Two men accused in the vicious beating of a Black man outside a bar in Shawnee, Oklahoma last week are now facing charges in the incident.
Suspects Brandon Killian, 28, and Devan Johnson, 24, are both charged with aggravated assault and battery in the June 22 attack that left victim Shawn Carolina fighting for his life, station KFOR reported.
(From left) Brandon Killian, 28, and Devan Johnson, 24, are facing battery and aggravated assault charges in the brutal beating of a Black man outside a bar in Oklahoma last weekend. (KFOR / video screenshot)
Killian was arraigned on the charges Monday, and a judge set his bond at $25,000. Meanwhile, Johnson bonded out of jail over the weekend.
During his arraignment, Killian reportedly asked why his bond was so high, drawing the ire of Carolina’s family, who attended the hearing. That’s when the judge threatened to raise it to $50,000.
“Yeah, like so chill, like it wasn’t a problem, like he didn’t do what he did and left with no word,” Carolina’s cousin, DeNeisha Moon, told KFOR. “It’s just ridiculous, [and] he thought $25,000 was enough? He thought that was a high amount; it’s not.”
The incident unfolded early Saturday morning as Carolina and a friend were leaving the Brickhouse Saloon in Shawnee. Witness video captured the moment Killian and Johnson, who are white, started whaling on the victims in the parking lot as they headed to Carolina’s car.
In the video, the men are seen pulling the victims’ arms behind their back and beating them senselessly. The pair eventually walk away and hop in their truck, one of them yelling, “You’re dead, n—-r,” before driving off.
The victim’s wife, Jamie Carolina, said she feared the attack had killed her husband.
“I honestly thought I was going to lose him,” she said last week. “I wasn’t sure it was the whole racial slurs thing until later that day at the hospital when the video surfaced.”
Authorities said Killian and Johnson were caught shortly after the attack when police pulled them over.
“They took off, and officers conducted a traffic stop on the white Ford,” Shawnee police Cpl. Vivian Lozano told News 4. “They were brought down for an interview, the detective came down and interviewed them, and they were arrested for aggravated assault and battery.”
Although they don’t have a motive, police said they haven’t ruled out the beating as a possible hate crime. Lozano said an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
“We’re going to investigate all avenues to determine what caused it and why,” she added.
Carolina remains hospitalized after suffering life-threatening injuries as the result of the assault. His condition has been kept private “out of respect for Shawn’s family” during this time, according to a GoFundMe page started to help the family raise money for medical expenses.
The family set an $8,000 goal and has raised nearly $3,000 as of Thursday.
“When we got back, I just ran and got his wife,” said Moon, who was with her cousin on the night of the attack. “That’s the first thing I thought about because he wasn’t moving.”
The condition of Carolina’s friend, who was also injured in the beating, also remains unknown.
KFOR reported that the victim’s wife, Jamie, didn’t attend Monday’s hearing because she wanted to be at the hospital with her husband. Investigators said they believe they’ll able to speak with Shawn about the incident in a day or so.
Watch more in the video below.
