A split verdict has been returned in a trial against a police officer charged with killing a man outside Tysons Corner Center

After a day of deliberating the case of a former Fairfax County, Virginia, police officer who shot and killed a suspected shoplifter outside Tysons Corner Center last year, the jury reached a split decision Friday.

Wesley Shifflett testified in court that he fatally shot Timothy McCree Johnson, 37, of D.C., in an act of self-defense in February 2023 after Johnson led police on a short chase outside the Tysons Corner Center mall.

The jury found Shifflett not guilty of involuntary manslaughter, but guilty of reckless handling of a firearm. This is considered a felony in Virginia and carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

On February 22, 2023, at approximately 6:30 p.m., police were called to the Nordstrom department store in the south area of ​​the mall on reports of stolen designer goods.

According to a police report on the shooting, detailed in a news release, an officer saw Johnson leaving the store and set off a theft alarm. Police pursued Johnson through a parking garage and into the woods, where officers said he ignored orders to get on the ground.

Johnson was shot in the parking garage in front of the mall and died of a gunshot wound to the chest.

Surveillance video and body camera footage showed Johnson removing a pair of sunglasses from Nordstrom and then leaving the store toward the parking garage. Plainclothes officers could be seen following Johnson out of the store and near Route 7, shouting orders for him to get on the ground and stop reaching for his pants.

Soon after, Johnson can be heard saying, “I’m not reaching for nothing. I have nothing.”

When he did not comply and ran further into a wooded area away from the shopping center, the officers opened fire, hitting him once in the chest.

Fairfax County police fired Shifflett the following month for what Police Chief Kevin Davis called “a failure to live up to our agency's expectations, particularly use of force policies.”

Shifflett was charged last October with involuntary manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm.

“I know that charges – nothing – will ever bring him back, but I hope that they feel seen and heard and that this is another step on their road to healing,” Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano said at the time after meeting with Johnson's family.

After Shifflett's first court appearance, Melissa Johnson, the mother of Timothy McCree Johnson, said: “We are waiting for the facts to emerge and for the victory for Timothy.”

Caleb Kershner, Shifflett's attorney, said his client feared for his life in the moments before the shooting. As Shifflett chased Johnson into the woods, Kershner said, Johnson stumbled in some brush and crouched on his knees, facing Shifflett. Kershner said Shifflett saw Johnson reaching into his waistband and thought he had a gun. After the shooting, police searched for a weapon but found nothing.

“Unfortunately, Sgt. Shifflett does not have clairvoyance or x-ray vision,” Kershner said, adding, “His training taught him to do exactly what he did.”

After closing arguments were made Wednesday, Kershner said he expected the trial would be sought without prejudice, meaning the case would be dismissed and prosecutors would be barred from seeking a new trial.

On Thursday, however, defense attorneys, apparently satisfied with the way the case was going, did not file a motion for a mistrial. Judge Randy Bellows only instructed jurors to ignore part of prosecutors' argument in which the government mistakenly played a clip of Shifflett's body-worn camera video, which was shown minutes after the shooting and was never played at trial had been presented.

WTOP's Kate Ryan, who reported from the scene Friday, said Descano argued that Shifflett had other options to subdue Johnson and that the shooting wasn't necessary.

After court adjourned Friday evening, Descano told reporters, “I want the people of Fairfax County … to know that we will continue to fight for a fair and equitable system that meets the needs of all of our community members.”

“Real justice would be if Timothy were alive, that would be justice,” Descano added. “What (the criminal justice system) can do is hold people accountable when they break the law, and that’s exactly what happened today.”

Melissa Johnson stood by his side and added: “MeF The Mother from The deceased may say The she Is satisfied with It, You should To Be as So.”

“My heart is fine. And there is still a lot to be done to prevent this from happening to anyone, not even to another police officer!” she said.

WTOP staff and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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