Kriti Mehrotra
When Walter Hogan was killed in the middle of the night on September 15, 2017, at Haney’s Super Trip Food Store in north Tulsa, Oklahoma, it was pure chaos. That’s because there were reportedly 30 people in and around the local convenience store at the time, resulting in officials having their hands full during the ensuing investigations. Thankfully, with the help of surveillance footage and witness statements, the perpetrators responsible for the 38-year-old’s death were eventually arrested, convicted, and sentenced. All such details of the matter have since also been carefully chronicled in A&E’s ‘The First 48: Young Guns.’
Walter Hogan Was Fatally Shot While Trying to Protect Someone Else
Although not much information about Walter Hogan’s background, early years, or personal experiences is publicly available, we do know he was born on March 9, 1979. According to records, he had such a great sense of humor that he was often referred to as the “family jokester,” especially since performing for others was one of his favorite pastimes. He was very community-driven as well as empathetic, too – so whenever he wasn’t spending quality time with his own children or girlfriend Shamika, he provided a helping hand to others. However, everything changed on September 15, 2017, as he sadly lost his life in the blink of an eye.
It was roughly 3:30 am when emergency services responded to a 911 call from the Haney’s Super Trip near East 36 Street North and North Peoria Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Their arrival at the scene was met with eerie silence as two individuals – a man and a woman – lay brutally injured, covered in blood outside the convenience store. The impressions on the floor, the nearby mess, and the few witnesses still lingering made it clear that the area had been rather lively despite the late hour just a short while prior.
Both victims were immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where the woman with a bullet wound to the leg that nicked her femoral artery was wheeled into emergency surgery. On the other hand, the man later identified as 38-year-old Walter Hogan was pronounced dead on arrival – the gunshot wounds he suffered were too deep and fatal. It was later confirmed he was just an innocent bystander when shots rang out that fateful night, but his protective instincts took over, and he jumped in front of his fellow victim. He saved the stranger woman’s life, but he lost his own.
Investigations Into Walter Hogan’s Murder Quickly Pointed Towards Gang Members
When authorities began looking into Walter’s fatal shooting, they heard from a witness that there were probably 30 individuals in and around the convenience store at the time. However, they added most of them had dispersed by the time first responders arrived because the situation was both chaotic as well as scary, prompting them to flee without a second thought. According to records, they then indicated a disagreement or fight had broken out outside between several of them, which led to the bullets flying in the middle of the night.
The witness further told detectives that they observed a trio – 2 men and 1 woman – to be responsible for the crime, who subsequently left together in an old white sedan. They further provided a description, identifying the woman as white before referring to one of the men as an average-height black male and the other as a very tall, lanky black male with an afro. A day later, a long-term resident of a motel out in the east contacted officials to report he had information about the possible suspects because they’d come to his place shortly after the incident. The motel witness claimed the trio had come over looking to lay low for a while and were essentially bragging about how they had opened fire outside the Haney’s Store.
Their seeming lack of regret, he told investigators, is what made him come forward, following which he revealed he knew just one of them and pinpointed him by the moniker “HK MobbnBlood.” He turned out to be Five Deuce Blood gang member Bryin Willis Jr., a 19-year-old whose Facebook page further helped detectives zero in on the other two individuals. They were fellow gang members 19-year-old Breaunna “HK Bloodette” Bell and 17-year-old Robert “Lul Robbie” Cowan, whose identities were positively confirmed with the help of the motel witness. As if that’s not enough, this witness also claimed they drove away in an old white sedan, but not before they allegedly failed to carjack a different vehicle in the parking lot.
Significant Evidence Against the Killers Led to Their Arrests
The vehicle owner in the alleged failed carjacking not only corroborated the witness’ claims, but he also reported the two men pulled guns on him when he came out with his baby in tow. As per his statements, it was after 5 am when he stepped out of his motel room with his months-old baby in his arms, only to find 2 men and a woman surrounding his vehicle. He alleged to investigators that while he didn’t really say anything, the tall, lanky man immediately pointed a gun at him, whereas the other male lifted his shirt to show he also had a weapon on him. He couldn’t identify the suspected trio with 100% certainty from a photo lineup, yet he provided a description that was a perfect match for those given by the previous two witnesses.
With all this, detectives were able to request a warrant to get the private Facebook messages of Robert Cowan, Bryin Willis Jr., and Breaunna Bell. The fact that the old white car had turned up at the home a young woman named Reunique Reed shared with her mother didn’t help the suspects’ case either. That’s because she ultimately tried to sell the car despite knowing it had been used in a murder, something she herself reportedly told people. Moreover, surveillance footage helped establish that the vehicle was the same one seen leaving the crime scene as well as the motel that fateful night. It even came to light that it had been stolen previously and had passed through several hands before ending up with the trio, then with Reunique.
Robert Cowan and Bryin Willis Jr. Are Currently Incarcerated in an Oklahoma Prison, Whereas Breaunna Bell is Under Supervision
Therefore, when the Facebook messages also yielded incriminating evidence, like the trio basically indicating they were involved in Walter’s murder, an arrest warrant against them was issued. Reunique was the first to be arrested on lesser counts in connection with the victim’s case, following which Bryin Willis Jr. and Breaunna Bell were arrested in November 2017 on one count of first-degree murder. It was months later, in February 201 8, that Robert was arrested from his father’s home in St. Francis, Arkansas – he was also charged with first-degree murder and then extradited to Oklahoma. While Breaunna didn’t really speak to detectives, both Bryin and Robert tried to downplay their hand in the matter despite admitting they had both opened fire.
In the end, it was determined that Breaunna had gotten into a fight with some people outside the Haney’s Super Trip Food Store on September 15, 2017. So, prosecutors believe, Bryin and Robert came to her aid before pulling the trigger on their weapons in a general direction and then fleeing the scene – she drove. Walter was thus simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. Reunique Reed eventually pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a stolen vehicle, for which she received 5 years in prison.
Breaunna “HK Bloodette” Bell later pleaded guilty to accessory to murder, whereas Bryin “HK MobbnBlood” Willis Jr. pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, so they were handed down 25 years and 30 years, respectively. As for Robert “Lul Robbie” Cowan, he decided to stand trial and was convicted as charged, so he was given a life term in prison. From what we can tell, Reunique has since been released from prison, while Breaunna has been granted early release and is currently on probation under state supervision. Coming to Bryin and Robert, they both currently appear to be incarcerated at the medium-security Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Oklahoma.
Read More: Christie Jackson’s Attempted Murder: Where Are Vinson and Linda Cowan Now?
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