Man found guilty of shooting at Marshalls

ASHEBORO  — A Randolph County jury on Sept. 14 found Branson Jacob Russell guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Alexander Benitez-Hernandez outside the Marshall’s store on East Dixie Drive last year, and a judge sentenced him the same day to a minimum of 23 years in prison.

After a trial that ran from Sept. 8 through Sept. 14, the jury returned its verdict the same day the trial ended. Jurors rejected the lesser option of voluntary manslaughter and found Russell, 44, guilty as charged of second-degree murder.

Superior Court Judge James P. Hill Jr. handed down a sentence of 23 to nearly 29 years in the custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Correction. Russell was given credit for just over one year already spent in the Randolph County Jail before sentencing and was ordered to pay $3,908 in court costs and fees. 

Russell gave notice of appeal to the North Carolina Court of Appeals after sentencing. Because he was found indigent, the Office of Indigent Defense Services will cover the cost of his trial transcript, and the Appellate Defender’s Office has been appointed to represent him on appeal. Judge Hill denied his release pending that appeal.

Jury rejects self-defense claim

Russell’s defense attorney, Richard G. Roose, gave notice in July that Russell intended to argue self-defense at trial, and Judge Hill instructed jurors on that defense along with the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter before deliberations began. 

Under the instructions, jurors could only convict Russell of second-degree murder if the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he either did not act in self-defense or was the aggressor in the fight and intended to kill or seriously hurt Benitez-Hernandez. The jury’s second-degree murder verdict means it found the state met that burden.

The state built its case in part on testimony from Dr. Lisa Rivera, a forensic pathologist, whose autopsy findings and photos of the entrance and exit wounds were entered into evidence — consistent with Asheboro Police Department’s account that Benitez-Hernandez was shot in the back as he ran toward his vehicle. 

Jurors also saw surveillance footage from Marshall’s, the neighboring W.T. Chevrolet dealership and a nearby Taco Bell, drone footage of the scene, and recorded interviews with Russell taken at the hospital and at APD headquarters. 

Other exhibits included the rifle and handguns recovered from the scene, shell casings and a photo of Russell’s truck showing blood inside it.

Background

Russell, of Denton, was arrested and indicted on second-degree murder charges in September 2025, about a week and a half after the Aug. 30, 2025, shooting that killed 23-year-old Benitez-Hernandez.

According to the Asheboro Police Department’s account of the case, both individuals, Benitez-Hernandez and Branson Russell, engaged in a verbal altercation inside the business of Marshalls. Russell waited outside for Benitez-Hernandez and another confrontation ensued. Both subjects presented handguns. Benitez-Hernandez fired his weapon, striking Russell in the lower leg.

Benitez-Hernandez then fled on foot toward his vehicle. Russell entered his own vehicle and retrieved a .30-30 rifle as he drove toward Benitez-Hernandez’s vehicle. Upon approaching Benitez-Hernandez, Russell fired one shot from the rifle, striking him in the back.

Officers who responded to reports of shots fired around 7:06 p.m. found Benitez-Hernandez suffering from a gunshot wound; he was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Russell was located a short time later during a traffic stop on a speeding vehicle on East Salisbury Street and was treated for his gunshot wound before being taken into custody the day following the grand jury indictment on Sept. 8, 2025.