Federal Gun Case Follows Alleged Centreville Brandishing Incident

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Federal authorities arrested a Centreville man Wednesday on a firearm charge stemming from an alleged brandishing incident at a Fairfax County business, according to federal court records filed Thursday.

Brandon James Garnett was arrested Aug. 19 in Fairfax, according to the return on a federal arrest warrant. The warrant, issued Aug. 14 and filed with its completed return Aug. 20, charges Garnett with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The federal arrest came the same day Fairfax County prosecutors dropped five related state cases against Garnett, Virginia court records show. Those cases included two counts of firearm possession by a nonviolent felon, one count of possessing a weapon or ammunition as a felon, one count of brandishing a firearm and one count of failing to appear.

Centreville Incident Led To Investigation

The federal complaint began with a Feb. 25 report of a person brandishing a weapon at a business in the 14000 block of Lee Highway in Centreville, according to an affidavit filed by a Fairfax County police officer assigned as a task force officer with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Investigators said Garnett initially brought a black handgun into the business. Employees told him to secure it in his vehicle, and he complied, the affidavit says.

Garnett later became involved in a verbal confrontation with other patrons and challenged them to go outside, according to the affidavit. Investigators allege Garnett returned to his vehicle, retrieved the gun and waved it in the air where bystanders could see it.

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Garnett left before Fairfax County police officers arrived, but investigators found a wallet containing his Virginia identification card inside the business, according to the affidavit.

Fairfax County police obtained a warrant to search Garnett’s home March 26 and executed it the following day. Officers reported finding a Taurus PT1911 .45-caliber pistol in a clothing dresser in his bedroom, along with a loaded magazine and another box of ammunition.

The federal complaint alleges the firearm was manufactured outside Virginia and therefore traveled in interstate commerce.

Federal Filing Cites Spotsylvania And Fredericksburg Convictions

The federal affidavit says Garnett had six felony convictions before the February incident.

According to the affidavit, Garnett was convicted of felony hit-and-run in Spotsylvania County Circuit Court in 2003. He received a six-year sentence, with four years and six months suspended, the federal filing says.

The affidavit also says Garnett was convicted in Fredericksburg Circuit Court in 2010 of a third driving-under-the-influence offense within five to 10 years. The court sentenced him to five years, with four years and nine months suspended, according to the federal filing.

Federal authorities also cited two Fredericksburg probation-violation proceedings between 2014 and 2019, a 2013 felony DUI conviction in Alexandria and a 2024 felony eluding conviction in Stafford County.

The federal charge is contained in a criminal complaint, which is an allegation rather than a finding of guilt.