Dominique Williams

Dominique Williams, a 32-year-old Black man from Hyattsville, Maryland, was remembered by his family as a joyful and outgoing person with a big heart. An extrovert who loved having fun, he was a devoted and caring father to his four children and had worked as a home health aide. His cousin said he was the kind of person who was always there for you, just a phone call away.

In the pre-dawn hours of April 7, 2021, Williams and his friend, 38-year-old James Lionel Johnson, were in the parking lot of the Takoma Overlook Condominiums in Takoma Park. A third man, Michael Thomas, was driving their car. Police later confirmed the men were breaking into vehicles when they were confronted by David Hall Dixon, an off-duty Pentagon police officer who lived in the building. Dixon used his own car to block the men's vehicle. As Thomas put the car in reverse and drove past him to leave, Dixon opened fire on the car from behind.

Thomas, who was not seriously injured, frantically drove his friends to a nearby hospital, but it was too late. Both Williams and Johnson died from their injuries. Autopsies later revealed that both men had been shot in the upper back. Dixon initially told responding officers that he had witnessed a car break-in and fired his service weapon after the suspects failed to follow his directions and attempted to flee. However, investigators found that his account was inconsistent with the facts, including surveillance footage of the incident. The Takoma Park police chief stated that Dixon had no lawful or justifiable reason to shoot and kill the two men, who were unarmed.

Dixon was arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder for shooting at Thomas, and multiple handgun offenses. A judge ordered him held without bond. In the wake of the shooting, Williams’s family expressed their devastation. “He became the judge, jury and executioner on his own free will,” his cousin said. Following his arrest, information about a prior incident surfaced, and Dixon was separately charged with first-degree assault for allegedly pointing a shotgun at a woman in his building’s lobby the previous year.

Dixon’s first trial ended in February 2023 when the jury deadlocked, resulting in a mistrial. In September 2023, Dixon pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of Dominique Williams and James Johnson and was also convicted of first-degree assault against Michael Thomas.

On November 16, 2023, a judge sentenced David Hall Dixon to 25 years in prison. At the hearing, Dixon stated he was remorseful and heartbroken for the pain he had caused. The victims’ families expressed their belief that the sentence was not long enough for the lives that were taken. The case was closed as of November 2023.