Just before 6:30 p.m. on February 22, 2023, officers with the Fairfax County Police Department were notified about a possible shoplifting incident involving designer sunglasses at the Tysons Corner shopping center in Fairfax County, Virginia.
The man set off anti-theft security towers as he left the Nordstrom department store, and officers then spotted him in a nearby parking garage.
Sergeant Wesley Shifflett, who was 34 years old, and other officers gave chase. Shifflett was part of the department’s Tysons Urban Team, which responded to incidents at the shopping center, one of the biggest in the country.
At 6:31:00 p.m., Shifflett told other officers, “He’s crossing over, guys,” referring to the man crossing Fashion Boulevard, which formed the shopping center’s southeastern boundary.
Two seconds later, Shifflett ordered the man to get on the ground. He quickly repeated that order, then twice told the other officers that he was going into a wooded area just beyond Fashion Boulevard. At 6:31:11 and 6:31:12, Shifflett again ordered the man to get on the ground. At 6:31:13-14, Shifflett fired twice, striking the man in the chest once. Immediately after firing his weapon, Shifflett told the man twice, “Stop reaching!”
A second officer, Detective James Sadler, arrived quickly, saw Shifflett on the ground, and believed he had been hit. Sadler fired once at the other man but did not hit him.
As he lay on the ground, Timothy Johnson, who was 37 years old, told the officers, “I’m not reaching for nothing. I had nothing.” He was pronounced dead at 7:15 p.m. at Fairfax Hospital. Johnson was unarmed, but officers found on his person two pairs of sunglasses worth $785.
The police department began an internal investigation into the shooting, placing Shifflett and Sadler on administrative leave.
The department fired Shifflett on April 14, 2023, based on his performance during the shooting and because his “personal conduct, specifically [his] inconsistent articulation and lack of forthcoming answers to questions, in totality have failed to meet the expected standards required for continued employment with the Fairfax County Police Department.” (Shifflett appealed his termination, but judges determined the county had followed proper procedures.)
Also in April, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano presented evidence gathered during the police department’s investigation to a grand jury, which declined to indict Shifflett. Descano later convened a special grand jury, which on October 12, 2023, indicted Shifflett on involuntary manslaughter and reckless handling of a firearm.
Shifflet’s trial in Fairfax County Circuit Court began on September 17, 2024.
Collins Kenlak, the assistant asset-protection manager at the Nordstrom at the time of the shooting, testified that he was confused about why officers had chased Johnson in the first place.
Kenlak said the store’s surveillance footage showed that Johnson had returned the sunglasses that initially caught the attention of the store’s security detail. “As soon as those glasses were returned, I made it clear we don’t have any reason to approach him,” Kenlak said. (These returned items were separate from the sunglasses found on Johnson when he was shot.)
The jury watched the video taken from Shifflett’s body-worn camera. Because it was dark outside, the footage revealed little about the interaction between Shifflett and Johnson, beyond Shifflett’s commands and his updates to other officers.
Sadler testified about the chase. He said that neither he nor Shifflett had any idea who they were chasing, whether he was violent, or whether he had displayed a weapon.
Master Police Officer Gene Bork testified for the defense as an expert on the use-of-force training provided to officers in Fairfax County. He said that Shifflett acted in accordance with that training. Bork said that a person could reach, pull and fire a gun in .25 seconds, while an officer would need nearly two seconds to see the weapon and then unholster their weapon.
Matthew Bloodgood, a former police officer and instructor, also testified as an expert witness for the defense. He testified that body cameras often have “a very difficult time capturing things in low light.” He also said that Shifflett did not have to wait until Johnson pulled out a gun before making the decision to use deadly force.
Shifflett testified that he chased Johnson into the woods, and that Johnson was about 30 yards ahead. He said that he saw Johnson trip on something, then roll forward before coming up on both knees and facing him. Shifflett testified that this “felt confrontational.”
