Two men accused of robbing and shooting two men at Wise Buck Pawn Shop on November 12, 2018 will spend the rest of their lives in federal prison without the possibility of parole.
Daryl Strickland, Jr. and his accomplice Rodney Henry, were both charged with capital murder, attempted capital murder, two counts of aggravated robbery and theft of property. The case made its way to federal courts due to Brandon McHan being a firearms dealer that was shot in his pawn shop. McHan was later pronounced deceased at a local hospital.
Both men were sentenced by US District Judge James M. Moody Jr. during a court on Tuesday after they both plead guilty to the charges in 2022.
McHan was the owner of the Wise Buck Pawn Shop at 2408 S. Camden Road, was shot and taken to Jefferson Regional Medical Center on November 12, 2018 where he was later pronounced deceased. An employee of the store, Jason W. Booth, was also shot and taken to Jefferson Regional Medical Center, then to a Little Rock hospital.
Police obtained video of both robberies and determined that the same suspects were involved in both incidents. With the help of the Federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency, those videos were enhanced and released to the media and social media. The federal agency joined in the investigation because McHan was a federally licensed firearms dealer.
On December 3, 2018, the crime lab sent a preliminary report that the shell casing matched one found at the pawn shop, and officers and ATF agents traveled to Camden, where Strickland and Henry were arrested at two separate locations. Following a probable cause hearing December 5th, 2018, Jefferson County District Judge Kim Bridgforth ruled prosecutors had probable cause to charge both men and that they would be held without bond.
Strickland and Henry were charged by federal prosecutors in October, 2019. State level charges are typically dropped once federal charges are filed against suspect.
A press release from the Department of Justice said Strickland and Henry were charged with federal crimes because they conspired on November 12, 2018, to rob the Wise Buck Pawn Shop, which was a federally licensed firearms dealer. The indictment charged them with the attempted robbery of the pawn shop and with causing the death of McHan, a pawn shop employee, while carrying a firearm during the attempted robbery.
The indictment also charged them with conspiring to rob the Alon Gas Station, robbing the gas station, and using a firearm during the robbery.
