On January 20, 2006, Baron P Braswell II was stabbed in the heart at a CD release party in the Five Mile Fork Howard Johnson, which led to his demise within minutes.
Deuce is a popular nickname for seconds and Trey for thirds. Baron II went by Deuce. He was a junior at Courtland High School, a two-year starter on the varsity football team, ran track, and played basketball,
January 20 was the Friday of a three-day weekend for students in Spotsylvania County as the semester had just ended, and Monday was a teacher workday.
Deuce’s father felt his son was safe when he dropped him off at Howard Johnson around 10 pm for the party. He noticed security scanning for weapons and Deuce, wearing a New York Giants jersey, meeting up with friends.
Party organizers charged a $5 admission with over 100 people in a room rated for less than 100 occupants.
The following describes the events provided in evidence at the February 10 and April 28, 2006 hearings.
Around 11:30 pm, the DJ started playing the song “Knuck if You Buck” by Crime Mob. This song incites partygoers to jump around and bump. Already in an overflowing room, this night was no exception.
The song was released in June 2004. Knuck means elbow-throwing and fist-fighting, and Buck to face a challenge, either an adversary or a difficult task.
Some in the crowd started yelling “Mayfield Mob” and flashed three fingers down in the form of an “M.” Some, including Deuce, yelled “Courtland Cougars.”
Deuce bumped into a James Monroe High School student. They started shoving and exchanging blows. PJ Hayden stepped in to defend this friend and pushed and knocked Deuce to the floor. 7 to 10 people kicked Deuce for 30 to 100 seconds. Deuce got up with a few bumps and abrasions.
17-year-old Marvin M Parker, who was not part of the scuffle, approached and stabbed Deuce in the chest, nicking a rib and piercing his left ventricle.
There were some indications that Deuce was an innocent bystander and was mistaken for a different person named Deuce.
A friend of Deuce noticed blood on his jersey. Taking off the Jersey, they saw the gash and applied pressure. Organizers picked up Deuce and carried him outside to the parking lot. I assume they called EMTs.
Parker hid the knife above a ceiling tile at the Howard Johnsons. I found no mention of how he got the knife past security at the door. Perhaps he planted it before party night.
Deputies were on the scene within 30 seconds of the call and found Deuce in the parking lot with a chest wound and not breathing. They performed CPR until EMTs arrived. Deuce was transported to Mary Washington Hospital, where he was declared dead.
Some partygoers were not held by security and scattered. Cruiser dash cams recorded their cars as they left the parking lot.
Ten detectives, including future Sheriff Harris, were assigned the case and started working on it that evening.
By January 23, five James Monroe High School football players, ages 15, 15, 15, 16, and 17, were arrested and held with charges of conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit malicious wounding by a mob, malicious wounding by a mob, and participating in a street gang “Mayfield Mob.”
Detectives determined the initial charges, thinking one of the five did the stabbing.
A day earlier, Parker had sent his half-brother to retrieve the knife from Howard Johnsons. Hotel staff notified the Sheriff’s Department, leading to the recovery of the murder weapon and the arrest of Parker. During the time between the incident and his arrest, Parker bragged about doing the stabbing.
Parker attended the area alternative school without affiliation with James Monroe High School.
To remove suspicion from innocent James Monroe football players, the Free Lance-Star published the names of the five teens, PJ Hayden, Jamel Brooks, Lance Durante, Devin Bates, and Robin Manual Spinner.
Some of the other JM football players denied the existence of a gang, saying, ” We just do things together.”
In Virginia, a street gang is defined as an ongoing group of three or more people, formal or informal, with the primary objective of criminal activity. It has an identifiable name, sign, or symbol. Members of the group commit a violent act.
By January 27, the judge effected a gag order and scheduled a February 10 bond hearing and an April 28 probable cause hearing.
Before the funeral, the Courtland Athletic Boosters Club announced the creation of a Scholarship Fund, trying to raise $11,000 to endow a $500 annual award. The funds were turned over to the Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River Region for scholarship management.
A teenage girl at the funeral said, “You know what I learned from this? I’m not going to hate people anymore. Even if they’re mean to me.”
At the February 1 bond hearing, the Commonwealth Attorney said one defendant confessed, and he had evidence the young men charged were involved in another beatdown a week before the January 20 incident.
Nevertheless, neighbors stood behind the five charged youths and talked about all the good things they did and do.
The conspiracy charges were dropped at the February 10 bond hearing, and Brooks was released to house arrest. The malicious wounding by a mob charges were dropped to attempted malicious wounding by a mob. Still pending were participation in a street gang charges.
At the February 14 bond hearing, the other four James Monroe students were released to house arrest as there appeared to be no connection between them and Parker.
At the April 28 hearing, the membership in a street gang charges were dropped. The Commonwealth Attorney presented there were two separate incidents, Deuce being shoved to the floor and Deuce being stabbed by Parker.
Continuing on May 1, the James Monroe students were convicted of misdemeanor assault and received 80 hours of community service. The judge admonished them, “If you act like you are in a gang, people will think you are.”
Later that summer, Gwen Braswell approached Debi Bernardes to help organize a 5km race to raise money for the scholarship fund. Debi and FARC helped with that first race on September 30, 2006, one day after Deuce’s September 29th birthday.
The race was called the Baron P “Deuce” Braswell II 5km Race Against Teen Violence. In addition to being a fundraiser, the race and event goal was to raise awareness of other ways to resolve conflicts.
On Tuesday, January 9, 2007, Parker was convicted of 2nd-degree murder and received a 40-year sentence with ten years suspended.
I helped time the 2007 race, which became part of the Coldwell Banker Elite Grand Prix in 2008.
The original course started on the Courtland entrance road and finished on the track. It was a simple out-and-back using the streets in the Fox Point subdivision.
By 2011, the race outgrew this course. With the assistance of Sheriff Smith and Sheriff Harris, we have been able to close Smith Station Road for the entirety of the race.
Initially, we started on the home side of the track.
By 2015, the race had grown increasingly large, so we moved the start to the visitor side of the track. That was the race’s 10th running, and Gwen Braswell offered a $1000 prize to the first male and female finishers.
Fortunately, Smith Station Road was long enough to accommodate the new start.
In addition to prize money and scholarship awards, the race donates money to the three schools with the most registered participants in three categories: Elementary, Middle, and High Schools. To my recollection, James Monroe High School has never been an award winner.
We’re now in our 19th year. The race is scheduled for September 21. Deuce would have been turning 35 a week later.
It’s time to address your Bucks and confront a personal challenge. Is it finishing a 5km? For those who complain that the speeches and ceremony last too long before awards are distributed, your Buck is to sit in the stands and support those who have lost and don’t want others to endure the same situation.
Some say we are a divided country, and violent protest is the solution. We’re not divided; an overwhelming majority can agree they want a safe and fair environment.
Articles in the January 22, 23, 24, 25, and 28, February 1, 4, 11, and 15, April 29, and May 2, 2006 Free Lance-Star were used in the compilation of this article.
At the 2023 Deuce Braswell 5km Run Against Teen Violence, Newsletter Editor Will Triplett asked me to write articles about FARC History. I fretted to write this article; you could say it was a Buck.