Leland man guilty of drive-by shooting in Wilmington
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A Brunswick County man pled guilty to charges related to a drive-by shooting in Wilmington.
On November 5, 2025, Brandon Devon Smith, 22, pled guilty to three counts of Discharging a Weapon into an Occupied Dwelling, seven counts of Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Judge R. Kent Harrell sentenced Smith to at least 8 years in prison.
On December 8, 2024, officers with the Wilmington Police Department responded to an eight-round Shot Spotter alert in the area of the 3600 block of Metting Road. Responding officers were able to locate seven 9mm shell casings in the road along with a laser pointer designed to be mounted on a firearm. Officers also located two individuals who told law enforcement they were inside their residence when shots were fired, and multiple bullets hit their home, some of which came through the front windows and traveled all the way to the back of the home. Also present inside the home at the time of the shooting were five children, ranging in age from one year old to ten years old.
Law enforcement obtained surveillance video from the shooting which showed a black Mercedes driving down Metting Road. The shooter stood up through the sunroof of the car and shot multiple times before the car fled at a high rate of speed. Based on the video, officers determined the shooter was wearing a red shirt or jacket with a ski mask and toboggan.
Through their investigation, officers were able to identify Brandon Smith as the shooter and swore out warrants for his arrest. On December 17, 2024, deputies with the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office arrested Smith in Leland at his residence. During a search of Smith’s residence, officers located a ballistic vest, a red sweatshirt, and a 9mm cartridge casing that was the same caliber and make as the casings recovered from Metting Road on December 8, 2024.
At the time of the offense, Smith was a convicted felon and was on probation for a 2023 conviction for Discharging a Weapon into Occupied Property out of Brunswick County. Additionally, Smith has other prior convictions for Possession of a Handgun by a Minor and Assault by Pointing a Gun.
District Attorney Jason W. Smith said, “Our community will not tolerate gunmen who turn streets into shooting galleries. Thanks to the hard work of the Wilmington Police Department detectives and the Wilmington Police Department Gun Crimes Unit, the defendant will be behind bars for at least eight years and our neighborhoods are safer because of it.”
