In the aftermath of a chaotic April 2024 street shooting that claimed the life of 24-year-old Briana Cason in Charleston, the justice system finds itself navigating the difficult terrain between accountability and uncertainty. Nearly a year later, the last man held without bail — Kenneth Da'Quan Gilliard, 23 — has been granted a $400,000 bond, even as prosecutors and defense alike acknowledge that the most fundamental question of the case remains unanswered: whose bullet ended Briana Cason's life. It is a moment that reminds us how the machinery of law must sometimes move forward before the fu
Murder suspect in fatal Charleston shooting granted bond after nearly a year
24-year-old Briana Cason was fatally shot during a street altercation on April 27, 2024.
Neither side could confirm the murder weapon was ever recovered
Mark
So a woman is killed in a street shooting, and nearly a year later, one of four men charged is finally getting out on bail. That seems like a long time to hold someone without bail.
Mimi
It does. Gilliard was the only one of the four held without bail on all charges. The others got bail earlier. Judge Rode consolidated his bonds and set it at $400,000 with GPS monitoring and house arrest.
Luke
But here's the thing—and this is important—both the prosecution and the defense agreed during the hearing that they don't actually know which gun fired the fatal shot. Four different piles of shell casings. Multiple weapons seized. The sequence of who fired when is still unclear.
Mark
So they charged him with murder without knowing if his gun was the one that killed her?
Mimi
That's the gap. Asbury fired first into the air after being shoved. Then three more volleys happened. But who fired when, and which shot killed Cason—that's still unknown.
Luke
And the murder weapon itself may not even have been recovered. That's what both sides told the judge. That's a serious investigative problem for a murder prosecution.
Mark
What does Gilliard's attorney say about all this?
Mimi
Luke Gentlesk, his defense attorney, pointed out during the hearing that the sequence of fire is unknown. He's essentially saying the evidence is too muddled to pin this on his client specifically.
Luke
The family wants justice, which makes sense. But justice requires clarity about what actually happened. Right now, the case has a lot of unanswered questions.
Mark
Do we know anything about what started the original fight between Cason and the other woman?
Mimi
No. The source material doesn't say. We know Cason was in a fight with another woman that evening, and that's when Asbury approached to break it up. But what the fight was about—that's not in the record.
Luke
And that matters, because context shapes how we understand the escalation. But the reporting we have is limited to what came out in court.
Il Polso
- A year after Briana Cason was killed in a volley of street gunfire, her family still waits for justice while the case remains riddled with unanswered questions.
- Four men, four separate piles of shell casings, and multiple seized weapons — yet investigators still cannot confirm which gun fired the fatal shot.
- Kenneth Gilliard was the sole defendant held without bail on all charges, a distinction that collapsed on March 26 when a judge consolidated his bonds and set bail at $400,000 with GPS monitoring and house arrest.
- Both the prosecution and defense openly admitted during the bond hearing that the sequence of gunfire and the identity of the fatal shooter remain unclear.
- All four defendants were still behind bars as of March 26, unable to meet their bail amounts, as the case moves forward with its most critical evidence still missing.
In the aftermath of a chaotic April 2024 street shooting that claimed the life of 24-year-old Briana Cason in Charleston, the justice system finds itself navigating the difficult terrain between accountability and uncertainty. Nearly a year later, the last man held without bail — Kenneth Da'Quan Gilliard, 23 — has been granted a $400,000 bond, even as prosecutors and defense alike acknowledge that the most fundamental question of the case remains unanswered: whose bullet ended Briana Cason's life. It is a moment that reminds us how the machinery of law must sometimes move forward before the full truth has come into the light.
Nearly a year after Briana Cason was shot and killed on Charleston's East Side, the last of four men charged in connection with her death has been granted bail. On March 26, Circuit Judge Thomas Rode consolidated Kenneth Da'Quan Gilliard's charges and set his bond at $400,000, adding GPS monitoring and strict house arrest conditions. Until that ruling, Gilliard, 23, had been the only defendant held without bail on any charge.
The shooting unfolded on the evening of April 27, 2024, near Johnson Street, where police were already patrolling when gunfire broke out. Cason, 24, had been in a physical altercation with another woman when Tyris Sieffe Asbury, 39, allegedly intervened, was shoved to the ground, and fired a pistol into the air. Three more volleys followed in rapid succession. When the chaos subsided, Cason had been struck and killed.
Four men were eventually arrested — Asbury the day after the shooting, Gilliard and co-defendant Donte Daquan White on May 1, and Sencear Woodard more than a month later. All four face first-degree assault and battery charges; three also face weapons possession counts.
More than ten months into the investigation, the case is clouded by uncertainty. Four separate piles of shell casings were recovered, several weapons were seized, and yet neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys could confirm at Gilliard's bond hearing whether the weapon that fired the fatal shot has even been found. The order in which the other three men fired after Asbury's initial shot remains unknown.
At the hearing, members of Briana Cason's family spoke simply and plainly — they want justice. As the case moves forward, that justice must be built on an evidentiary foundation that remains, for now, incomplete.
Nearly a year after Briana Cason was shot to death on a Charleston street, the man charged with her murder has finally been granted bail. On March 26, Circuit Judge Thomas Rode consolidated the charges against Kenneth Da'Quan Gilliard, 23, and set his bond at $400,000, along with GPS monitoring and strict house arrest. Until that day, Gilliard had been the only one of four men arrested in connection with the shooting held without bail on any charge.
The shooting happened on the evening of April 27, 2024, on Charleston's East Side, near Johnson Street. Police were already patrolling the area when gunfire erupted. Officers found Cason, 24, suffering from a gunshot wound. She had been in a physical altercation with another woman when a man—later identified as Tyris Sieffe Asbury, 39—approached to break up the fight. After being shoved to the ground, Asbury allegedly pulled a pistol from his waistband and fired it into the air, according to Assistant Ninth Circuit Solicitor Daniel Cooper. What followed was chaos. Three more volleys of gunfire erupted in rapid succession, and the crowd scattered. Cason was struck and killed.
Four men were arrested in the aftermath. Asbury was taken into custody the day after the shooting. Gilliard and co-defendant Donte Daquan White, 21, were arrested on May 1. The fourth suspect, Sencear Tahmys Sautez Woodard, 22, was charged more than a month later on June 21. All four face three counts of first-degree assault and battery. Gilliard, White, and Woodard also face weapons possession charges. Of the four, only Gilliard was initially held without bail on all charges.
Yet more than ten months into the investigation, fundamental questions about what happened remain unanswered. During Gilliard's bond hearing on March 24, both prosecutors and the defense acknowledged that the circumstances of the case are murky. Neither side could confirm whether law enforcement has recovered the weapon that fired the fatal shot. Four separate piles of shell casings were found at the scene, and several weapons were seized during the investigation. Gilliard's defense attorney, Luke Gentlesk, noted that aside from Asbury's initial shot into the air, the sequence in which the other three men fired remains unknown.
The other three defendants—Asbury, White, and Woodard—had each been granted bail on their respective charges. Gilliard's release came only after the judge's decision to consolidate his bonds. As of late afternoon on March 26, all four men remained in custody at the Charleston County jail, unable to post their bail amounts.
During the hearing, two members of Briana Cason's family spoke. They said all they wanted was justice. The case now moves forward with significant investigative gaps still unfilled, and a murder charge against a man whose role in the fatal volley of gunfire has yet to be definitively established.
Citazioni salienti
The situation got out of control— Assistant Ninth Circuit Solicitor Daniel Cooper, describing events after Asbury was shoved to the ground
All Briana Cason's family wants is justice— Two family members during the March 24 bond hearing
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Crime & Justice