The quadruple amputee and professional cornhole player accused of murder in Charles County, Maryland, fatally shot his friend in self-defense, his attorneys argued Wednesday.
A judge denied the request for bond from Dayton Webber, 27, of La Plata, during his first appearance in Charles County District Court. Webber will remain in jail until his next court appearance for a preliminary hearing on May 6.
He’s charged with first- and second-degree murder in the March 22 shooting death of 27-year-old Bradrick Michael Wells. Webber was driving a white Tesla with Wells and two others when he fatally shot Wells, the front-seat passenger, during an argument.
After the shooting, authorities said, Webber asked the two other passengers to help remove Wells from the car, but they refused and left the scene. According to deputies, Webber then drove Wells’ body to Charlotte Hall, Maryland, about 12 miles away, and dumped his body.
Police in Charlottesville, Virginia, later arrested Webber.
Both of the other passengers in the Tesla told deputies they witnessed the argument and saw Webber shoot Wells, according to charging documents, with one telling authorities Webber shot Wells twice in the head.
In court, Webber’s attorneys argued there was a long-running feud between the two and that Webber accused Wells of stealing a gun from him. The attorneys said Webber killed Wells in self-defense.
“He was 100% justified in defending his life from an immediate lethal threat,” defense attorney Andrew Jezic said. “Dayton was terrified of being killed. Dayton knew that he had to shoot or be killed. Dayton has overcome a ton of adversity in his life, and he will do so again in this case by focusing on the truth. The truth here is he would have been a murder victim had he not acted immediately in defense of his life.”
Deputy State’s Attorney Karen Piper Mitchell would not speak to the self-defense claim directly, but said the prosecution felt strongly that Webber should be kept in jail, since he initially fled to Charlottesville after the shooting.
The shooting has drawn national attention and raised questions about how Webber, who lost both arms and legs as an infant due to a bacterial infection, could carry out such an attack. Videos posted to Webber’s YouTube channel show him loading and firing a gun.
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Webber was previously known for his success as a professional cornhole player. He won the Maryland State Championship in cornhole, competed in the American Cornhole League and had nationally televised matches on ESPN. The network even profiled Webber in an episode of “SC Featured.”
Audiences have been captivated by his story since he was a child, when he first garnered national media attention.
In a 2023 essay for the “Today” show, Webber said doctors amputated his arms and legs when he was 10 months old to save his life after he contracted a serious streptococcus pneumonia blood infection. His medical team gave him a 3% chance of surviving, he wrote.
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