Ex-Fairfax Police Officer Sentenced To Prison In Death Of Man Suspected Of Stealing

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — A former Fairfax County police officer has been sentenced to prison for the shooting death of a Black man accused of stealing a pair of designer sunglasses from Nordstrom at Tysons Corner Center.

On Friday, a judge sentenced Wesley Shifflett, 36, to five years in prison with all but three years suspended and an additional five years of probation in connection with the death of Timothy McCree Johnson, WTOP reported.

Shifflett was convicted in October of recklessly handling a firearm but was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Johnson, 37, was shot and killed on Feb. 22, 2023, in a wooded area near the shopping mall after a foot chase and orders by officers to get on the ground, according to police. He was taken by medics to an area hospital, where he died.

An officer saw Johnson leaving Nordstrom near a parking garage. As he left the store, an anti-theft alarm was activated, police said. The suspect then ran through the parking garage, across the parking lot and into a wooded area while the officers gave him repeated commands to get on the ground, according to police.

Two police officers fired their guns, according to police, striking Johnson in the chest one time.

Shifflett was indicted by a special grand jury in October 2023.

Throughout the trial, Shifflett's lawyers argued that he was simply doing his job when he fired twice at Johnson, according to a Washington Post report. Lawyers said Shifflett also believed he saw Johnson reaching for his waistband.

Meanwhile, prosecutors portrayed Shifflett as a man who made a reckless decision with lethal consequences, the Post reported.