Jimmy Bragg interview

Sunday, November 1, 2020 – 3:22 p.m.

Jimmy Bragg is a member of the YHS archery team.

Detective Armstrong spotted him running on the track at the high school and asked him to take a break for a few minutes so they could talk.

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• Jimmy Bragg

Detective Armstrong: Hey, Jimmy, I'm Detective Armstrong. Thanks for taking a few minutes to talk to me. Would you state your name and address, just so I have them for the record?

Jimmy Bragg: Jimmy Bragg. 310 Longest Road.

Detective Armstrong: Thanks. Now, I'd like to ask you a few questions about what happened with Mr. Miller.

Jimmy Bragg: Sure, but I don't know what I could tell you that's going to help.

Detective Armstrong: We're interviewing everyone who knew Mr. Miller. We need to find out all of the details about what was going on with him. How did you know him?

Jimmy Bragg: He was my biology teacher and the assistant coach of the archery team that I'm on.

Detective Armstrong: What did you think about him?

Jimmy Bragg: Well, you know. He was my teacher. It's not like they're friends with kids.

Detective Armstrong: What do you mean by that?

Jimmy Bragg: I don't think teachers can be considered friends. They're just doing a job. They don't care.

Detective Armstrong: Well, you must have some thoughts about him. Did you like Mr. Miller?

Jimmy Bragg: I would have liked him better if he would've been nicer to me. But just ask the other kids. He was always picking on someone.

Detective Armstrong: What do you mean by picking on?

Jimmy Bragg: Like he was perfect and everyone else sucked. He was always telling us how we could do better. It was annoying.

Detective Armstrong: How did he treat you?

Jimmy Bragg: He singled me out. That's for sure.

Detective Armstrong: How so?

Jimmy Bragg: Like in class, he would call on me all the time. He'd make me feel stupid if I didn't know the answer.

Detective Armstrong: How did you feel about that?

Jimmy Bragg: It made me feel like a loser.

Detective Armstrong: Did that cause any conflicts with Mr. Miller?

Jimmy Bragg: Yeah, I mean, he made me feel dumb. And of course, I gave him some attitude. But it's not like I was the only one.

Detective Armstrong: We heard he had a personal grudge against you.

Jimmy Bragg: Yeah, I guess almost everyone on the team saw how he treated me.

Detective Armstrong: Do you know why he had an issue with you?

Jimmy Bragg: I don't know.

Detective Armstrong: If you had to guess?

Jimmy Bragg: Maybe because he didn't like my mom very much, and he took it out on me? How should I know? He was just a jerk, okay?

Detective Armstrong: Okay. How was he as the assistant coach?

Jimmy Bragg: He acted like he was in charge of everything.

Detective Armstrong: How did the head coach react to that?

Jimmy Bragg: You could tell Coach Lancaster didn't like it. There were a couple times when he had to put Mr. Miller in his place.

Detective Armstrong: Did they argue in front of the team?

Jimmy Bragg: No, nothing like that. Coach just took him to the side, away from us, a few times to talk.

Detective Armstrong: Could you tell if he was angry with Mr. Miller?

Jimmy Bragg: Not mad but, like, stern. You could tell Mr. Miller was bummed.

Detective Armstrong: Was there anything else you saw or heard recently that struck you as odd or suspicious?

Jimmy Bragg: Uh. Hmm. Not really.

Detective Armstrong: Where were you when you found out what happened?

Jimmy Bragg: I was studying at home. My dad was helping me out. My friend Brandon called me to tell me. I thought he was lying at first. I couldn't believe it.

Detective Armstrong: And is there anything else you need to tell me about you and Mr. Miller?

Jimmy Bragg: I've told you everything, detective.

Detective Armstrong: That's good to know. In that case, I just need one more thing. We'd like to eliminate people as potential suspects as quickly as possible. Would you be willing to provide a DNA sample and fingerprints to help out with that?

Jimmy Bragg: Sure, I'd like this whole mess to be over as soon as possible.

Detective Armstrong: Thanks for your cooperation, Jimmy.

Interview ends – 3:39 p.m.