ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä teen takes the stand against friend; both involved in smoke shop homicide

Bre’Juan Williams-Hampton, 15, already pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for shooting Martin.

Both boys, who were 14 at the time of the crime, had their cases transferred to adult court.

Teen on the stand

On Thursday, Williams-Hampton took the stand to testify against Williams as one of the state’s 10 witnesses on the first day of testimony.

Wearing an orange shirt, Williams-Hampton told Madison Tuck, Kanawha County assistant prosecuting attorney, that it was not his desire to testify.

Williams-Hampton told Tuck, mostly through “yes ma’am� and “no ma’am� answers, that the boys planned to rob the store and hold the clerk at gunpoint, but that they had not planned to kill the clerk.

“He didn’t know I was going to kill the dude, but he knew I was going to hold him at gunpoint,� Williams-Hampton said.

Herb Hively, one of Williams’s attorney, told the jury during opening statements that the boys had gotten high on marijuana and planned to go to the smoke shop to get more smoking supplies. Williams was a suspended student at West Side Middle School at the time, Hively said.

Evidence showed they had been at the store the previous day, with Tuck claiming they were casing the store for the robbery.

Surveillance footage

Surveillance footage showed Williams-Hampton entering the store and talking with Martin while Williams stood just outside the front door.

Martin appears at ease throughout most of the video while talking with Williams-Hampton. Friends and family have remembered Martin as helpful, with even Williams-Hampton admitting Martin was kind to him that night.

Williams-Hampton said he later learned Martin was his cousin.

The footage shows Williams-Hampton pulling out a gun, identified through testimony as a Naroh Arms N1 pistol.

Martin puts his hands up and begins emptying the cash register and giving the money to Williams-Hampton. He also fills Williams-Hampton’s backpack with vape boxes.

After the backpack is filled, Williams-Hampton steps back and fires at Martin, who immediately falls to the ground.

Dr. Paul Mellen, a forensic pathologist who works for the state medical examiner’s office, said a bullet entered Martin’s left hand, exited the hand and entered his neck, where it cut the spinal cord area with nerves that control heartbeat and breathing.

Aftermath

Williams, still near the front door, grabbed a few Spongebob-themed ice cream treats from a cooler next to the door, and the two boys ran to the detached garage of Williams’ house on Second Avenue.

According to Hively, Williams-Hampton told Williams to take care of the gun, which was found in a disconnected dryer in the garage.

Williams-Hampton fled to his home on Hunt Avenue, where he was arrested that night.

Williams was not arrested until Feb. 2, after he and his father spoke to the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Police Department a few times, according to pre-trial testimony.

Other charges

Williams-Hampton pleaded guilty to first-degree murder last September. As part of his plea agreement, all of his other juvenile charges were dropped, including two other armed robbery incidents for which police charged him and Williams.

According to police and testimony, the boys attempted to steal bicycles on Woodward Drive on Jan. 21, 2024. A woman was shot in the face during the incident.

Williams-Hampton testified that Williams did the shooting in that instance, but the jury will hear more testimony from law enforcement Friday regarding the shooting.

The boys are also connected to an attempted carjacking outside Mimi’s, 303 Patrick Street Plaza, on Jan. 24, 2025. Williams-Hampton said Williams tried to shoot a man during the incident, but the gun jammed.

Opening statements

The jury mostly heard from law enforcement with the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Police Department and from crime scene forensics experts with the West Virginia State Police.

In opening statements, Tuck and Hively gave the jury two different reasonings behind the crime. Tuck said the boys had an “ongoing plan to deprive people of their property and to commit violence for the sake of committing violence.�

Williams was the lookout for the robbery that had been pre-planned, Tuck said.

Hively said the only thing Williams stole was ice cream and that he didn’t use force to do it. He also said the boys did not plan the robbery together.

“When you get older, you realize who your friends are,� he said. “But at 14, a mean friend, a brutal friend is sometimes better than no friends.�

Juveniles charged with murder

Williams is charged with felony murder, which means that someone can be responsible for murder if the death occurs during a dangerous felony, such as robbery, which he is also charged with.

The penalty for felony murder is life in prison with the option for parole after 15 years, since Williams is a juvenile. 

These are the first juveniles charged with murder in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä since 2009, police have said. However, there have been more recent murder charges for juveniles in Kanawha County.

In April 2023, a 16-year-old pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter — a misdemeanor — and two counts of wanton endangerment.

In December 2022, a jury convicted an 18-year-old on three counts of first-degree murder and one county of second-degree murder for killing his family when he was 16. In June, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals overturned the conviction. The man now waits for a new trial.

Trial will continue Friday morning. The state has a few more witnesses. Williams has not yet decided if he will testify.