FLORENCE, S.C. (Court TV) — Two teenagers accused of being part of a group that killed a 16-year-old boy are behind bars as a judge considers whether to revoke their bonds completely until trial.
Braylyn Thompson sits in court on Oct. 28, 2026 (Court TV)
Braylyn Thompson and Jaden Auclaire, both 18, are charged with murder in the death of Trey Wright. Wright was shot to death on June 24, 2025, after an ongoing dispute over a teen girl, prosecutors said.
Wright and the alleged gunman, Devan Raper, 19, had feuded over the girl on social media and by text. In court on Wednesday, solicitor Todd Tucker said that Wright didn’t like the girl hanging out with Raper, sparking the dispute. On the day of the shooting, nine teenagers allegedly piled into two cars and drove from Horry County to Johnsonville, S.C., where Wright was with several family members, Tucker said. When Wright approached the car with Raper inside, Tucker said Raper fired two shots, hitting the victim in the chest and killing him. Tucker said that Wright was unarmed, but Thompson’s defense attorney argued that video showed the victim with firearms “prior to his demise.”
Prosecutors filed a motion to revoke Thompson’s and Auclaire’s bonds after both allegedly violated the conditions of their bonds — and the law. Both teens, who were released on $20,000 surety bonds, were required to remain under house arrest unless they were attending school or medical or legal appointments.
Tucker said Auclaire’s bond should be revoked after he was arrested for driving under the influence. Thompson, meanwhile, was charged with malicious injury to animals, personal property and driving under suspension after allegedly smashing his girlfriend’s windshield with his fist when she tried to end their relationship.
“Your Honor, both of these individuals were ordered to house arrest. Both of these individuals were elsewhere when they should have been home at the time of their arrest,” Tucker said. “I think it displays a total disregard for the authority of the court with regards to openly violating the special conditions of release. And again, these are two young individuals, they should be home thanking God that they were allowed to go home rather than sitting at the county detention center, but they were out breaking the law and they were not under house arrest as they were ordered to be by the court.”
Jaden Auclaire appears in court on Oct. 28, 2026. (Court TV)
“I think it’s just an absolute, absolute travesty that we’re sitting here about sending my client to jail for many years before they get this case to be tried because he committed what all accounts to a dumb decision,” Thompson’s attorney, William Edgeworth III, said. Edgeworth said that charging the teens under a legal theory that the group conspired together made no sense. “This case is probably the greatest abuse of prosecutorial discretion I’ve seen since I’ve been practicing. We’ve got nine people charged with murder, only one of which had a firearm,” Edgeworth said. “I mean, in my opinion, a lot of this is kind of politically motivated.” Edgeworth further argued the hearing itself was political, pointing out that it was taking place “on the precipice of an election.”
“He’s going off-kilter because of the presence of two cameras, and I don’t think there any basis in fact for that statement. I resent it,” Tucker shot back. “Most of what he has said is beneath a response. It’s beneath contempt. But I will say this, Your Honor: I am arguing this motion today in my capacity as a deputy solicitor and an officer of the court and I’m not running for anything.”
Auclaire’s attorney, Elizabeth Neyle, echoed Edgeworth’s sentiments as she pleaded for her client’s freedom. “This is just baffling,” she said. “I know we’re here today because a young man isn’t, and I understand it’s completely tragic. I have gone through a good bit of the discovery … there’s no evidence other than Mr. Auclaire’s mere presence that implicates him in this crime.”
