4 men charged with killing Noxubee County football star

O'Bryan Lashan Brandy (pictured) was found shot to death in his cab in Florida. Four men have been charged with the Noxubee County football star's murder.

TALLAHASEE, Fla. – Police in Florida said four men have been arrested and charged with the shooting death of a former Noxubee County football star. Twenty-nine-year-old O’Bryan Lashan Brandy was found dead in a taxi cab he was driving. He had been shot twice.

Tallahassee police said around 1:58 a.m., on Oct. 29, they responded to 1015 Idlewild Drive in reference to a suspicious vehicle. The preliminary investigation revealed that there was a deceased person inside the vehicle and foul play was immediately suspected.

Forensic evidence was examined and witnesses were interviewed by investigators with the Violent Crimes Unit.

Police identified the deceased as former Mississippi resident, O’Bryan Brandy. Brandy was living in Tallahassee with his family and working as a cab driver.

Brandy, who was in the recruiting class of 2004, played football for FAMU after transferring from Mississippi.

Davin Bowers, Derrick Butler, Nelson Alexander and Deondre Hansford, were subsequently arrested in relation to the shooting which authorities said took place on Idlewild Drive near Apalachee Parkway.

The four suspects were interviewed by the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) in connection to the incident.

The probable cause affidavit said that police were notified after a witness saw one of the suspects (Hansford) with blood on his shirt. 

Included in the affidavit are responses from the four suspects during the interview. Both Bowers and Alexander told authorities they heard Hansford say “I burnt him.”

Both said they understood that meant Hansford had killed the victim.

Bowers, who admitted to bringing the firearm into the Laura Lee Ave. residence and hiding it in the backyard, told police they concocted the plan after seeing a taxicab in the Apalachee Parkway Whataburger parking lot. Bowers said he had gotten the gun from a “crack head.”

“They got into Butler’s White Ford pick-up truck and began driving around the area attempting to find a good location for the robbery,” reads a portion of Bowers’ response in the affidavit. A witness is mentioned in the affidavit as seeing a black man between 5-foot-1-inch and 5-foot-5-inches waiting at the location of the incident.

“The witness was walking a short distance later (within 3-5 minutes) and heard what sounded like a gunshot,” states the affidavit. “The witness described hearing a second bang, possibly another gunshot, and then a third louder pop like a definite gunshot.”

When Hansford was interviewed, he said he was left at Penn’s house and the three codefendants came back later to pick him up. When told of the inconsistencies in his story compared to the others, Hansford terminated the interview and requested an attorney.

According to the Public Defender’s Office, all four suspects accused in Brandy’s murder will be arraigned on Dec. 13 at the Leon County Courthouse. All of the suspects, except for Davin Bowers, will be represented by private attorneys. Bowers will be represented by public defender Steven Been.

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