Fairfax LEO mall shooting verdict- Virginia lawyer on the difficulty of disturbing the jury’s verdict

Fairfax LEO mall shooting was the headline last year when a police officer (Wesley Shifflett) from this county shot dead a suspect (Timonthy Johnson) fleeing the law enforcement officer(s) outside Tysons mall. As a Virginia criminal lawyer, I was disturbed, to say the least, at this news. Shifflett’s lawyer achieved a jury acquittal on the involuntary manslaughter count (Shifflett testified to self defense, fearful that the unarmed Johnson might shoot him), and the jury convicted him for reckless handling of a firearm, where the Virginia Code provides: “Any person who handles any firearm in a manner so gross, wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life and causes the serious bodily injury of another person resulting in permanent and significant physical impairment is guilty of a Class 6 felony.” Virginia Code § 18.2-56.1. 

Make your trial court fight your best possible fight

Even though Virginia criminal defendants have the right to appeal their convictions, the appellate courts of the commonwealth (and the federal appellate courts) will not grant relief on matters of fact rather than matters of law, where the jury (and the judge, when acting as the factfinder) have wide discretion to assess witness credibility, reliability and recall. Here — whether or not the one out of two count conviction of Shifflett represented a compromise jury verdict — the jury’s unanimous conviction clearly meant that the jury did not full rely on Shifflett’s testimony if at all. The letter opinion denying disturbing the jury verdict goes into many pages of minute detail of the allegations and why the evidence was sufficient to convict for Shifflett’s conviction count. Shifflett testified that he chased Johnson, Johnson fell, and it appeared that Johnson might be about to shoot Shifflett. Shifflett v. Commonwealth of Virginia, Fairfax County Circuit Court No. FE-2023-812 (Jan. 14, 2025). That was countered by Shifflett’s audio cam in which Johnson confirmed he was unarmed and asked for help. This fatal Fairfax LEO mall shooting came very quickly after Johnson uttered those words.

The same criminal law applies to police and civilian criminal defendants, as shown with this Fairfax LEO mall shooting

This Fairfax LEO mall shooting case underlines that the same criminal law applies to police and civilians. Police are here to serve the public, and not the other way around. Furthermore, just as civilians are entitled to a full and skilled defense in criminal court, so are police when they are prosecuted, and they are entitled to the same rights as all criminal defendants.

How can I protect myself against excessive police force?

Regardless of what really happened in theis Fairfax LEO mall shooting, it underlines the risks of running or driving away when police tell you to stop. In a non-fatal-risk incident, a client of mine was caught on police dashcamera continuing to drive away from the police running their sirens and emergency lights on the highway, being boxed in by police cars, but continuing to drive. Fortunately, I was able to get this fleeting charge reduced to reckless driving with no active jail time, and the related DUI case with an elevated BAC reduced to a no-active jail time disposition, as well. Do not anticipate that all police, prosecutors and circumstances will be as favorable to you if you drive away from police signaling you to stop.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz defends you to the hilt against Virginia felony, misdemeanor and DUI prosecutions. Your next step to a great defense is to schedule your free in-person confidential discussion with Jon Katz about your court-pending case, at 703-383-1100, info@KatzJustice.com, and (text) 571-406-7268.