Woodbridge man pleads guilty to 1st degree murder in July 2021 fatal shooting of Dale City teen

Adrian Kendall Bryant, 21, of Woodbridge, pleaded guilty Monday morning to first degree murder in connection with the July 2021 shooting death of a 17-year-old Dale City boy. Bryant now faces the possibility of life in prison.

Bryant pleaded guilty to the charge without a plea agreement or sentence recommendation. He remains in custody at the Prince William-Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center awaiting a June 15 sentencing date, according to a press release from Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth’s office. 

The fatal shooting occurred on July 12, 2021, around 11 a.m. and stemmed from a drug transaction, according to earlier police reports.

The police investigation revealed that the fatal shooting occurred when the teen, who has not been publicly identified, met Bryant and three other males in the 4700 block of Still Place in Dale City for a marijuana transaction, according to 1st Sgt. Jonathan Perok, a Prince William County Police Department spokesman.

During the transaction, Bryant and the others allegedly intended to rob the victim when an altercation ensued, and the victim was fatally shot, Perok said in a news release at the time.

Police responded to the shooting and found the 17-year-old victim lying on the ground, suffering from gunshot wounds, the police press release said. 

Local homeowners’ security cameras recorded video of the shooting, Ashworth’s office said in a press release. The video showed that after a brief interaction between Bryant and the victim, Bryant brandished a handgun and fired three shots toward him, hitting him twice, the release said.

Prosecutors said Bryant left the scene in the vehicle that brought the teen victim to Still Place. The teen was pronounced dead at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center, the prosecutor’s release said.

Following the investigation, in addition to Bryant, police arrested Daezon Anthony Harris, 20, of New Haven, Connecticut; Misae Tyjuan Walker, 22, of Capital Heights, Maryland; and, a teen suspect.

Harris entered a no contest plea on Oct. 17, 2022, to a felony charge of accessory after the fact of a homicide offense and is awaiting sentencing on Feb. 2, according to court records. He could face a prison term of one to five years.

The charges against Walker in connection with this crime were dismissed in October 2021, prosecutors said in an email. The legal status of the juvenile involved is not publicly available, prosecutors said.

“There is no greater tragedy than the loss of a child to gun violence,” Ashworth said in a statement. “The commonwealth’s attorney’s office vigorously prosecutes violent crime and offers its sincerest condolences to the victim’s family.”

Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Kristina Robinson prosecuted Bryant, the release said.

In a statement, the office of the commonwealth’s attorney commended the Prince William County Police Department for their investigation of the case, and Sara Vutiprichar, deputy director of the commonwealth’s attorney’s victim/witness program, for providing assistance to the victim’s family.