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Insets, left to right: Brandon Dale Frick (Ware County Jail) and Buffy and Jacob Cothern (WTLV). Background: The area in Florida where Frick allegedly killed Jacob Cothern (WTLV).
A Georgia man, aged 29, stands accused of fatally shooting his longtime friend in a distressing incident that unfolded in front of the friend’s wife. The confrontation began when the accused allegedly behaved inappropriately, prompting the couple to stop their vehicle and address his actions.
Brandon Dale Frick faces serious charges, including malice murder, illegal firearm discharge, and possessing a firearm during a crime, as revealed by authorities, in connection with the death of 35-year-old Jacob Garrett Cothern.
The Waycross Police Department detailed in a statement that officers were dispatched around 8:22 p.m. on March 13 to investigate a shooting near Snelson Street and Old Brunel Street. On arrival, they discovered Cothern with multiple gunshot wounds, and he was declared dead on-site.
During their response, officers encountered Frick nearby. He was armed and apparently trying to escape, but law enforcement managed to apprehend him without further incident. He was subsequently taken to Ware County Jail, charged with murder.
Buffy Cothern, Jacob’s wife, shared her harrowing experience with Jacksonville, Florida’s NBC affiliate WTLV, recounting how she was in the driver’s seat during the tragic shooting and has since spoken about her husband’s final moments.
She said the couple had been giving Frick — whom her husband considered a childhood friend — a ride on the night of the shooting. During the drive, she alleged Frick touched her arm inappropriately, prompting her to pull over near Snelson Street, just outside a church.
According to Buffy, her husband told Frick to get out of the vehicle and refused to take him home after what she described as disrespect toward her.
What happened next, she recounted in detail:
“Brandon pulled a gun, shot Jacob one time, and when I see my husband . . . he fell to the ground, and Brandon is telling him, ‘Get up and take me home.’ Jacob’s holding a hand up: ‘No, Brandon, please stop. We don’t have to do it like this.’ When he realized that Jacob couldn’t get up…he shot him again, and casually puts the gun back and just takes off walking. Like no remorse whatsoever.”
Buffy Cothern described her husband as funny, outgoing, and “very loud,” someone who had worked hard to turn his life around. The couple married in 2024 and bonded over their shared commitment to recovery from addiction, she said.
According to Buffy Cothern, her husband had been out of incarceration for nearly two years — longer than he had been in some time — and was making significant strides, including securing a job with Waycross Public Works, earning multiple promotions, and planning to enroll in college while pursuing a commercial driver’s license.
“He provided me the love and consistency that I’ve never had before,” she said.
Frick is being held without bond as the investigation continues. It was not immediately clear when he was scheduled to appear in court.