Two South Carolina teens facing murder charges in last year’s killing of 16-year-old Trey Dean Wright were sent back to jail Wednesday after prosecutors said they committed new crimes while confined to house arrest, according to WPDE.
Braylyn Thompson and Jaden Auclaire, both 18, had been released on $20,000 surety bonds that required them to stay home except for school, medical or legal appointments. Florence County Deputy Solicitor Todd Tucker told a court Wednesday that both teens broke those conditions.
Tucker said Auclaire was charged with driving under the influence on Sept. 26. Thompson was arrested in Horry County on Sept. 8 and charged with malicious injury to animals or personal property valued under $20,000. Tucker filed a motion seeking to revoke both bonds.
“These charges are murder that both of these individuals are facing. We’re asking that bond be respectfully revoked for both of these individuals. And they remain in custody until this matter is brought to trial,” Tucker said in court.
Tucker described the alleged violations as a “total disregard for the authority of the court,” telling the court the teens should be “thanking God” they’d been granted house arrest rather than kept in jail from the start.
South Carolina Circuit Judge H. Steven DeBerry, IV heard arguments on the motion but did not issue a ruling. Both Auclaire and Thompson were remanded into custody and booked into Florence County jail while he weighs the decision.
The killing in Johnsonville
Wright was shot and killed on June 24, 2025, in Johnsonville, South Carolina, after an online dispute over a girl between him and then-19-year-old Devan Raper, according to Court TV. Wright had told Raper he didn’t want him around her.
That night, nine teenagers — including Raper, Auclaire and Thompson — allegedly drove together to Johnsonville, where Wright was with family members. When Wright approached the car, Raper allegedly fired the two shots that killed him. All nine teens in the vehicle were charged with murder.
Wright’s family has accused his girlfriend, Gianna Kistenmacher, of setting up the killing, describing her as a “queen bee” who lured him to the scene. Kistenmacher has been charged as an accessory to murder.
Defense pushes back
Thompson’s attorney, William F. Edgeworth, argued in court that Tucker’s motion was politically timed ahead of Election Day.
“This case is the greatest abuse of prosecutorial discretion I’ve seen since I’ve been practicing; we have nine people charged with murder. Only one of which had a firearm. That person is detained,” Edgeworth said. “I mean, in my opinion, a lot of this is kind of politically motivated.”
Edgeworth and Auclaire’s attorney, Elizabeth Neyle, both contended that neither of their clients fired the gun and that mere presence at the scene should not support a murder conspiracy charge.
“This is just baffling,” Neyle said. “I know we’re here today because a young man isn’t, and I understand it’s completely tragic. I have gone through a good bit of the discovery … there’s no evidence other than Mr. Auclaire’s mere presence that implicates him in this crime.”
Separately, Kistenmacher appeared in court Monday asking a judge to loosen her own bond restrictions so she can move into college housing, according to WPDE. Her attorney requested the removal of her GPS monitoring, curfew and social media ban.
