Staunton Murder
STAUNTON, Va. (WHSV) – Two men who were arrested in connection to a deadly shooting at a Staunton apartment back in July were in court Wednesday.
Ja’Quez Brown, 18, and Cameron Bahle, 20, were charged in connection to the killing of Bruce Williams. Williams, 26, was shot and killed outside of the Springhill Village Apartments on July 9, 2020.
Brown and Bahle were both in Staunton General District Court Wednesday for a preliminary hearing.
Many people were called on to testify about what happened that night.
Meanwhile, outside of the courthouse, community members held signs that read, “Justice for Bruce” showing their support, and sharing the impact he left on them. They’re hoping to see that Bruce gets justice.
“We know he’s in heaven. We can say that. We can say these positive things about him. He made a good impact on the world, pretty much is how we felt, so it’s definitely been hard, challenging but we’ve been trying to just keep going,” Lesha Arey, the mother of Bruce’s children said.
She added that nothing can make up for the fact that her children’s father is gone, but she would like to see justice for Bruce and their families.
“I definitely want to see justice,” Arey said. “I don’t want to be harsh because I know how it is to lose someone. It’s hard. But when you do something so harsh like that you have to pay for it. You have to do the time for it.”
Arey said it’s also important that people never forget how great of a guy and father Williams was.
Seeing the community support her family over the last several months has helped them keep moving.
“Through all of these traumatic times, I’ve been able to say, look, I know you miss your daddy. I miss your daddy, and the whole world misses your daddy too, so he’s able to hold on to that,” Arey said about her son. “I think that gives him more of a sense of peace instead of it just being like he was taken away from them.”
Wednesday’s hearing will determine whether the charges will be certified to a grand jury.