Rapper accused in Franklin child’s homicide arrested Tuesday

FRANKLIN, Va. (WAVY) – The 10-month search for the suspect in a 10-year-old boy’s homicide ended Tuesday. Franklin police confirmed they arrested Tashawnda Nicole Drayton in Boykins, a town in Southampton County, in connection with a shooting last August that took the life of 10-year-old La’Marj Deshawn Holden.

Drayton who goes by the rap name “23 BRAZY”, was picked up in Boykins about 17 miles from where La ’Marj  Holden was shot. He would later die at the hospital.

“It appears this morning the U.S. Marshals Service took Ms. Drayton into custody in the town of Boykins which is 17 miles away in Southampton County,” said Franklin Police Chief Steve Patterson.

Drayton was wanted on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding.

Chief Patterson credits the U.S. Marshal Service for the arrest. “We are very thankful to the commitment and dedication of the U.S. Marshals and their unwavering in trying to find Ms. Drayton. We are truly indebted to them for what they have done for us and the city of Franklin.”

The U.S. Marshals Service upped the reward for her capture to $20,000 in December. WAVY is working to confirm if anyone will receive that reward.

“What do I have to say to the people that were harboring her? I don’t know how I feel. I feel sorry for them. They should have turned her in,” said Holden’s grandfather Dannie Barnes.

Back in August WAVY spoke exclusively with Drayton’s mother, Stacy Smith.

“There is more than one side of a story. When the police do their investigation thoroughly, I believe my child is going to turn herself in and we will let justice prevail,” Smith said.

At the time of the shooting, Drayton was out of jail on bond for other crimes.

“They should never have let her out. They never should have let her out. For her to do the stuff she did to my grandson who was only a baby. He was nothing but a baby,” said Holden’s grandmother, Dorthy Fulgham.

The deadly August 9 shooting came as a shock to the Franklin community. Police responded to calls for a shooting in the 300 block of Artis Street around 3 p.m. They arrived to find two gunshot victims at different addresses. La’Marj Holden died at the hospital. The other victim, a 37-year-old man, was treated and later released for his injuries.

Investigators were looking for Drayton in the Hampton Roads area, but also in other regions along the East Coast, saying they believed family members and close associates were helping her hide out.

“If it was family that was harboring her, I can understand that. They don’t want to give her up.  Love makes you do that,” Holden’s great aunt Joann Mason said. “But you have seen enough TV shows, you have read about other people enough to know that it wasn’t going to last.  In the end, you always get caught. So why not just let her face the music?”

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