Governor Glenn Youngkin has commuted the sentence of a former Virginia police sergeant, stating that the court’s sentence is “unjust and violates the cornerstone of our justice system.”
Wesley Shifflett, 36, who previously served at the Fairfax County Police Department, was sentenced to three years in prison in connection with the fatal shooting of a man suspected of stealing sunglasses from a shopping center. The incident occurred in February 2023 and resulted in the death of Timothy McCree Johnson. In October 2024, a northern Virginia jury convicted Shifflett of reckless handling of a firearm. However, in a split verdict, the jury found him not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in Johnson’s killing.
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In February 2025, Judge Randy Bellow in Fairfax County Circuit Court sentenced Shifflett to five years in prison in the felony case, with two years suspended.
Over the weekend, Youngkin commuted the sentence imposed on Sgt. Wesley, calling for his immediate release. He contends that the sentence was disproportionate to the charge, emphasizing that a jury acquitted him of involuntary manslaughter and noted that he didn’t have a previous criminal record.
Read his entire statement below:
I have today used the executive clemency authority granted to me by the Constitution of Virginia and commuted the sentence imposed on Sgt. Wesley Shifflett who was convicted of recklessly discharging a firearm by the Fairfax County Circuit Court.
I am convinced that the court’s sentence of incarceration is 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. 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.
My action does not limit Sgt. Shifflett’s right to appeal his reckless discharge of a firearm conviction.
Glenn Youngkin