Quadruple Amputee Athlete Charged In MD Murder Acted In Self-Defense, Lawyer Says

LA PLATA, MD — Dayton James Webber, a quadruple amputee and professional cornhole player, acted in self-defense when he shot and killed a 27-year-old passenger in his car during an argument last week, his attorney said Wednesday.

Webber, 27, appeared in Charles County District Court via videoconference for a bail review on Wednesday, where Judge Patrick Devine noted that he left Maryland after the March 22 shooting of Bradrick Michael Wells and ordered Webber to remain jailed without bail.

Webber was transferred to the Charles County jail from the Albemarle County Detention Center in Virginia on Tuesday, a week after he was arrested and charged with first- and second-degree murder in Wells' shooting.

Defense attorney Andrew Jezic told the court that Webber acted in self-defense and that he anticipates “a lengthy trial” to prove it.

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After the hearing, Jezic told reporters that his client was “terrified.”

“The truth here is that he would have been a murder victim if he had not acted immediately in defense of his life,” Jezic said.

According to authorities, Webber shot and killed Wells during an argument on March 22. A news release said Webber was driving a vehicle with people he knew when an argument occurred. Wells was a front-seat passenger in the car.

Once Wells was shot, police said Webber pulled over near Radio Station Road and Llano Drive in La Plata and asked the passengers to help pull the victim out of the car. The witnesses refused, exited the car and fled.

Webber then drove away with Wells still in the car, police said.

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About 10:25 p.m. that night, officers with the La Plata Police Department were flagged down by two people who were in the back seat of the car when Wells was shot, officials said.

Charles County patrol officers helped search locations where Webber may have fled. Nearly two hours later, a resident in the 10000 block of Newport Church Road in Charlotte Hall called 911 to report a body in a yard.

Officers found Wells at that site, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff's office said.

Detectives from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office obtained a warrant for Webber’s arrest and located his car in Charlottesville, Virginia. Webber was found at a nearby hospital seeking treatment for a medical issue.

NBC Washington reported that the Charles County Sheriff's Office confirmed Webber is a professional cornhole player who has tournaments. In 2023, he wrote an essay for the network's "TODAY" show about becoming a professional cornhole player.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.