RICHMOND, Va. —Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has commuted the prison sentence of former Fairfax County police sergeant Wesley Shifflett, who was convicted of reckless handling of a firearm in the 2023 shooting death of a shoplifting suspect, NBC 4 Washington reported.
Shifflett was sentenced on Feb. 28 to three years in prison after a jury acquitted him of involuntary manslaughter but found him guilty of reckless firearm use, according to the report. On March 2, Youngkin called the sentence “unjust” and ordered his immediate release.
“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,” Youngkin said in a statement.
He noted that sentencing guidelines for involuntary manslaughter recommend no jail time or up to six months, while Shifflett was sentenced to five years, with two suspended and an additional five years of probation, according to the report.
Shifflett testified that he shot the suspect in self-defense after seeing him reach into his waistband. The suspect was found to be unarmed in later investigations. Prosecutors argued that Shifflett acted recklessly by chasing the suspect into a dark, wooded area and firing without identifying a weapon, according to the report.
