Guilty Plea in Cordova Neighborhood Homicide

Feb. 28, 2022 – A Cordova man has pled guilty in a 2019 neighborhood shooting death in which the victim was found clutching a piece of paper with a license tag number that helped lead to the suspect, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

Bryant Ward, 26, pled guilty Thursday in Criminal Court to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The shooting of Bryan Hervey, 61, on May 15, 2019, in the 1200 block of Linnean Cove was captured on a resident’s doorbell camera. The footage shows the victim running towards the front door calling for help, while gunshots can be heard in the background.

The victim’s vehicle nearby had bullet holes and shattered windows. Sheriff’s deputies recovered more than two dozen shell casings from the scene.

Investigators said Hervey was clutching a piece of paper with a license number written on it, which enabled them to locate a vehicle in the neighborhood similar to the one from which the shots were fired. The license of that vehicle a close match with the license number the victim had in his hand. Ward was arrested several days later.

A witness said Ward became upset after making eye contact with Hervey as their vehicles passed. Ward then fired shots from the vehicle, then exited and continued shooting at the victim. Hervey was active in monitoring security in the neighborhood.

The case was handled by Chief Prosecutor Theresa McCusker and Senior Felony Asst. Danielle McCollum of the District Attorney’s Vertical Team 1 which handles cases in General Sessions Division 7 (Veteran’s Court) and in Criminal Court Division 1.