Former duke football charged with murder released four times in North Carolina
former Duke University Football Player He allegedly confessed to murdering his former high school friend and a real estate agent Whitney Heard in Charlotte, North Carolina, he was released four separate times in July 2024 between Heard’s death and the murder arrest in March.
Police discovered 32-year-old Heard had died. Multiple stab wounds in her townhome Last July 14th, I responded to a call for medical assistance in Charlotte’s upscale South Park area that afternoon. Her way of death was ruled and murdered.
Court records show that 33-year-old Brandon Braxton has been arrested and released four times on unrelated charges, including property injuries, simple assault, theft, trespassing, resistance to civil servants, indecent exposure to women, and assaults, and was eventually charged with robbery with dangerous weapons on March 20th.
Court records say that just months after Heard’s death, Braxton allegedly tried to grab a woman’s shorts by exposing herself to a victim in public Charlotte Park. He spent 31 minutes in prison on the charge of revealing the incident, records show.
Former Duke football player Brandon Braxton is said to have confessed to killing Heard. (Mecklenburg County Jail)
“This isn’t new and it’s not surprising in this case.” Charlotte Brothers Police Order (FOP) President Daniel Redford told Fox News Digital.
“It underscores the complaints we all talked about.”
However, Redford pointed out that authorities may not have had enough information to charge Braxton for murder in the Heard case, putting him in prison on multiple charges after her death.
Brandon Braxton was arrested and released four times after the murder of Whitney Heard. (Mecklenburg County)
However, on March 3rd this year, Braxton submitted a written complaint to Mecklenburg County Jail officials, saying the affidavit stated, “I killed Whitney Heard.”
Heard’s neighbors appeared to have seen a white BMW away from home on the afternoon of July 4th, 2024, with no one in the passenger seat. Neighbors said Heard advised police not to let others drive the car, according to the affidavit.
The indictment filed on March 31 alleges that Braxton stole Hard and Hard with a knife “by assault.”
It was revealed that Whitney Heard, 32, was murdered on July 14, 2024 at Charlotte Townhomes. (Instagram)
Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Station (CMPD) Obtained a search warrant for Hurd’s phone and received the last known location data. The detective couldn’t find the phone, but the case was still inside the car.
Fingerprints from Hard’s vehicles were collected and processed, and Braxton was placed in the vehicle and residence.
“I call it an open door policy. Some people call it a revolving door. … You’ve committed a crime, you’re arrested and you’re back.”
Redford said Braxton’s four arrests and release after Heard’s murder was “very concerned and indicating “increasing the crimes he committed.” He noted that certain Mecklenburg County judges have taken a more progressive approach to criminal justice, releasing certain violent criminal suspects without low bonds or bonds.
Duke Blue Devils wide receiver Brandon Braxton (5) is looking for a room to run against Stanford Cardinal Safety Michael Thomas (3) in the first half at Wallace Wade Stadium. (Mark dolejs-us presswire)
For example, in June 2024, a Rockhill murder and rape suspect named Rafael Wright was released on a $50,000 bond, with police and the victim’s family expressing concern. The judge eventually raised his bond to $850,000 a month later, and Wright was again taken into custody.
Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden told Fox News Digital that his office “has no authority to release an individual without the judge’s order.”
“As a result, someone is not involved in determining how, when, why, or the amount of the bond, or the terms of the release,” McFadden said in an email. “The Sheriff’s Office is solely responsible for the custody and care of an individual. The factors and reasons for release will only be determined by the appropriate authorities, the magistrate or judge.”
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The Duke Blue Devils, running by Josh Snead (9), celebrate a touchdown with wide receiver Brandon Braxton (5) in the Georgia Dome’s 2013 Chick Phil A Bowl in the first quarter. (Daniel Share-Usa Today Sports
The Mecklenburg District Attorney’s Office did not respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital.
Braxton’s lawyers said they would not comment publicly on the issue at this time.
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The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Station said the incident remains an active and ongoing investigation and the department is unable to provide further comment at this time.
Generally, Mecklenburg County’s current bail policy is to allow suspects accused of minor crimes to be released from custody.
McFadden directed Fox News Digital Recent research The MDRC Criminal Justice Research Center, which demonstrates the county’s bail policy, led to an increase in release rates, but the obstacles for defendants in new criminal charges filed against the court or the same defendant were not significantly increased.