Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin admitted to being fired police sergeant days after police were sentenced to prison in connection with the murder of an unarmed man accused of stealing his sunglasses.
Wesley Shiflett, 36, was sentenced to three years on Friday after being convicted of recklessly treating a firearm on February 22, 2023, killing 37-year-old Timothy McCree Johnson. He is acquitted of the involuntary manslaughter in Johnson's death.
Youngkin admitted Shiflett's generosity on Sunday, allowing officers to be released from prison, although his felony conviction remains.
“I am confident that court prison sentences are unfair and violate the foundations of our judicial system. Similarly, individuals receive proportional texts, which are situational,” Youngkin said in a statement. “The ju judge would like to emphasize that the prison guidelines acquittal Shiflett of the more serious charge of involuntary manslaughter, a conviction that recommends prison hours or up to six months in prison.”
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Virginia Governor Glen Youngkin will give his annual federal speech on January 13, 2025, prior to the joint session of the Virginia General Assembly at Capitol in Richmond, Virginia. (AP)
“In this case, the court refused to recommend senior probation and parole officers' imprisonment or supervisory probation, instead sacrificing two people to be suspended and five years in prison on five more years of probation,” the governor continued. “Sergeant Shiflett had no prior criminal history and was an exemplary police officer by all accounts. It is in the interest of justice that he is released immediately.”
Youngkin also pointed out that his tolerance did not limit Shiflett's right to sue his belief in reckless discharge of firearms.
Johnson's mother, Melissa Johnson, said Youngkin's decision felt as though he had verified the murder of Shiflett's son.
“Why do you think it's necessary now to consider whether to exempt ju-search verdicts and to consider that this honorable and fair judge did not sentence him within the guidelines he was given?” she said at a press conference Monday. “No one knows where it came from, because my son was black, or because he tried to shoplift, or because he wasn't here to protect himself.”
Fairfax County federal law attorney Steve Descano, the Democrat whose office indicted the case, said at a press conference that the governor “punched his face where it didn't belong.”
“If you care that Virginia's fair judicial system is not contaminated by external influence, Glenn Youngkin will just spit out your face,” Descano said.
Fairfax County, Virginia will be seen on March 7th, 2023. (AP)
Descano also alleged that the governor had sided with “white officers convicted of a crime that ended up as a murdered black man.”
During the trial, prosecutors alleged that Shiflett, then a Fairfax County Police Sergeant, acted recklessly when shooting Johnson dead after a short leg pursuit outside the Tysons Corner Center. Police had received reports from security guards that Johnson had stole sunglasses from a Nordstrom department store.
Siflett and another officer chased Johnson into a dense wooded area near the mall, before Siflett shot twice with an unarmed Johnson.
The former sergeant testified that after Johnson fell, he believed that he reached for the waistband, then shot Johnson in self-defense.
The body camera video played during the trial showed Shiflet screaming “Get The Ground the Ground” before firing two shots at Johnson two seconds later. After firing the weapon, Shiflett immediately cried out “Stop reaching out,” praised the other officers for observing Johnson's hands on his waistband.
Shiflett testified that his “motor function works faster than I can draw words.”
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Fairfax County U.S. Attorney Steve Descano will speak at an event at the Center for American Progress on Tuesday, December 17th, 2019. (Getty Images)
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Johnson was asked in the footage, saying, “I've got nothing. I have nothing.”
Melissa Robey, executive director of police advocacy group We Black Blue, said Monday that Shifflett's mother called her three weeks ago about asking for help with her son's upcoming sentence hearing.
Robbie, who previously worked for the Youngkin administration, said she contacted Shiflett's lawyer.
“Someone has to say, 'It's enough',” Robbie said. “These guys put that uniform down every day. They're there for your worst day. When is the time to stand up for them?”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
