Teen charged in connection to deadly Berea U.S. Bank robbery pleads not guilty

Update: May 27 at 9 p.m.: LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – 18-year-old Brailen Weaver, the teen charged in the robbery of a U.S. Bank location in Berea that left two people dead, has plead not guilty.

During a hearing Wednesday, Weaver waived his right to formal arraignment; he is now set to appear for a jury trial on July 28 in Lexington.

Weaver has been charged on count of attempted bank robbery and two counts of causing death with a firearm in the course of a crime of violence. If found guilty, he could face the death penalty.

Original Story:

A federal grand jury in Lexington has indicted 18-year-old Brailen Weaver in connection to the robbery of the U.S. Bank location in Berea that left two people dead.

According to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Kentucky, the jury indicted Weaver on one count of attempted bank robbery and two counts of causing death with a firearm in the course of a crime of violence.

It also “returned special findings that can support the death penalty,” the release said.

Weaver allegedly entered the US Bank location just before 2 p.m. on April 30, shooting and killing 35-year-old Breanna Edwards and 42-year-old Brian Switzer. He then fled the scene and later led police on a multi-county chase that reached speeds of up to 130 miles an hour.

Weaver was later arrested in the early hours of May 1 in Fayette County.