Brailen Weaver shot two inside a U.S. Bank branch, then crashed a silver BMW at 130 mph on Newtown Pike during a federal pursuit, according to an FBI affidavit. The Facebook listing for the getaway car helped identify him.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — An 18-year-old man walked into a U.S. Bank branch in Berea on Thursday afternoon, shot two employees dead, rifled through cash drawers and ran — then drove off in a silver BMW he had recently listed for sale on his own Facebook page, federal agents said in an affidavit unsealed Friday.
Hours later, with two people dead and federal agents already pulling his social media accounts, the suspect was still posting. Around 8 p.m., according to the affidavit, Brailen Weaver shared a meme on Instagram captioned “I pledge allegiance to da bag.”
By the next morning, FBI Special Agent Isaac W. Robison had filed a three-count federal complaint against Weaver charging armed bank robbery, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and causing two deaths with that firearm — a charge that exposes him to the federal death penalty.
Inside the bank
It was 1:57 p.m. Thursday when the gunman entered the U.S. Bank at 630 Chestnut St. in Berea, the affidavit says. He shot a man almost immediately. A teller was killed seconds later.
Surveillance video from inside the bank showed a slim white or light-skinned man in a black face mask and black gloves, wearing a light-colored hoodie, medium-grey pants and white sneakers with light-grey accents, according to the affidavit. After the shootings, he checked multiple cash drawers, then walked out and headed toward Davis & Powell Funeral Home next door.
Kentucky State Police Trooper Justin Kearney later identified the dead as Brian Switzer, 42, of Jessamine County, and Breanna Edwards, 35, of Madison County. Trooper Scottie Pennington said both were employees of the bank.
A car listed for sale on his own Facebook
The break in the case came from outside the bank. Surveillance video from the area showed a silver BMW sedan with Alabama license plate A0DYH97 — a vehicle that, agents quickly discovered, had been listed for sale on Facebook under the display name Brailen Weaver, the affidavit says.
An emergency disclosure to Facebook returned an account in Weaver’s name, born in June 2007. He was 18 at the time of the killings. Investigators tied the listing to a phone number and a Gmail address that began with the user name “fineyoungman07.”
His public photos sealed the match, the affidavit says. One showed him wearing the same white sneakers with light-grey accents the gunman wore on the surveillance footage. Another showed him in the same medium-grey pants. He had the same slim build. And weeks before the robbery, the affidavit says, video from a gas station had captured Weaver in the same silver BMW.
130 mph and a crash
By Thursday evening, agents were tracking Weaver’s location to Somerset, Kentucky, then watched him head toward Interstate 75, the affidavit says. The FBI found his BMW on the interstate. Federal, state and local officers gave chase.
Weaver pushed past 100 mph on the highway, dodged a set of police spike strips and barreled off at exit 115 toward downtown Lexington, the affidavit says. On Newtown Pike, his speed climbed to roughly 130 mph before he lost control. He crashed the BMW and ran.
Officers searching the wrecked car found a firearm inside, the affidavit says.
When Robison signed the affidavit late Thursday, Weaver was still on the loose. He was arrested Friday morning, Kearney said.
‘Our hearts go out to the families’
Cheryl Leamon, a senior vice president at U.S. Bank, said the company was devastated.
“Our hearts go out to the families of the victims, our colleagues and the entire Berea community,” Leamon said in a written statement. “We are committed to supporting the victims’ families and our colleagues.”
What he faces
The complaint, signed by Robison and approved by U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew A. Stinnett, charges Weaver with three federal crimes.
Armed bank robbery alone carries a maximum federal prison term of 20 years. Discharging a firearm during a violent crime adds at least another 10 years on top of any other sentence — a term federal law requires be served consecutively.
The third count is the gravest. When a defendant uses a firearm to commit murder during a violent crime, federal law authorizes any prison term up to and including life — or the death penalty. The decision whether to pursue capital punishment rests with the U.S. Department of Justice, generally after an internal review.
At 18, Weaver is just over the constitutional threshold for capital eligibility; the Supreme Court has barred the death penalty for crimes committed before a defendant’s 18th birthday.
What comes next
The case is docketed as 5:26-MJ-5088-MAS. Because it began as a magistrate-judge complaint, prosecutors must take it to a federal grand jury for indictment within 30 days of arrest in order to move forward. If the Justice Department certifies the case as a death-penalty prosecution, additional defense lawyers qualified to handle capital cases would be appointed.
An indictment, complaint, or information is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
