After a mistrial in February due to a deadlocked jury, an off-duty Pentagon police officer was convicted Thursday for fatally shooting two Takoma Park men on April 7, 2021, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office said.
David Hall Dixon, 42, of Takoma Park, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of James Johnson, 38, and Dominique Williams, 32, and one count of first-degree assault for shooting at a third victim, the State’s Attorney’s Office said.
Dixon’s attorneys were unable to be reached for comment on Friday afternoon.
Dixon lied about the incident behind the Takoma Overlook Apartment Complex at 7333 New Hampshire Ave. in Takoma Park, according to charging documents.
He said he was leaving for work that morning and saw a Lexus with headlights missing driving through the parking lot with three occupants in the car, the charging documents said.
According to the charging documents, Dixon said he observed one of the people who was in the car attempting to break into another vehicle in the parking lot by breaking the window.
Dixon said when he confronted the people in the Lexus, they “gassed it” and tried to run him over, so he fired multiple shots at them, according to charging documents.
All three people in the car were unarmed, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said during a press conference.
The driver, Michael Thomas, then drove himself and the passengers to Prince George’s Hospital immediately, according to charging documents.
Johnson, who sat in the front seat and Williams, who sat in the rear seat, were pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital, McCarthy said.
According to video surveillance footage of the parking lot, Dixon fired at the Lexus from behind, while it was leaving the parking lot. The charging documents said that Dixon fired his gun several times after the car passed him and “no longer presented an immediate threat that would have justified the use of deadly force.”
Also, the Lexus had multiple bullet holes in the rear of the vehicle, and the autopsies of Johnson and Willaims revealed they had both been shot in the back, the charging documents said.
McCarthy said that even though Dixon was a police officer for the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, he had no law enforcement authority during this incident.
“He had no legal authority and no police powers in the State of Maryland,” McCarthy said. “And he was not supposed to use his Pentagon-issued service revolver for personal reasons.”
Dixon had a trial from Feb. 13-17 that was declared a mistrial because the jury deadlocked on the verdict, according to previous MoCo360 reporting.
It was rescheduled for October but was ultimately canceled, since the two parties had a hearing with the judge to discuss a plea deal Thursday, which resulted in Dixon pleading guilty, according to digital court records.
Dixon’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 16, and he faces up to 30 years in prison, per a plea agreement, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office.
Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Michael Maso presided over the case, the State’s Attorney’s Office said.
