A 34-year-old Waldorf man, who was charged with the murder of a 26-year-old Lexington Park woman, took a plea deal just days before his scheduled trial in Charles County Circuit Court on Dec. 4.
On Feb. 4, three men, Anthony D’Angelo Wilkins, Charles Leon Thompson Jr., both 34, of Waldorf and an unidentified man, were allegedly involved in an armed robbery and the murder of the woman at a Waldorf bar. Thompson entered into a plea deal on Monday.
Wilkins and Thompson were charged with first-degree murder, attempted first- and second-degree murder, armed robbery, robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, first-degree assault, several charges of use of a firearm to commit a violent crime and other related charges.
On Feb. 4 at 1:25 a.m., officers responded to a bar, Beer 4 U, located at 2177 Crain Highway in Waldorf for the report of a shooting.
Upon arrival, officers located two people with gunshot wounds. Miaquita Gray, 26, of Lexington Park had a gunshot wound to the upper body; she was transported to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced deceased. A 24-year-old male was grazed in the leg during the shooting, according to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office.
A preliminary investigation revealed there had been an altercation inside the bar prior to the shooting, during which a male friend of Gray was assaulted. Shortly after the altercation, the man went outside to talk with Gray, who had just left. Wilkins and Thompson, who had been allegedly involved in the earlier assault, were in the parking lot when Wilkins reportedly pulled a gun and fired multiple rounds, striking Gray and wounding another man, according to police.
In the plea deal, Thompson pled guilty to two of the 26 original counts he was charged with: armed robbery and the use of a firearm to commit a violent crime. Both of these charges have a maximum sentence of 20 years incarceration.
Thompson’s attorney, Michael Beach, told the court that he was pleading guilty “under the theory that he was an accomplice” to the armed robbery of the victim inside the Waldorf bar.
Charles County Assistant State’s Attorney John Stackhouse summarized the evidence that would have been given if Thompson had agreed to a trial.
Stackhouse told the court that the victim who was robbed inside the bathroom of Beer 4 U would have testified, telling the court that he was hit over the head with a handgun before being robbed of cash and a credit card. He would have also testified that after he pointed out the three men who robbed him in the parking lot, Wilkins pointed a gun at him and fired shots, which hit Gray, ultimately killing her, according to Stackhouse.
He also said that he would have shown the jury a surveillance video of that night, which shows the men going into the bathroom just before the victim entered, as well as Wilkins carrying a handgun after Gray and others were shot.
Lastly, Stackhouse told the court that he had evidence that the victim’s blood was found on Thompson’s shoes and jacket that he was wearing the night of the incident.
Beach added that within the surveillance video, Thompson comes out of the bathroom first, which Beach said “put him the furthest away” from the robbery that took place in the bathroom.
He also told the court that Wilkins firing a gun outside the bar was a separate incident, and that there was a “two minute altercation” before the shots were fired, which Beach said was what caused Wilkins to pull out his gun.
“Thompson had no idea he was going to do that,” Beach said.
Thompson said that he agreed that the state had enough evidence to convict him of the crimes charged and officially pled guilty to armed robbery and use of a firearm to commit a violent crime in front of the court, as well as many friends and family members of Gray.
In a prior court hearing in March, Thompson’s bail was set at $50,000, which Stackhouse said he was unable to make. Stackhouse requested that Thompson be held without bond, which Judge H. Jay West granted.
West scheduled Thompson’s sentencing for Feb. 28.
According to the state’s attorney’s office, Wilkins is currently incarcerated in Virginia.
Originially Posted on The Maryland Independent:
http://www.somdnews.com/independent/crime_and_courts/waldorf-man-charged-with-murder-takes-plea-deal/article_de8828db-292e-5150-8c3f-ad786653ee59.html