Lynchburg Man Arrested on Federal Firearms Charge

LYNCHBURG, Va. – A Lynchburg, Virginia man, implicated in a series of incidents involving the illegal possession of a firearm, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with a federal gun crime.

Brandon Cole Webber, 27, was taken into federal custody this week and charged with one count of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, on May 5, 2022, law enforcement officers were flagged down by a citizen on Fifth Street in Lynchburg after the citizen reported seeing a man fall out of a moving vehicle then shoot a firearm in the direction of the same departing vehicle. The citizen told police the man who shot at the vehicle- ultimately identified as Webber- then ran toward the Family Dollar on Federal Street in downtown Lynchburg.

Two other individuals driving past the incident witnessed Webber fall out of the vehicle. Webber asked the witnesses for a ride and attempted to enter their vehicle as law enforcement arrived on scene. Police officers searched the vehicle and found a loaded 9 mm handgun, a white bag containing suspected methamphetamine, and a wallet belonging to an unidentified individual in the back seat where Webber had been sitting.  

In addition to the May 2022 incident, court documents filed today documents Webber’s involved in several other incidents.

On November 29, 2023, members of the Lynchburg Fire Department responded to an overdose at the Lynchburg Grand Hotel. First responders observed a man- later identified as Weber- lying face down on the bathroom floor of room 627. Firefighters observed needles and a glass pipe in the room. When Lynchburg Police arrived, Webber fled the scene, running from officers before being apprehended outside of the hotel. Later in the evening, officers searched room 627and recovered a bag containing suspected methamphetamine and a loaded Glock 38 handgun.

On November 30, 2023, Webber was charged with violating various state firearm statues. However, after receiving treatment for his overdose at a local hospital, law enforcement was unable to locate Webber.

Law enforcement believes Webber fled Lynchburg with the help of Subject-1, a former City of Lynchburg Community Corrections and Pretrial Services Agency Officer. Webber and Subject-1 began a romantic relationship in August 2023 and Subject-1 had been allegedly providing Webber with non-public sensitive information. For example, on five separate occasions in December 2023, Subject-1’s credentials were used to view a search warrant executed at the Lynchburg Grand Hotel on November 29, 2023 in relation to Webber’s overdose incident.

United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia and Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division made the announcement.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney Vito Iaia is prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.