Character Letter — USA v. Thurmond et. al. (Dkt. 71.1)

Record facts

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia · No. 1:23-cr-00021-JRH-BKE · Doc. 71-1 · 2024-04-29 · Docket on CourtListener

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Brandi Barkus 
1276 Mandalay Ct.  
Lilburn GA 30047  
224-237-1342 
brandi.barkus@gmail.com 
 
4/17/2024 
 
U.S. District Court- Southern District of Georgia 
Honorable Judge J. Randal Hall 
PO BOX 1130 
Augusta GA 30903 
 
Dear Honorable Judge J. Randal Hall, 
 
I am writing this character letter in support of Brandon Thurmond, whom I have known for 8 
years and whom I have been in a romantic relationship with the last 2 years.  I am aware that 
Brandon is currently facing charges in federal court, and I am compelled to share my 
perspective on his character and personal circumstances. 
 
Throughout my acquaintance with Brandon, I have witnessed his genuine remorse for the 
actions that have led to these charges. He has expressed deep regret and anxiety about the 
situation, demonstrating a sense of responsibility and a desire to make amends. Despite the 
challenges he is facing, Brandon has shown resilience and a willingness to confront the 
consequences of his actions. 
 
I am aware of certain personal circumstances in Brandon's life that may have contributed to the 
offense he is charged with. Up until 2016, Brandon has always been law-abiding and overcame 
a lot of his challenges he faced as a child. He was raised by a single mother of 4 with no father-
figure during his adolescence, so the thought that he “needed” to provide for his mother and 
sisters has always been a mentality. For as long as I have known Brandon, before and during 
prison, Brandon aspires to be a present father as well as a man who provides not only 
emotionally and spiritually- but also financially. While he was serving 5 years of a 15 year 
sentence with the state of Georgia, he made a desperate and stupid decision 3 years ago that 
he was completely oblivious to the consequences as he was desperate to provide for family, 
especially his daughter, while he was in custody. Brandon has faced many tragic events in his 
life, but the most tragic is becoming a first time offender, being incarcerated 5 years and that 
alone has had a profound impact on his mental and emotional well-being.  
 
