Tennessee man sentenced to 50 years in prison for murder at North Little Rock motel | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

A 31-year-old Tennessee man who said he killed a man in a North Little Rock motel while rescuing his niece from the victim's clutches was sentenced to 50 years in prison Thursday by a Pulaski County jury that watched the fatal shooting on video.

The verdict, which found that Dedrick Martell Brigance intentionally threatened his life, shows that jurors rejected his claim that the shooting was justified by self-defense, while also rejecting the prosecution's claim that the killing was so devious that it warranted a life sentence.

Brigance, of Memphis, was on trial for felony charges for shooting 38-year-old Jeremiah Jerome “JJ” Broadus, of Maumelle, at the Rest Inn, 5801 Pritchard Drive, on May 13, 2023.

Prosecutors Justin Brown, Will James and Connar Kelly told jurors that during an armed confrontation with Broadus late at night, Brigance intentionally waited until the soon-to-be-married father of four dropped his cover so Brigance could shoot him.

In their closing arguments, prosecutors repeatedly returned to the heart of their case, the motel video.

James said jurors could see that Brigance was “as calm, composed and collected as one can be” when he shot the victim, telling jurors, “We saw the moment when he decided to take Mr. Broadus' life.”

Brown told jurors that the defendant's testimony was contradicted on several occasions by what they saw on the video. The recording offers the only honest account of what happened, he said.

“You don't have to guess what the surveillance video is trying to tell you,” he said. “Videos never lie.”

The video clearly shows that Brigance waited until Broadus looked away and then began to step back to end the tense confrontation with Brigance and a co-defendant, the prosecutor said.

“(Brigance) waited. He considered his course of action and then fired,” Brown said. “He decided to shoot a man who was running from him … and who no longer posed a threat.”

In addition, according to the prosecution, Brigance stood behind the co-defendant in order to conceal the murder weapon. The weapon used in the crime was an illegally modified pistol that could fire like a machine gun.

Brigance's public defenders Brandy Turner and Julie Jackson told jurors that their client committed manslaughter at the worst possible rate. He said he was extremely distressed at the moment the camera caught the shooting and that he fired out of fear for his own safety and that of his niece and her friends.

But Turner said the jury should acquit Brigance. Brigance had told the jury that he only shot Broadus because he thought Broadus was moving into a shooting position.

“If he had intended to kill someone, he would have shot them as soon as they opened the door,” Turner said in her final remarks. “(Brigance) was worried about his niece. He did the only thing he could do.”

Brigance, whose testimony lasted about an hour, told jurors he did not know his niece was at the motel that night and said he had checked into a neighboring motel at the intersection of Jacksonville Highway and Pritchard Road to spend time with a woman he had met the day before.

He told jurors that while he was there, he received word from his brother, 33-year-old Cedrick Donterious Crutcher of Memphis, that he was at the Rest Inn next door, and that the two met to talk before Crutcher returned home, which happened a few hours before the murder.

Crutcher never told him her niece was also at the Rest Inn, Brigance said, telling jurors Crutcher later called him to tell him her niece was involved in trouble at the motel, possibly in a fight with her boyfriend. Brigance said when he heard that, he borrowed the woman's gun and went after her.

On the way to the room, he met his niece's boyfriend and they went into the room together, Brigance said, telling jurors that he heard a commotion inside. When the door opened, he saw a woman and an armed man inside, but not his niece.

“The door opened and he pointed a gun at me,” Brigance said. “I'm freaking out because I think something happened to my niece.”

Brigance told jurors that the armed man came out of the room and that he considered the man a threat as long as he had the gun. At one point, he told jurors that the man did not point the gun at anyone. Brigance said the man backed away, but he shot him because he believed the man was going to raise his gun and shoot him and the others.

“He's still a threat. He's backing away. He could still shoot someone,” Brigance testified. “I knew he would raise the gun again.”

He said he only pulled the trigger once, but the tampered gun fired multiple shots. He said his niece came out of the room after the shooting and they all fled the scene.

The nine women and three men on the jury before District Judge Karen Whatley had the full range of homicide offenses to choose from, from capital crimes to less serious offenses such as intentional and negligent homicide.

The jury deliberated for about 90 minutes to convict Brigance of first-degree murder. They deliberated for another 90 minutes before the two-day trial ended with a 50-year prison sentence.

Brigance, a habitual offender with five prior convictions for violence and weapons possession in Oklahoma and Tennessee, faced a maximum sentence of 75 years for using a firearm in the murder. He must serve about 12.5 years before being eligible for parole. Brigance's co-defendant, 38-year-old Quincy Martel Carter of Memphis, is scheduled to go to trial next month.

Broadus had been at the motel that evening to meet Brigance's niece, 21-year-old Keiandra Brigance, and 19-year-old Terraneika Poplar, both of Memphis, for a paid sexual encounter he had arranged with Carter through the website ListCrawler.

Keiandra Brigance told jurors the women had come to North Little Rock the day before to “make some money” and Broadus paid them $240. She said their encounter quickly turned sour when she wouldn't let Broadus perform oral sex on her, a refusal that sent him into a screaming tantrum that she said may have been due to drug and alcohol influence.

Keiandra Brigance, who testified for about 21 minutes, said Broadus pointed a gun at the women and waved the weapon around the room while threatening them. The women gave him back his money, but Broadus remained angry, she testified.

“He was just angry for no reason,” she said. “He could have left. He had his money back.”

Keiandra Brigance told jurors she texted her boyfriend Carter for help, after which Carter showed up with her uncle and banged on the door of her hotel. She said she shouted to the men that Broadus was armed as he walked to the door and that he held his gun next to him, pointed at the ground.

Broadus and Carter argued briefly in the doorway, she testified, and said she heard a shot but did not see who fired it. She said she, her uncle, Carter and Poplar fled so quickly that she ran shirtless.

Police used motel records and facial recognition software to identify suspects, but investigators were never able to catch Poplar. According to news reports, Poplar was recently arrested in Tupelo, Mississippi, on human trafficking charges. Crutcher, the brother of Derrick Brigance, was Poplar's boyfriend, according to witnesses.

Keiandra Brigance, who testified for the defense, was not charged and cooperated with police when they tracked her down about three weeks after the murder.

Six days after the murder, police arrested Derrick Brigance after he was seen entering the Waffle House restaurant on John Barrow Road in Little Rock. The murder weapon was found in a backpack in his car. He has been in jail ever since.

Carter was arrested in Memphis about two weeks after the murder. He spent about nine months in jail before posting $200,000 bail. His trial is scheduled for next month.