RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - We now know who investigators believe fired the shot that killed 16-year-old Brett Wells.
Three teens have been charged with the Atlee High School student's murder, but new court documents identify the triggerman. There's now believed to only be one shooter; 18-year-old Xavia Highsmith. According to search warrants, he is the suspect who police say shot and killed Wells and injured another boy.
The Times-Dispatch reports that those search warrants state Highsmith told investigators he held the gun and shot both victims. Affidavits we uncovered revealed Brett Wells was found lying on the floor next to a pool table, a lock box with bags of marijuana, and a 9MM bullet casing nearby.
Wells died in his Verdi Lane home, while his friend who was shot survived; both victims of what's been called a drug deal gone bad.
You may remember, earlier court documents seemed to implicate suspect Da'Von Byars as the murderer. A girl who was at the house the time of the of the murder, told police she heard a single gunshot and after police lineup, identified Byars as the person she saw running from the residence, gun in hand.
But we've learned the new warrant says Byars took the murder weapon and stashed it under a couch in the backyard of his Richmond home.
A third suspect, 18-year-old Kevin Drayton, has also been charged in the murder. All three are expected back in court this week.
We checked in with the Hanover Sheriff's Office, but no one will comment on the pending prosecution. No trial date has been set.
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