Brandon Van

Brandon Van was a 38-year-old man, a father of three who worked as a journeyman electrician and landscaper in Arizona. Remembered as a "caring loving soul" and "a real brother a real friend," his life was cut short during a violent, multi-city crime spree on October 26, 2020.

The day's events began when four people—Jaquan Bailey, 18; Stephon Mitchell, 18; Vincent Culbreath, 38; and Ashley Herrell, 37—committed an armed robbery at an "In the Zone" convenience store in Mesa. There, Culbreath stole two bottles of alcohol and displayed a handgun to a clerk who tried to stop him. Shortly after, around noon, the group encountered Brandon Van walking in a residential neighborhood near 1700 W. Bentley in Mesa.

They initially appeared to ask Van for directions, but the conversation became an argument. As Van walked away, the group pursued him in their car. Surveillance video captured what happened next. The three men chased Van on foot while firing shots. He tried to hide behind a concrete planter, yelling, "I ain't done nothing! I ain't got nothing!" Van surrendered, placing his backpack on the planter and raising his hands. Despite this, Mitchell shot him in the back. Culbreath then went through Van's pockets, pushed him to the ground, and punched him. Finally, Bailey walked up and shot Van eight times at close range, killing him.

The group fled the scene, later tossing Van's phone. They continued their spree by stealing four tires from outside a home in east Mesa. From there, they drove to the town of Guadalupe and attempted another armed robbery. When a woman named Josephine Marquez intervened, she was shot and critically injured, though she was expected to survive. The group’s final reported act took place in Phoenix, where an argument among them over a gun led to more shots being fired.

The final shooting in Phoenix led police directly to the suspects. Authorities arrested Bailey, Mitchell, Culbreath, and Herrell and booked them into the Maricopa County Jail on charges of first-degree murder and armed robbery, with additional charges pending for the other crimes. In February 2023, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office announced that Jaquan Bailey, Stephon Mitchell, and Vincent Culbreath had been sentenced for their roles in the violent crime spree and the murder of Brandon Van.