Youngkin commutes sentence of police officer who fatally shot a shoplifter

Gov. Glenn Youngkin commuted the sentence of the police officer convicted of fatally shooting an unarmed Black man outside the Tyson’s Corner Center in 2023.

Former sergeant Wesley Shifflett and his partner had responded to a call for a shoplifting incident at Nordstrom involving designer sunglasses. They chased the suspect, Timothy McCree Johnson, 36, and shot him.

A jury convicted Shifflett in October for the reckless handling of a firearm but acquitted him of involuntary manslaughter.

On Feb. 28, Fairfax County Circuit Judge Randy Bellows sentenced Shifflett to five years in prison with two years suspended.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Youngkin called the court’s sentence of incarceration “unjust.” He said. “Sgt. Shifflett has no prior criminal record, and was, by all accounts, an exemplary police officer. It is in the interest of justice that he be released immediately.”  

“I’m outraged at Youngkin’s decision tonight,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano. “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. This is an insult to all Virginians who value an untainted justice system.”