Terrance Brison

On a cold Saturday evening in Little Rock, Arkansas, 32-year-old Terrance Brison and his friend, 31-year-old Thomas Gilbert, were sitting in a Chevrolet Tahoe in the 7400 block of Mabelvale Pike. It was January 18, 2014, when their night was violently interrupted. Three men approached the vehicle, robbing both Brison and Gilbert at gunpoint before opening fire and fleeing into the darkness.

Despite being shot multiple times in his back and arm, Terrance Brison managed to get out of the Tahoe and run for help. He made his way to a nearby home in the 7200 block of Shetland Drive and knocked on the door, pleading for someone to call the police. When first responders arrived, they found Thomas Gilbert still inside the SUV; he had been fatally wounded in the attack and was pronounced dead at the scene. Brison was rushed to a local hospital, where his injuries were determined to be serious but not life-threatening.

The Little Rock Police Department immediately began investigating the deadly robbery and shooting. The day after the attack, authorities publicly identified two suspects: Tracy Trevor Bailey Jr. and Tracy Tivon Brown. Warrants were issued for their arrest on charges of capital murder. Police cautioned that both men should be considered armed and dangerous. For more than a year, the case progressed as investigators gathered evidence for the prosecution.

The case against the two men moved forward, and it was the courageous testimony of the surviving victim, Terrance Brison, that proved crucial. At trial, Brison identified Tracy Tivon Brown as the man who shot him. His firsthand account provided jurors with a clear picture of the brutal and unprovoked violence that had claimed his friend's life and nearly ended his own.

In May 2016, Tracy Tivon Brown, who was 17 at the time of the murder, was convicted by a Pulaski County Circuit jury of first-degree murder for the death of Thomas Gilbert. For the murder, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison. In addition to the murder charge, Brown was also convicted for his role in the shooting of Terrance Brison. He received a 20-year sentence for committing a terroristic act and an additional 10 years for a firearm enhancement, with these sentences to be served concurrently with the murder sentence.

The following month, in June 2016, his co-defendant, Tracy Trevor Bailey Jr., who was 18 at the time of the crime, accepted a plea agreement to avoid trial. Bailey pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 40 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. The resolution of both cases brought a measure of justice for the families of both victims, closing a painful chapter that began with a senseless act of violence on a winter night. The case is now considered closed with the convictions and sentencing of both men responsible.