Brandon Nguyen, Voluntary Manslaughter, District of Columbia 2020

WASHINGTON D.C. – A Maryland man has confessed to the cold-blooded killing of a 17-year-old boy in Northwest Washington, D.C. in September 2020. Brandon Nguyen, 24, of Laurel, Maryland, pleaded guilty to one count of Voluntary Manslaughter in the death of Brian Ward, according to court documents released Wednesday.

The grim details paint a picture of a drug deal gone horribly wrong. On September 29, 2020, Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to reports of gunfire in the 300 block of Allison Street, N.W. Witnesses reported a dark blue sedan speeding away from the scene. That car, investigators would later determine, was driven by Nguyen, who had arranged to meet Ward for a supposed marijuana transaction. Ward was never seen alive again after entering Nguyen’s vehicle.

The investigation quickly spiraled into a desperate search for both the suspect and the victim. Nguyen didn’t just leave Ward at the scene; he drove the teen 15 miles into Laurel, Maryland, and dumped his body in the woods near the 6900 block of Contee Road. He then attempted to cover his tracks, bleaching the interior of the car before selling it off. It wasn’t until December 2021, when confronted by police, that Nguyen finally admitted to shooting Ward following a struggle over a firearm.

Detectives, guided by Nguyen, recovered Ward’s skeletonized remains. Forensic analysis by the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives revealed a brutal attack: at least six shots were fired, hitting Ward in the neck, and both the front and back of the head. Nguyen was arrested on November 21, 2022, and has remained in custody ever since.

Under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Nguyen faces a sentence of seven and a half to eleven years in prison, followed by a period of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for April 26, 2023, before the Honorable Rainey R. Brandt in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert J. Contee III praised the work of the investigators from the MPD, as well as the support from the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences, the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and the ATF.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Spence spearheaded the investigation and prosecution of the case. The case serves as a stark reminder of the deadly consequences of illicit drug deals and the lengths criminals will go to conceal their crimes. The victim’s family has been notified and is awaiting closure as the sentencing date approaches.

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