Naman Shrestha
In A&E’s ‘The First 48: “R” is for Random,’ the primary focus is on the untimely and horrific killing of a 23-year-old family man and pest control worker named Bradly Jordan. When he was killed in broad daylight in an apartment complex in Gwinnett County, Georgia, the entire community was shaken to its core. Meanwhile, grief took over his loved ones. The investigators worked promptly on the case and swiftly found a lead, thanks to witness statements and security footage of the area. All the intricate details are covered in the documentary, with body-cam footage and exclusive interviews with the officials involved in the case.
Bradly Jordan Was Working When He Was Ambushed and Killed in Gwinnett County
Bradly Joseph Jordan was born on September 15, 1997, in Riverdale, Georgia, to Marie and Jason Jordan. Growing up in Covington with his brother, Preston, and two sisters, Alisha and Heather, Bradly attended Alcovy High School. At a Vacation Bible School, the teenage Bradly met a 14-year-old girl named Hannah Jordan, with whom he shared a close bond over the years. After graduating from high school, he bagged a job as a technician at Lawrenceville Pest Control, where his father also worked. In his free time, he loved playing video games and going fishing with his friends.
Bradly and Hannah’s friendship turned romantic, leading them to have a baby boy, Oliver. A few months after his birth, in September 2020, the couple tied the knot and made their relationship official in the eyes of the law. Bradly was also a religious man who constantly talked about his faith and God. It was a regular day on the morning of January 28, 2021, when he was working at Sugar Mill Apartments on Walther Boulevard. Around 10:13 am, the Gwinnett County Police Department received multiple 911 calls from the apartment complex at 855 Walther Boulevard, reporting a shooting incident.
When the officers arrived at the crime scene, they found 23-year-old Bradly dead at the bottom of a stairwell in front of a property. Upon inspecting the site, they found a 9mm shell casing next to the remains. The cause of Bradly’s death was determined to be a single gunshot wound to the head. Judging from the gunshot wound, the detectives deduced that the shooter approached him from behind and shot him to death at close range. As a result, the police put the nearby Georgia Gwinnett College campus on lockdown while they searched the area for potential suspects.
Bradly Jordan Died in Jail Before He Could Be Tried
The detectives interviewed the neighbors and witnesses, some of whom claimed to have seen a suspect fleeing the scene of the crime after the shooting. Meanwhile, a K9 unit conducted a thorough search of the area, and the dogs led the police to a footprint in the mud. After the search in the area was completed, the lockdown was lifted. One of the witnesses also told the investigators about an individual getting into a green Ford Aerostar after the shooting. Upon reviewing the surveillance footage of the area, they spotted the green van. The suspect vehicle was also reportedly spotted about two miles away from the crime scene about 45 minutes prior to the shooting.
The detectives then identified a man named Roceam Wilson as the van’s owner. A few hours later, the suspect was spotted driving the van 10 miles away from the crime scene and brought in for questioning. While two detectives interviewed him at the station, several others were searching his van for potential evidence. During the interrogation, he kept asking the officers the reason behind his arrest. In his van, they found a pair of muddy shoes, wet khaki pants, and a 9mm gun, making him all the more suspicious. Despite being pressed by the authorities with the evidence found against him, Roceam denied his involvement in the murder. He claimed that he lived out of his van and had gone to the gym at the time of the shooting.
However, when the footprints found near the crime scene matched his muddy shoes, and the shell casing found at the scene matched the casing from his gun, the police arrested him and charged him with aggravated assault, felony murder, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Although the motive remained unclear, the detectives theorized that Bradly was working on the site when Roceam allegedly ambushed him outside one of the apartments and shot him to death. However, while awaiting trial for the homicide, 29-year-old Roceam Wilson was found dead in his jail cell at around 7:45 am on December 16, 2023. It is imperative to note that Roceam passed away before his trial could commence, the charges against him were never adjudicated in court, and he remains legally innocent of the crimes.
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