TRUSSVILLE — The capital murder trial of a man accused of shooting another man in the parking lot of the Trussville Cracker Barrel has been reset for Monday, April 19, 2021, more than two years after the incident.
Bryan Hancock, 23, is charged with capital murder in the March 28, 2019, death of Randy Dewayne Young. The trial was originally set for May 4, 2020, but prosecutors asked for it to continue because a key witness would have been out of town that week. The trial was reset for August but then had to be pushed back two more times due to the coronavirus pandemic. This is the fourth time the trial has been reset.
Young was shot in the head in the parking lot of the restaurant after a dispute over parking, according to both parties. Young died after being on life support for two days.
Hancock’s attorneys claim the shooting was in self-defense. Attorney Richard S. Jaffe, with Jaffe, Hanle, Whisonant & Knight, P.C., said his client had no intention of harming anyone.
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“As is often the case, once a full and fair hearing occurs, another side emerges as it did in this case,” Jaffe said. “As I said even before the release of the video, Bryan acted in self-defense. While sitting in the passenger seat of his friend’s truck, the deceased began to strike him in the face, and this is supported by eye witness testimony.”
There is a surveillance video from the restaurant showing the moment the shooting happened. Although the video shows the victim and the suspect, the video is of poor quality.
Hancock was indicted by a grand jury on Oct. 11, 2019. According to court documents, the grand jury charged that Hancock intentionally caused the death of Young by shooting him with a pistol from a vehicle.
Hancock is currently awaiting trial in the Jefferson County Jail.
Hancock is considered innocent until proven guilty.
In a statement to The Trussville Tribune after the shooting, the director of Corporate Communications at Cracker Barrel said:
“Like the rest of the community, we are deeply saddened by the tragic events of that day and the loss of one of our guests. We will continue to do everything we can to help the community and our employees recover. – Janella Escobar”
