Brandon Rainer Mackey today was ordered to remain in jail pending a June 20 preliminary hearing on charges of murder and armed robbery in the slaying of 21-year-old Isle of Hope firefighter Wesley Franklin.
Chatham County Recorder's Court Judge Harris Odell Jr. told Brandon that bail can only be set on a murder charge by a superior court judge.
Odell also told Brandon, who was arraigned on a video camera at the Chatham County Jail, that he is charged with multiple counts of forgery and computer theft in a separate case which also will be June 20.
Brandon was returned to savannah from Texas where he was arrested last week on a murder charge.
The suspect was captured May 16 in Watauga, Texas, after information provided to CrimeStoppers and relentless police work led investigators to him, said Julian Miller, Savannah-Chatham police spokesman.
Fort Worth police and Savannah-Chatham detectives found Mackey and charged him with Franklin’s murder and armed robbery in the 2 a.m. incident June 25 outside Deb’s Pub & Grub, when a bullet fired outside the establishment fatally struck Franklin, who was inside.
For nearly a year, investigators researched dozens of tips and eliminated dozens of suspects while gathering accurate information in the case, Miller said. An anonymous tipster eventually led detectives to Mackey.
It was unclear Saturday evening if Mackey had an attorney or when he would appear in court.