DALLAS — Officials with the Dallas Police Department announced in a news conference Tuesday that there are three suspects in the death of Joshua Brown.
Brown was considered a key witness in the trial of Amber Guyger, the former Dallas police officer who was convicted of killing Botham Jean in his own apartment. Guyger claimed she thought she was in her own apartment and that Jean was an intruder.
Through the dedicated work of the DPD homicide detectives, we have identified 3 suspects in the murder of Joshua Brown. Jacquerious Mitchell B/M age 20, Michael Mitchell B/M age 32 and Thaddeous Green B/M age 22 pic.twitter.com/v0vikYEpD4
— Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) October 8, 2019
Brown was killed Oct. 4 outside his apartment complex.
Assistant Chief Avery Moore named three suspects -- 20-year-old Jacquerious Mitchell, 32-year-old Michael Mitchell and 22-year-old Thaddeous Green -- in Brown's death.
Update 9:25 a.m. EDT Oct. 9: Avoyelles Parish Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Steven Martel said Michael Mitchell, 32, was arrested at a motel in Marksville, Louisiana, Tuesday, NBC News reported. Michael Mitchell is believed to have been the getaway driver in the shooting.
The news came after Brown's family issued a statement through its lawyer asking that the Dallas Police Department turn over the investigating into Brown's death to an alternative agency.
"It will be nearly impossible to conduct a reliable investigation in a climate where the investigating agency has been implicated in the murder itself," the statement said in part.
STATEMENT FROM THE FAMILY OF JOSHUA BROWN: pic.twitter.com/FrBqa8O2mV
— S. Lee Merritt, Esq. (@MeritLaw) October 8, 2019
Dallas Police Assistant Chief Avery Moore said Tuesday rumors that the department was responsible for Brown's death are false.
"We encourage those leaders to be mindful because their words may jeopardize the integrity of the city of Dallas and DPD," the department said.
Original story:
Jacquerious Mitchell is in police custody, Moore said, and faces capital murder charge. Police are pursuing Green and Michael Mitchell for the same charges, KTVT reported.
According to Moore, Jacquerious Mitchell told officials he, Green and Michael Mitchell came from Alexandria, Louisiana, to buy drugs from Brown.
"Thaddeous Green was the facilitator," Moore said. "He's the one who contacted Joshua Brown."
Green got out of his vehicle and had a conversation with Brown, which escalated into a physical altercation, Moore said. Jacquerious Mitchell told investigators he stepped out of the vehicle and was told by Brown to get back into the vehicle. He said he was shot in the chest by Brown.
While in the vehicle, Jacquerious Mitchell said he heard two gun shots and that Green shot Brown, according to Moore.
Brown was shot twice in his lower body. One bullet entered by his spine and traveled upward, damaging vital organs, according to an autopsy report.
Moore said Green took Brown's gun and backpack and that Michael Mitchell was the driver of the vehicle. Michael Mitchell took Green to "an unknown location" and dropped Jacquerious Mitchell off at Promise Hospital of Dallas, where he was treated and later taken to Parkland Hospital, where he is in police custody.
Assistant Chief Moore provides update on the Joshua Brown Homicide Investigation
Posted by Dallas Police Department on Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Police executed a search warrant at Brown's apartment, Moore said, adding that authorities confiscated 12 pounds of marijuana, 143 grams of THC cartridges and $4,000 in cash.
Moore emphasized that Brown's death was not tied to him testifying in the Guyger trial. He said the two suspects being pursued by police on capital murder warrants should be considered armed. Anyone who sees them should not approach them but instead contact the Dallas Police Department at 214-373-8477.
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