Boyfriend Indicted in Shooting of Visitor

Dec. 11, 2020 – A Raleigh-area man who came home unannounced and found someone hiding in his closet was indicted Thursday on second-degree murder charges, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

Defendant Brandon McWay, 36, who is also known as Brandon Hawkins, also was indicted on convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He is free on bond.

Late on the evening of June 14 this year, McWay returned to the Highland Chateau apartment in the 5200 block of Shelbourne Circle that he shared with his girlfriend.

Investigators said Bryan Washington, 35, had been visiting the defendant’s girlfriend and was discovered hiding in a bedroom closet when McWay shot him several times. Washington was taken to a hospital in critical condition where he died several hours later.

McWay was convicted of attempted second-degree murder in 2006 and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

The case is being handled by Asst. Dist. Atty. Jamie Kidd of the District Attorney’s Special Prosecution Unit (SPU) in Division 8 of Criminal Court. The SPU seeks maximum sentencing for repeat felony offenders.