MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A Berkeley County grand jury has indicted a 17-year-old Martinsburg boy on murder charges in the slaying of a man outside Berkeley Garden Apartments last April, according to court documents.
Brandon R. Hodges will stand trial in the April 7 shooting of Kevin Smith, 22, of Martinsburg. Smith died the next day from two gunshot wounds to the head.
Hodges also was indicted Wednesday on charges of wanton endangerment with a firearm and unlawfully carrying a weapon.
The wanton endangerment charge was filed after police learned a bystander was in the proximity of the gun when it was fired, Berkeley County Prosecutor Pamela Games-Neely said.
The bystander, Edwin Brown, was not injured, she said.
Hodges will be tried as an adult for Smith's death and could face a maximum of life in prison without parole if convicted on a first-degree murder charge, Games-Neely said.
