Investigators believe a 16-year-old high school student from Waldorf is the "trigger man" in a teen murder that shocked Charles County, Maryland, on February 18, court records revealed Tuesday.
Keshawn K. Belasco,16, "brandished a firearm and then shot victim Brown," according to the statement of probable cause that accompanied the charges against him.
Prosecutors hope to try Belasco as an adult. He is being held without bail.
An alleged accomplice, 19-year-old Mikayle Tahed Qawwee "provided a statement and acknowledged his involvement in this incident," according to the statement of charges in his case.
Belasco, Qawwee and a third suspect, 17-year old high school football player Darryl Freeman, all traveled in Freeman’s car to Bradley Brown’s home on Warehouse Landing Road in Charles County, just before 8 p.m. on Feb. 11, according to the court documents.
"Bradley Brown has recently been selling THC vape cartridges," detectives wrote in the statement of charges for the suspects.
"Brown posted a Snapchat video of a box of green Smart Cart high potency THC vape cartridges," investigators said. "Brown was offering these THC vape cartridges for sale in the video."
The suspects "decided to rob victim Brown of the THC cartridges," the documents said.
Brown, a cross-country athlete from North Point High School in Waldorf had recently completed the requirements to become an Eagle Scout and is the son of a veteran homicide detective in neighboring Prince George’s County, according to people close to the family.
Brown, who was home alone, was shot in the driveway of his family’s home, according to the Charles County Sheriff’s Department.
One of his father’s fully loaded handguns was found lying on the ground near his body, but had not been fired, according to the Sheriff’s Department statement.
The suspects fled with a box containing 10 THC cartridges worth about $300, according to court documents in the case.
All three suspects have been charged with murder and related charges.
They are being held without bail pending upcoming hearings in early March.