Friday, March 29, 2024

Maryland Drug Dealer Charged in Murder of Woman, Son Who Was Witness [VIDEO]


*Five years after a 31-year-old mother and her 7-year-old son were murdered by an alleged Maryland drug dealer, the prime suspect in the killings was finally charged last week. 

Federal investigators arrested Andre Ricardo “Poo” Briscoe, 37, on drug distribution and gun charges in May for his connection to the killing of Jennifer Jeffrey and her son, Kester Browne. Last week he was indicted for allegedly murdering the woman during a May 27, 2015 armed robbery, and shooting her son multiple times to prevent him from telling police about the murder. 

The Sun reports that, in a court filing last month, Judge Richard D. Bennett noted that Jeffrey “was a heroin dealer and that Defendant Briscoe was her weekly or twice weekly customer.”

READ MORE: Maryland Rape Suspect Kills Accuser After Jail Release Due to Coronavirus, Commits Suicide

“From March through October 2015, Briscoe conspired with others to distribute heroin,” reads a statement  from the Department of Justice. “The indictment alleges that on May 27, 2015, in connection with his drug distribution, Briscoe committed an armed robbery and during the course of the robbery shot and killed Jennifer Jeffrey and Jeffrey’s seven-year-old child.”

Authorities allege the boy was killed because he’d witnessed Briscoe kill his mother. 

“The indictment also alleges that Briscoe shot the child multiple times, including in the head and mouth, killing the child to prevent him from communicating with law enforcement,” the statement says.

“These murders are shocking and unconscionable,” the statement quotes U.S. Attorney Rob Hur as saying. “This indictment should make one thing crystal clear: If you touch a witness, especially a child, the full weight of federal law enforcement will be harnessed to find you and bring you to justice. And we will not stop investigating until we bring to justice anyone else who was involved.”

Briscoe’s attorney, William Purpura, told the Baltimore Sun that his client was living in a different state at the time of the killings, and the defense can prove it. Purpura also questioned why the charges were filed just before a statute of limitations deadline.

“It’s kind of perplexing and mysterious and concerning to Mr. Briscoe,” Purpura said.

There is no statute of limitations for murder, but as noted by The Sun “federal prosecutors can only bring homicide charges if they are tied to another crime, such as drug trafficking, which are subject to the filing time limits.”

If convicted of the murders, Briscoe faces a maximum sentence of death or life in prison. He also faces other charges, including witness tampering, drug trafficking and a maximum of 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, the report states. 

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