Kentucky attorney general will pursue murder charges in Berea bank robbery case
Attorney General Russell Coleman plans to pursue murder charges against the 18-year-old man who shot and killed two people during a bank robbery in Berea on Thursday.
Brailen Weaver, 18, is federally charged with armed bank robbery, use or discharge of a firearm in a crime of violence and causing death with a firearm in the course of a violent crime from the robbery alone.
Federal prosecutors said Friday that those charges are primarily centered on robbery crime, and don’t reflect the murder of Breanna Edwards, 35, of Madison County, and Brian Switzer, 42, of Jessamine County, who were employees of the bank in Berea.
On Friday afternoon, Coleman said his office will pursue state murder charges against Weaver for the deaths of Edwards and Switzer.
“We are supporting the fine men and women of Kentucky law enforcement who worked through the night to apprehend this criminal,” Coleman said in a statement to the Herald-Leader. “For the families of the two Kentuckians killed, we will do everything possible to deliver justice.”
The incident happened around 2 p.m. at the U.S. Bank on Chestnut Street in Berea. A federal affidavit says Weaver entered the bank, shot and killed Switzer and shot and killed Edwards shortly afterward.
After shooting Switzer and Edwards, Weaver checked multiple drawers and fled the bank. Officials identified him as the suspect through the vehicle he fled in and social media posts, according to the affidavit.
The FBI found Weaver’s vehicle on Interstate 75 Thursday night and tried to chase it, but the affidavit says he drove faster than 100 mph and avoided a set of spike strips before exiting the interstate at exit 115 in Lexington. Kentucky State Police previously said the pursuit ended on Bryan Station Road and Weaver fled on foot.
The affidavit says officials found a gun inside his car.
Weaver was arrested around 3 a.m., according to Jason Parman, first assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in federal court Monday afternoon.
State charges had not been filed as of 3:30 p.m. Friday, according to court records.
“Under federal law, what we’re charging is the bank robbery, the use of a firearm tied to the bank robbery and the death that resulted from the use of that firearm during a crime of violence,” Parman said during a news conference Friday. “Aside from that, the state has jurisdiction to charge the unlawful killing of another human being under Kentucky law, and I believe Attorney General Coleman is addressing that.”
Cheryl Leamon, the senior vice president of U.S. Bank, said they were sad to learn of what happened at the bank.
“Our hearts go out to the families of the victims, our colleagues and the entire Berea community,” Leamon said in a statement. “We are committed to supporting the victims’ families and our colleagues.”
