Sentenced commuted for former Fairfax Co. officer involved in fatal shooting
RICHMOND, Va. - Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced the Fairfax County police officer, sentenced on Feb 28th to three years in prison for shooting an unarmed shoplifter in February 2023, will have his sentence commuted and will serve no time in prison.
Wesley Shifflett was sentenced Friday to five years in prison with two years suspended for reckless handling of a firearm.
In February 2023 Shifflett,a former sergeant with Fairfax County Police, shot and killed Timothy McCree Johnson, an unarmed man, after a short foot chase outside Tysons Corner Center. Shifflett and another Fairfax County police officer chased Johnson after security guards reported that Johnson had stolen sunglasses from a Nordstrom department store in the mall.
Youngkin released a statement late Sunday announcing the commutation reading in part, "I have today used the executive clemency authority granted to me by the Constitution of Virginia and commuted the sentence imposed on Sgt. Wesley Shifflett who was convicted of recklessly discharging a firearm by the Fairfax County Circuit Court.
"I am convinced that the court's sentence of incarceration is unjust and violates the cornerstone of our justice system—that similarly situated individuals receive proportionate sentences. I want to emphasize that a jury acquitted Sgt. Shifflett of the more serious charge of involuntary manslaughter, a conviction for which the sentencing guidelines recommend no jail time or up to six months' incarceration."
Commonwealth attorney Steve Descano responded to the commutation, saying, "I'm outraged at Youngkin's decision tonight. Glenn Youngkin has spent the last four years honing his Trump impersonation, and now he's following in his footsteps by commuting sentences just to score political points. This is an insult to all Virginians who value an untainted justice system."
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