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| Walter Hogan Murder: Where Are Robert Cowan, Bryin Willis Jr. and Breaunna Bell Now? |
Walter Hogan was killed while trying to protect a woman during a late-night confrontation outside a convenience store in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in September 2017. What began as an argument involving several people quickly turned into a major investigation, with surveillance footage, witness accounts and private messages eventually helping detectives identify those responsible.
Nearly nine years later, the case remains a particularly memorable subject for viewers of A&E’s The First 48: Young Guns, which revisits the investigation and the events surrounding Hogan’s death. But what happened to Robert Cowan, Bryin Willis Jr. and Breaunna Bell after their arrests, and where are they today?
Walter Hogan Was Killed While Protecting Another Person
Walter Hogan was born on 9 March 1979, although relatively little information about his early life and personal background has been made publicly available. What has emerged from accounts shared by those close to him paints a picture of someone who enjoyed making people laugh and rarely missed an opportunity to bring some humour into a room. Within his family, he was affectionately known as the jokester, a reputation that reflected his outgoing personality and love of entertaining others.
Hogan was also described as someone who cared deeply about his community. When he was not spending time with his children or his girlfriend, Shamika, he often looked for opportunities to help people around him. Unfortunately, his life took a tragic turn on 15 September 2017, when an ordinary night out ended with a decision that would ultimately cost him his life.
At approximately 3.30 am, emergency services received a 911 call reporting an incident outside Haney’s Super Trip Food Store, near East 36th Street North and North Peoria Avenue in Tulsa. When officers and paramedics arrived, they found two injured people outside the convenience store: a man and a woman who both needed immediate medical attention.
The woman had suffered a gunshot wound to her leg, which had damaged her femoral artery. Her condition required emergency surgery, while the man, later identified as 38-year-old Hogan, had sustained injuries that proved fatal. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
Investigators subsequently established that Hogan had not been involved in the original disagreement. Instead, he had become caught up in the confrontation after stepping forward to protect the injured woman. He reportedly placed himself between her and the gunfire, helping to save her life while putting himself directly in danger.
It was an extraordinary act of courage in circumstances that left little time to think. Hogan had gone out that night without any reason to expect trouble, yet he ended up becoming the central victim of an investigation that would take detectives through a complicated trail of witnesses, vehicles and digital evidence.
The Investigation Led Detectives to Three Suspects
Establishing exactly what had happened outside Haney’s Super Trip was not straightforward. According to witness accounts, approximately 30 people were in and around the convenience store when the confrontation unfolded. By the time emergency services arrived, however, many had already disappeared.
Several people had reportedly left because the situation had become frightening and chaotic. Those who remained helped detectives establish that an argument had broken out outside the shop before gunfire followed.
One witness provided an important description of the suspected attackers, identifying a group of three people: two men and a woman. They reportedly left together in an older white sedan. The witness described the woman as white, one man as an average-height Black male and the other as a particularly tall, slim Black male with an afro.
The investigation gained momentum the following day when a motel resident contacted authorities with information about three people who had arrived at the property shortly after the incident. According to his account, the group had apparently come there to stay out of sight for a while.
More importantly, the witness claimed that the trio had spoken about opening fire outside Haney’s Super Trip. Their apparent willingness to discuss the incident was what encouraged him to contact investigators.
He recognised one of the men by his nickname, HK MobbnBlood, which led detectives to 19-year-old Bryin Willis Jr. Further investigation into Willis's social media activity helped authorities identify the other two individuals as 19-year-old Breaunna Bell and 17-year-old Robert Cowan.
Bell was reportedly known by the nickname HK Bloodette, while Cowan used the name Lul Robbie. The motel witness subsequently helped investigators confirm the identities of the three people they were looking for.
There was another detail that made the account particularly significant. The witness claimed the group had arrived in an older white sedan and had also attempted to take another vehicle from the motel car park before leaving. That incident would soon provide detectives with another person who could help establish what happened after the shooting.
A Second Witness and Surveillance Footage Strengthened the Case
The owner of the vehicle involved in the alleged attempted carjacking provided investigators with another important account. He said he had stepped outside his motel room shortly after 5 am while carrying his infant child when he noticed two men and a woman gathered around his car.
According to his statement, one of the men pointed a firearm towards him, while the other lifted his shirt to reveal that he was also carrying a weapon. The woman was reportedly with them during the encounter.
Although the vehicle owner could not identify the individuals with complete certainty during a photographic identification procedure, his descriptions closely matched those provided by the earlier witnesses. His account therefore gave detectives another reason to examine the trio's movements after Hogan was killed.
Investigators also began looking more closely at the white sedan. The vehicle had reportedly appeared at a property shared by a woman named Reunique Reed and her mother. Reed later attracted attention because she allegedly attempted to sell the car despite knowing it had been connected to a killing.
