Virginia Governor Accused of Trying to ‘Score Political Points’ with Trump After Commuting ‘Unjust’ Sentence of White Cop Who Fatally Shot Black Man Accused of Stealing Sunglasses

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has commuted former Fairfax County Police Department Sgt. Wesley Shifflett’s prison sentence for the fatal shooting of an unarmed young Black man suspected of shoplifting outside a Northern Virginia mall.

Shifflet’s attorney, Caleb Kershner told WUSA-9 his client was released Sunday night and is back home with family just three days into serving his sentence.

“Well, he was incredibly grateful. He understands the gravity of it all,” Kershner said. “You’re given a new lease on life when something like this occurs. He’s incredibly grateful to the governor.”

Wesley Shifflett was convicted last fall of reckless handling of a firearm after the death of 37-year-old Timothy Johnson in February 2023. Shifflett and another officer chased and shot Johnson after a security guard had accused him of stealing a pair of sunglasses from Nordstrom near Tysons Corner Center, a popular shopping mall.

Although both cops fired their weapons, Shifflett didn’t miss, shooting the suspect once in the chest. He was fired from the department weeks after the incident.

Prosecutor Jenna Sands said if Shifflett had paused for a few more seconds to wait on other officers, the situation could’ve had a much different outcome.

“Seconds could have meant life for Mr. Johnson rather than death, but he didn’t pause,” Sands said in court. “He rushed in and he was reckless.”

He was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter but found guilty of reckless handling of a firearm. Shifflett was sentenced to five years, with three years imprisonment and two years suspended last month. A sentence of one to five years had been expected.

Nonetheless, Youngkin said he decided to commute the ex-cop because “the sentence was “unjust and violates the cornerstone of our justice system—that similarly situated individuals receive proportionate sentences. I want to emphasize that a jury acquitted Sgt. Shifflett of the more serious charge of involuntary manslaughter, a conviction for which the sentencing guidelines recommend no jail time or up to six months’ incarceration.”

“In this case, the court rejected the Senior Probation and Parole Officer’s recommendation of no incarceration nor supervised probation and instead imposed a sentence of five years’ incarceration with two suspended and an additional five years of probation,” Youngkin 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.”

But Shifflett’s record is more checkered than the governor would have Virginians believe.

The fired officer has a history of pointing his gun at other accused shoplifters, according to The Washington Post.

Shifflett has pulled his weapon on unarmed suspects on two other occasions. Just days before the shooting involving Johnson, Shifflett and another officer were investigating a man suspected of being linked to other crimes in the area. 

The man was inside looking at the shades in Bloomingdale’s but left them behind because he felt like police were on to him, the outlet reported. He went to the parking lot and hopped in the vehicle with a woman in the passenger’s seat.

When he attempted to exit, he was confronted by Shifflett and his supervisor, Lt. William Arnest. It was at that time, according to the Post, which obtained footage from the public defender’s office, that Shifflett pointed his gun into the passenger’s window. 

In a written report, Shifflett said he “held it in a modified ready position while giving commands” to the woman he claimed was touching her waistband. He added that he ordered her to “keep her hand visible.”

“Why would you be pulling a gun at people who you think stole a pair of sunglasses?” the suspect, who was not identified, told the Post. “Why didn’t they stop me before I got to my car? Did they want to play superhero?”

The suspect was hit with theft and concealing weapon charges after officers found brass knuckles in his possession, according to the report. However, they were dismissed a few months later.

In another similar incident, Shifflett pulled out his gun on a man accused of shoplifting multiple items in the mall. He was charged, but it was also later dropped. Shifflett’s attorney argued that those previous instances had no connection to the Johnson case.

In a statement, the Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said he was “outraged” at Youngkin’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 was equally disappointed by the governor’s action. “The fact that he got those three days, I wrestled with it, I prayed, I cried, I’m okay,” she said outside the Fairfax County courthouse on Monday. “I’m standing here today so we’ll continue to fight for justice and not just for my family.”

Melissa Johnson has found some measure of peace for her son. “I feel like we achieved justice for Timothy,” she said. “He can’t be a police officer again, he can’t carry a gun, let them deal with the appeal.”

Descano also added his shock at the governor’s swift decision as he stood next to Melissa Johnson. “I’ve never seen something like this,” he said. “I would ask the Governor is there’s any other time where 48 hours after sentence. You jumped in and said ‘Let’s get this guy out of jail.’”