Shifflett testified that he had been running up until this time and had not yet unholstered his gun. He said he told Johnson to get on the ground, but “simultaneously and in a very fluid manner as soon as he sat up on his knees, [Johnson] began to use his left arm to reach across his body to clear … that baggy clothing with [h]is left arm and create space for his right arm to be concealed in his waistband.”
Shifflett testified that Johnson looked at him and made a “back-and-forth” motion several times. He said that based on his training and experience, he concluded that Johnson was about to pull out a gun. He said that he tried to make himself a harder target to shoot, then unholstered his gun and fired two shots at Johnson.
“I didn’t have the luxury to wait to see a gun because I realized that I could be shot at any second, I could be dead,” Shifflett said.
Shifflett’s weapon had a flashlight, but it was not turned on. Shifflett testified there was enough light to see Johnson moving and that “My eyesight is much better than the video quality” of the body camera. Shifflett acknowledged that he did not order Johnson to “stop reaching” until after the shooting.
During its closing argument, the state said Shifflett had acted recklessly, failing to turn on his flashlight or wait for backup.
“And where was Mr. Johnson at the time Mr. Shifflett pulled his firearm?” a prosecutor asked. “He was on the ground, exactly where Mr. Shifflett told him to be.”
During closing argument, the state played an extended version of the body-camera video. It didn’t end with the “stop reaching” order but continued, including footage of Shifflett telling a supervisor that he had ordered Johnson to show his hands. That exchange with Johnson never happened.
Because that part of the video had not been introduced into evidence, Caleb Kershner, Shifflett’s attorney, initially said he would seek a mistrial. Kershner retreated after Judge Randy Bellows told jurors to ignore that part of the footage and the state’s argument about this segment.
“Sgt. Shifflett doesn’t have X-ray vision; he doesn’t have clairvoyance,” Kershner said in his closing argument. “Sgt. Shifflett could not have known. He acted according to his training, he acted according to his knowledge, and he acted in self-defense.”
On October 4, 2024, after 11 hours of deliberation, the jury acquitted Shifflett of involuntary manslaughter but convicted him of reckless handling of a firearm.
Prior to sentencing, on November 8, 2024, Shifflett filed a motion to set aside the verdict. It said that there was insufficient evidence to support a conviction for reckless handling of a firearm. Shifflett had acted “in accordance with the law and his county-approved training, and with the intent to shoot and kill or injure Mr. Johnson to stop the perceived threat,” the motion said. Shifflett acted intentionally, not recklessly, the motion said. “All the evidence showed that Sgt. Shifflett intended to cause serious bodily injury or death to Mr. Johnson when he shot Mr. Johnson, and it is impossible to intend the consequences of a reckless act,” the motion said.
The state responded that the evidence was not clear about whether Shifflett acted in full compliance with his training. “Contrary to the defense’s motion, the jury could have reasonably determined that Sgt. Shifflett did not act reasonable or in accordance with his training when he pursued a fleeing suspect for a misdemeanor theft into a wooded area and used deadly force,” the state said.
On January 14, 2025, Judge Bellows denied Shifflett’s motion. On February 28, 2025, Judge Bellows sentenced Shifflett to three years in prison.
Two days later, Governor Glenn Youngkin commuted Shifflett’s sentence to time served, and Shifflett was released from the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on March 2, 2025.
On April 7, 2025, Richard Schott, the Independent Police Auditor for Fairfax County, released a report on the shooting at Tysons Corner.
Schott said in his report that at the time of the shooting, Fairfax County had no policy outlining the actions officers should take during a foot chase. He said that Shifflett testified consistently about the events that led him to shoot Johnson.
Schott wrote, “Although [Shifflett’s] stated belief that [Johnson] was armed and trying to access a weapon proved to be incorrect, my opinion—based on the limited information available (including the minimally helpful [body-worn camera] footage)—is that his belief was objectively reasonable at the time.”
On January 15, 2026, two days before leaving office, Youngkin pardoned Shifflett, citing the auditor’s report.
– Ken Otterbourg
Posting Date: 02-11-2026
