Skyler Derrick Bryant was 20 when he was found unresponsive in his car on Erwin Street in Villa Heights (just outside Martinsville) on June 2, 2020. First responders discovered he had sustained a gunshot wound to the chest; the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the wound the cause of death and classified it a homicide.

Investigators say the encounter began as a planned meeting for a drug transaction that turned into a robbery and ended in the fatal shooting. The Henry County Sheriff’s Office and Martinsville Police Department arrested two male juveniles shortly after the killing: a 17-year-old charged with felony homicide, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, and using a firearm in the commission of a robbery; and a 15-year-old charged with second-degree murder, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, multiple firearm charges, and possession of a firearm by an adjudicated juvenile felon. Both were held at the W.W. Moore Juvenile Detention Facility in Danville as proceedings began.

Skyler, a Bassett High School graduate who enjoyed art, music, and the outdoors, left behind family and a community stunned by the violence. If anyone knew Skyler or has information about what happened that day, please come forward to assist the ongoing legal process.