Braylyn Thompson and Jaden Auclaire

Introduction

Braylyn Oneil Thompson and Jaden Blaze Auclaire are two 18-year-old South Carolina men charged with murder in the June 2025 shooting death of 16-year-old Trey Dean Wright near Johnsonville — a killing prosecutors and the victim’s family say was set up by Wright’s girlfriend amid a feud over another girl. On October 28, 2026, both were taken back into custody and booked into the Florence County jail after prosecutors asked a judge to revoke their $20,000 bonds, saying each had been arrested on new charges while away from the homes they were ordered to stay in pending trial. Circuit Judge H. Steven DeBerry, IV heard the arguments but did not rule, remanding both men while he considers the motion.

Background Information

Wright was shot to death on June 24, 2025, on North First Neck Road in the Johnsonville community, where deputies found him lying in the roadway with multiple gunshot wounds. Prosecutors say the killing grew out of a feud between Wright and 19-year-old Devan Raper over a girl the two had fought about on social media and by text; on the day of the shooting, nine teenagers allegedly piled into two cars in Horry County and drove to Johnsonville, where Wright was with family members, and Raper fired the two shots that killed him when Wright approached the car. Wright’s girlfriend, Gianna Kistenmacher — the “queen bee” cheerleader his family accuses of luring him to his death — was initially charged as an accessory before the fact and later upgraded to murder. Nine young people in total were charged with murder, two of them as juveniles whose names were never released; eight of the nine are charged under South Carolina’s “hand of one is the hand of all” doctrine, which can hold everyone present criminally responsible for one person’s act. Raper, the accused triggerman, has been held without bond throughout, while Thompson and Auclaire were released on $20,000 surety bonds on condition they obey the law and remain under house arrest except for school, medical and legal appointments.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Charged, not convicted. Thompson and Auclaire face murder charges that have not been tried, and the new arrests that landed them back in jail are themselves allegations. Both men deny any direct role in Wright’s death, and their attorneys told the court that neither fired a shot and that mere presence in the cars cannot sustain a murder charge.

Deputy Solicitor Todd Tucker moved to revoke both bonds after each was arrested on new charges while on release: Thompson was charged in Horry County on September 8, 2026, with malicious injury to animals or personal property and first-offense driving under suspension, and had also faced a failure-to-appear charge — Court TV reported he allegedly smashed his girlfriend’s windshield with his fist when she tried to end the relationship — while Auclaire was charged with first-offense driving under the influence on September 26.

At the October 28 hearing, Tucker said both had been ordered to stay home and “were elsewhere when they should have been home at the time of their arrest,” calling it “a total disregard for the authority of the court” and saying the two should be “thanking God” for house arrest rather than sitting in the county detention center. “Mr. Wright can’t be out on bond; he’s dead,” Tucker told the court. Thompson’s attorney, William F. Edgeworth, answered that “this case is the greatest abuse of prosecutorial discretion I’ve seen since I’ve been practicing — we have nine people charged with murder. Only one of which had a firearm. That person is detained,” and argued the hearing was politically timed “on the precipice of an election.” Tucker shot back that the claim had no basis in fact and that he was arguing the motion as a deputy solicitor and officer of the court — “I’m not running for anything.” Auclaire’s attorney, Elizabeth Neyle, told the judge: “This is just baffling… there’s no evidence other than Mr. Auclaire’s mere presence that implicates him in this crime.” Edgeworth added that Thompson is living in North Carolina, wants to train as an underwater welder, and has been blocked from enrolling in technical college by the pending felony.

Public Reaction and Consequences

Both men were taken into custody and booked into the Florence County jail pending DeBerry’s decision. Wright’s aunt, Angela Altman, urged the judge to revoke both bonds, telling the court the defendants appear to be “feeling untouchable because there are no consequences for their actions. We, the family of Trey Wright, are requesting the denial.” The solicitor’s office noted the new charges were not “violent” offenses that automatically revoke bond under state law, but said that would not stop the state from moving — and offered electronic monitoring as its fallback if the judge declines. Kistenmacher, for her part, had appeared in court the previous Monday asking for her own bond restrictions loosened so she could live in college housing.

Current Status

Thompson and Auclaire remain in the Florence County jail as DeBerry considers the revocation motion, with a decision expected by the end of the week. Both still face pending murder charges that have not gone to trial, and neither has been convicted of anything arising from Wright’s death; the dispute over whether their presence in the cars can support murder liability under the state’s group-liability doctrine remains unresolved, and the defense has signaled it will fight both the revocation and the underlying charges. In a parallel development the day before the hearing, a judge refused to dismiss the murder charge against co-defendant Sydney Kearns, finding probable cause to send her case to a grand jury.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The case has become a test of South Carolina’s “hand of one is the hand of all” doctrine: nine young people charged with one murder only one of them is accused of firing, with a defense now arguing openly that the prosecutions are excessive and politically motivated. For Thompson and Auclaire, the September arrests converted more than a year of waiting at home into jail time before any trial, derailed Thompson’s school plans, and put both back behind bars days before an election their attorney says shaped the hearing calendar. Whatever DeBerry rules, both men face trial on murder charges that could keep them in prison for decades if the state’s theory holds — the outcome the Wright family has demanded since the shooting, and one that now turns on whether a judge decides their new arrests forfeited the bond that kept them free.

Sources

New York Post, “South Carolina teens detained for violating house arrests as they face murder charges in Trey Wright killing”, Oct. 29, 2026. source
Court TV, “‘This is just baffling’: Judge sends 2 teens to jail for violating bond on murder charge”, Oct. 28, 2026. source
WPDE (ABC 15), “Two suspects in Johnsonville teen’s murder taken into custody”, Oct. 28, 2026. source
WPDE (ABC 15), “TIMELINE: 9 teens arrested in SC shooting”, 2025, updated. source
WPDE (ABC 15), “Judge refuses to dismiss murder charge against woman in Johnsonville teen killing”, Oct. 2026. source
WBTW News13, “2 charged in Trey Wright killing appear in court as prosecutors asks judge to revoke their bond”, Oct. 28, 2026. source