Surveillance footage became another important part of the investigation. Detectives were able to connect the vehicle seen leaving the convenience store with the same car that later appeared at the motel. Records also indicated that the sedan had previously been reported stolen and had passed through several owners before reaching the group.
With witness accounts and vehicle evidence building a clearer picture, detectives obtained warrants to examine private Facebook messages belonging to Cowan, Willis and Bell.
The messages reportedly contained material suggesting the trio had knowledge of, and involvement in, the events surrounding Hogan's death. Combined with the other evidence, the digital records helped investigators strengthen their case and secure arrest warrants.
Reed was arrested first on charges relating to the stolen vehicle. The investigation then moved towards the three people detectives believed had played direct roles in the shooting.
Robert Cowan, Bryin Willis Jr. and Breaunna Bell Were Arrested
Bryin Willis Jr. and Breaunna Bell were arrested in November 2017 and charged with first-degree murder. Robert Cowan was arrested several months later, in February 2018, at his father's home in St Francis, Arkansas.
Cowan, who was 17 when the incident occurred, was subsequently extradited to Oklahoma to face the charge. During questioning, Bell reportedly declined to provide investigators with an account of what happened. Willis and Cowan, meanwhile, attempted to minimise their involvement, although both acknowledged having fired weapons.
Prosecutors ultimately presented a version of events in which Bell had become involved in an argument with several people outside Haney's Super Trip. Willis and Cowan allegedly intervened on her behalf before firing their weapons towards the surrounding area.
Bell was reportedly driving when the trio left the scene. Hogan, meanwhile, had become caught in the confrontation after trying to protect another person.
The legal outcomes were different for each defendant, with their individual decisions during the court proceedings playing a significant part in the sentences they received.
Reunique Reed pleaded guilty to possessing a stolen vehicle connected to the investigation. She received a five-year sentence, which was entirely suspended under probation supervision.
Breaunna Bell pleaded guilty to accessory to murder and received a 25-year sentence. Under the arrangement, she was required to serve 20 years in custody, with the remaining five years suspended.
Bryin Willis Jr. pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. His original sentence was 30 years, although it was subsequently modified to 13 years in custody and 17 years suspended.
Cowan took a different approach and decided to stand trial. He was convicted as charged and received life imprisonment, together with consecutive sentences totalling 60 additional years.
Where Are Robert Cowan, Bryin Willis Jr. and Breaunna Bell Now?
Based on the latest publicly available information provided in the case account, Robert Cowan and Bryin Willis Jr. were both reported to be incarcerated at Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Oklahoma. The medium-security facility houses people serving sentences within the Oklahoma prison system.
Cowan's life sentence, alongside his additional consecutive terms, means his legal outcome was considerably more severe than those received by the other two defendants. His decision to proceed to trial ultimately ended with a conviction and a lengthy prison sentence.
Willis, meanwhile, received a substantially modified sentence after initially being handed 30 years. His revised arrangement required 13 years in custody, with another 17 years suspended. Despite the reduction, he was still reported to be serving time at Joseph Harp Correctional Center.
Bell's circumstances were different. According to the available account, she was granted an early release and placed on probation under state supervision. Her original sentence required 20 years in custody, alongside five suspended years, although her subsequent release meant she was no longer reported to be serving that sentence inside a correctional facility.
It is worth noting that these are the reported whereabouts and legal circumstances documented in the available case information, rather than independently verified live custody records as of November 2026.
The case also leaves an important distinction between the three outcomes. Cowan received life imprisonment plus additional consecutive terms, Willis secured a modified sentence through his guilty plea, and Bell was reportedly released under supervision. Their legal journeys took very different directions, despite their connection to the same night in Tulsa.
Walter Hogan's story, however, deserves to remain at the centre of the discussion. His final actions were not about the people who would later face charges or the lengthy investigation that followed. They were about protecting someone who needed help, a decision that ultimately saved another person's life. What do you think about the different sentences handed down to the three defendants, and did the investigation uncover enough to establish what happened that night? Share your thoughts on the case and whether you have watched the episode of The First 48: Young Guns.
Opinion
The most striking part of Walter Hogan’s case is that he was not involved in the argument that preceded the shooting. He was there, saw someone in danger and stepped in. That decision speaks volumes about his instinct to help, but it also makes the outcome all the harder to accept. The investigation, meanwhile, shows how a case can turn on details that might initially seem minor: a witness remembering a nickname, a car appearing on camera and messages exchanged afterwards.
None of that brings Hogan back, of course, but it helps explain how detectives built a case despite a crowded scene and witnesses who had scattered. The sentences also underline how differently the three defendants’ cases ended. For viewers of The First 48, the episode is a reminder that behind every investigation is a person whose life mattered deeply beyond the case file.