Lynchburg man faces gun charges in connection with 2022 shooting

LYNCHBURG, Va. — A Lynchburg man has been arrested and faces federal firearms charges in connection with a shooting two years ago, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Authorities said 27-year-old Brandon Cole Webber was taken into federal custody this week and charged with one count of being a convicted felon and possession of a firearm.

Court documents indicate that on May 5, 2022, law enforcement officers were alerted to a man, later identified as Webber, who reportedly fell from a moving vehicle shortly before firing a firearm at the same vehicle as it drove away. The information was reported to police by a citizen who also told them that Webber had walked toward the Family Dollar on Federal Street in downtown Lynchburg.

“Two other people who drove past the incident saw Webber fall from the vehicle,” authorities said. “Webber asked the witnesses for a ride and attempted to enter their vehicle when police arrived on scene. Officers searched the vehicle and located a loaded 9mm handgun, a white bag containing suspected methamphetamine and a wallet belonging to an unknown person in the back seat where Webber had been sitting.”

Additionally, court documents filed Friday show this is not the first crime Webber has reportedly been involved in.

In fact, on November 29, 2023, the Lynchburg Fire Department was dispatched to the Lynchburg Grand Hotel for a report of an overdose. When first responders arrived at the scene, first responders found Webber lying face down on the bathroom floor of Room 627. Firefighters found needles and a glass pipe in the room. When Lynchburg police arrived, Webber ran from the scene before being arrested outside the hotel. Later that same day, officers recovered a bag of suspected methamphetamine and a loaded Glock 38 handgun from the room. The following day, Webber was charged with violating various state firearms laws. But after he was treated for his overdose at a local hospital, law enforcement was unable to find Webber.

Authorities told 10 News that police believe Webber escaped Lynchburg with the help of a former officer with the City of Lynchburg’s Community Corrections and Pretrial Services Agency. According to officials, Webber and the officer, who was not identified, had been dating since August 2023 and the officer allegedly provided Webber with non-public sensitive information. Specifically, in December 2023, when the officer’s credentials were used to view a search warrant executed on November 29, 2023 at the Lynchburg Grand Hotel in connection with Webber’s overdose incident.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lynchburg Police Department are investigating the case.