brown later got out of his car to argue with Williams and shot him several times in the back and head.

“Considering the totality of the evidence, this Court holds that the evidence is sufficient to sustain Brown’s challenged convictions for first-degree murder and attempted robbery,” the panel wrote in its opinion. “Accordingly, this Court affirms the trial court’s judgment.”

The panel, though, agreed to remand the case back to Staunton Circuit Court only to correct clerical mistakes in the transcript.

Brown is currently being held at the Sussex I State Prison near Waverly in southeastern Virginia. He is eligible for release in 2056.

The full opinion can be found here.

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Va. Court of Appeals upholds 2020 murder conviction in Staunton