Brandon is a compassionate and caring person who has always prioritized the well-being of his 
family and loved ones. Despite the challenges he has encountered, Brandon has remained a 
source of support and stability for his family, specifically his daughter Laila, my daughter Dakota 
and myself. 
Since being released on parole with the State of Georgia in September, the very first person he 
wanted to surprise was his daughter Laila. I have witnessed how present he was before he was 
incarcerated and how present he was to the best of his ability while he was is prison. From the 
moment he surprised her the day he was released, the relationship between the two of them 
have flourished tremendously. As his partner, I have supported the relationship of his daughter 
to continue to grow as he missed so many pivotal moments in her life and we all know he 
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cannot get that time back but every single day he is present counts. We have spent a lot of time 
together as a blended family and I love that I have also been able to witness Brandon and 
Laila’s relationship first hand because if you did not know that Brandon went to prison, you 
would think he has not missed a beat. I can speak for Laila and say that Brandon encourages 
her to be a respectful young lady, he is her number 1 fan in any new ventures she takes on in 
life and actively listens to all of the emotions she has went through while he was away. Brandon 
and Laila have been making up for the time he missed and cant help but to show remorse as he 
is witnessing the decisions that he made affected the person who depends on him most, Laila. 
Brandon takes pride in being a present father as he experienced not having one during his 
childhood, so no matter the obstacle, when it comes to his children, he is going to fight and 
overcome. Brandon has put his faith in the justice system and opened a legitimation case so 
that he can have custodial and parenting rights legally in the state of Georgia as the mother of 
his child began to make it very difficult for his relationship with his daughter to grow. He has 
been fighting the legitimation case since November 17th 2023 and after numerous court dates 
and my support with hiring an attorney, he has the date set in place of May 17th 2024 with the 
Juvenile Courts of Dekalb County, to finally legally have rights to his daughter. It was also 
brought to his attention in February 2024 because Laila made an outcry that she has been 
mentally, emotionally and physically abused during the time he was away in prison and since he 
has been home. DFCS opened a case against the mother of his child and agreed that Laila was 
best off in the custody of her father fulltime but since the legitimation process was not complete 
yet, he is left with no choice but to remain patient, have faith in God to protect his daughter and 
wait for the upcoming date. This unforeseen situation has taken a toll on Brandon’s anxiety 
when it comes to not only worrying about the well-being of his daughter but how much damage 
it will do to her if he is not physically present to protect, provide and raise her. Brandon has 
spoken to me countless times on how remorseful he is for the selfish decisions he made as the 
impact and possible outcomes are detrimental to more than just him but to the people he loves.   
His dedication to his biological daughter shows unwavering commitment and that trait is 
something that my daughter, Dakota, has also been able to experience firsthand. Dakota is 12 
years old, and her father has been an inconsistent parent in her life. Brandon stepped up as a 
positive male role model in her life well before he was released. He genuinely and consistently 
offered his advice and help with homework which were signs that he wanted to be present even 
while in prison. Since the day he has been released, Brandon and Dakota have been 
inseparable. Brandon has naturally became the father-figure and extended support that my 
baby has been missing. He is very involved with her day to day life from taking her to school, 
showing up to her cheerleading events, sports games to having dinner and spending quality 
time every evening. I have witnessed the positive impact that Brandon’s presence in the 
household has made on my daughter. He is a great father and I cannot imagine the pain and 
confusion it will cause both of the girls, if he has to physically leave them. Brandon is prepared 
to hold his head up high and get through whatever is to come and I admire that about him but it 
is challenging for me to prepare our daughter’s for the worst case scenario.  
Witnessing Brandon as a  father to both Laila and Dakota, I was extremely excited to extend our 
family and we were expecting a child to be born August 2024.  I suffered a mis-miscarriage in 
February which caused me to be hospitalized for a few days the week of Brandon’s birthday. 
There were days Brandon said he felt helpless because there was nothing that he could do to 
take the pain I was enduring away physically or emotionally, but his presence was more than 
enough. Brandon was the support I needed as I did not take it well and it is something I am still 
healing from today. I was diagnosed with post-partum depression and some days are better 
than others. The days that I do not feel like getting out of bed, Brandon is here to show up for 
my daughter and carry on the parenting duties that I am emotionally unable to show up for. He 
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constantly provides me with encouragement and hope for us to try again and reminds me that 
everything will okay. Although Brandon displays strength and positiveness, I know that losing a 
child after he was excited to grow our family as well has taken an emotional toll on him. On top 
of the custody situation with his daughter and knowing a sentencing is coming up- I have no 
idea how Brandon stays positive, motivated and supportive for not only himself personally but 
also everyone around him.  
Brandon has expressed to me that every single part of his life, the good and the bad, is a part of 
his testimony so he makes sure not to leave anything out. When he came home from prison, I 
witnessed Brandon stay up until 3:00am submitting his resume to hundreds of jobs and 
preparing for interviews before they even reached back out to him. His determination to set the 
tone for his future by obtaining employment was unmatched.  Brandon had many interviews and  
on several occasions returned home encouraged and excited because he was organically 
himself and left no details out while interviewing. The same way he mentioned his Bachelors 
Degree, his NFL and CFL Career and positive traits, he also mentioned that he was a felon and 
just came home from prison. I was taken back by the integrity and humbleness that Brandon 
showed during this process but was even more happy to see that there were several people 
who offered Brandon a second chance and extended offers within the first 2 weeks of returning 
from prison. His story is inspiring and is bigger than the hurdles placed in front of him due to his 
poor decisions that he made. I have never heard Brandon complain about his challenges as a 
felon, about his probation/parole restrictions nor blame anyone other than himself for the 
position he is in.  
 
Additionally, Brandon has partnered with Village Strong Nonprofit Co., which is a Nonprofit I 
started 3 years ago that provides support and resources to at-risk youth and families. He has 
used his free time to show up for teenage boys who do not have a father figure present by 
making it to their games, training, mentoring  and guiding them through trials they face. His 
dedication and selflessness have made a positive impact on the community. Brandon is hosting 
free youth football camps for kids to come and use football as an outlet. While these kids are 
learning new drills on the football field, they are also learning the value of making good 
decisions, leadership skills and being supported so that they can thrive. The teenagers that 
Brandon helps are at-risk because many of them have lost their fathers to violence or prison 
and lack a positive role model that they can relate to. Brandon shares his story and gives them 
hope that they can work hard and achieve anything they put their minds too and it motivates 
them to make better decisions because they have Brandon rooting for them.  
 
If Brandon were to have to fulfill his sentence away,  it would have devastating effects on not 
only him and his family but a community of kids who are depending on Brandon to show up. The 
emotional burden that a separation would impose on his loved ones is a matter of great 
concern. Brandon plays a vital role in providing support and stability and his absence would 
leave a significant void that cannot easily be filled. 
 
I believe that Brandon is a person of integrity who has shown remorse for his actions and is 
committed to taking responsibility for his actions. Your Honor, I respectively ask that you please 
consider home confinement as option for Brandon to fulfill his sentence. Please take Brandon’s 
dedication to making the right decisions, abiding by his current parole and probation 
stipulations, the impact he has made on so many others since being released, his personal 
circumstances and the challenges he has faced into consideration when determining his 
sentence. 
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Thank you, Your Honor, for taking the time to read this entire letter as I value your time and 
consideration.  Should you require any further information or clarification, please do not hesitate 
to contact me. Thank you, again. 
 
Best Regards,  
 
 
Brandi Barkus  
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