Youngkin grants clemency to a fired Virginia police sergeant who shot and killed an unarmed man

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Youngkin grants clemency to a fired Virginia police sergeant who shot and killed an unarmed man

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has granted clemency to a former police sergeant who shot and killed an unarmed man accused of stealing sunglasses.

Wesley Shifflett, 36,

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to three years in prison on Friday after he was convicted of

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during the Feb. 22, 2023, shooting of Timothy McCree Johnson. The jury acquitted him of involuntary manslaughter.

Youngkin’s executive action late Sunday means Shifflett will serve no further time behind bars, but his felony conviction will remain.

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“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,” Youngkin, a Republican, said Sunday. In his statement, Youngkin referred to sentencing guidelines recommending no incarceration for Shifflett that were put forward by a probation and parole officer, which is a routine practice in felony criminal sentencings.

Steve Descano, the Democratic commonwealth’s attorney for Fairfax County whose office prosecuted the case, said in a statement that he was outraged by the governor’s decision.

“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,” Descano said. “This is an insult to all Virginians who value an untainted justice system.”

Johnson’s mother, Melissa Johnson, is expected to join Descano at a news conference later Monday to address Youngkin’s action.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Shifflett, then a sergeant with Fairfax County police, acted recklessly when he shot and killed Johnson after a short foot chase outside Tysons Corner Center. Shifflett and his team at the police department received a report from security guards that Johnson had stolen sunglasses from a Nordstrom department store.

After identifying Johnson, Shifflett and another officer chased him into a densely wooded area near the mall, where Shifflett fired twice at the man.

Shifflett testified that he shot Johnson, who was 37 years old, in self-defense after he saw Johnson reach into his waistband after falling.

The

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played during his trial shows Shifflett yelling “Get on the ground,” and then firing two shots at Johnson two seconds later. After the shots were fired, Shifflett immediately shouted, “Stop reaching,” and told other officers that he saw Johnson putting his hand in his waistband. During the trial, Shifflett testified that his “motor functions were operating more quickly than I could verbalize.”

Body-camera video from officers that night showed people gathered around Johnson while he cried, “Hurry.”

Soon after, Johnson can be heard saying, “I’m not reaching for nothing. I don’t have nothing.”

The legal battle leading to Shifflett’s clemency came with twists and turns. Following the shooting, the police department

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. Initially, a grand jury

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, but Descano’s office received

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to reinvestigate. The second panel indicted Shifflett last October.

After his conviction, Shifflett’s attorneys filed a motion for Bellows to set aside the verdict. In a January court memo, Bellows denied Shifflett’s request, writing that there was “sufficient evidence in the record for the jury to find the defendant guilty of this offense.”

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Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative.

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is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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