Man Sentenced After Shooting 13 Times At 19-Year-Old Who Tried To Rob Friend

TEMPLE HILLS, MD — A man will spend the rest of his life in prison for what's described as the "execution style" murder of a 19-year-old in 2023.

The Prince George's County Office of the State's Attorney said that Recco Bouknight, 54, and Jeffrey Coachman, 50, were at a convenience store in Temple Hills on June 22, 2023, when the shooting happened. Coachman was in the store just before 6 p.m. when 19-year-old Tyzaiah Gaither of Washington, D.C., tried to rob him.

Coachman fought off the attack, but the incident escalated between the two men and carried out into the parking lot. Bouknight got out of a car and shot at Gaither at least 13 times while he was on the ground. After he was already dead, Coachman ran over Gaither with his own car as he and Bouknight took off from the scene, according to the state's attorney.

“Mr. Bouknight executed Tyzaiah Gaither by standing over top of him in a defenseless position and pulling the trigger when he could have just walked away, with a firearm he was not permitted to possess. There is absolutely no justification for that," said State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy.

Bouknight was sentenced to life plus 30 years in prison for murder. Coachman was convicted of possession of a firearm as a disqualified person and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 12.