A former Pentagon police officer was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for shooting and killing two men in Takoma Park, Maryland, after he believed they were breaking into cars in his condo parking lot.
David Dixon was off-duty from his job as a Pentagon officer when he opened fire before dawn on April 7, 2021.
James Lionel Johnson, 38, of District Heights, and Dominique Williams, 32, of Hyattsville, were killed.
Dixon pleaded guilty in September to two counts of murder.
The victims' families said the sentence isn't long enough.
"He can do 25 years and get out and enjoy his life. My cousin can’t come back," relative Joseph Johnson said.
"The whole family, everybody, we still gotta try to live with this pain and try to think that it’s gonna go away, but it’s never gonna go away," relative Kandis Gooden said.
Dixon said in court, "I am remorseful and heartbroken about the events of that morning. I am sorry to the families. My heart aches for the pain I’ve caused you.”
A panicked 911 call
In a 911 call, Michael Thomas said he and two friends went to Takoma Overlook Condominiums to steal tools.
Dixon, who lived at the building, confronted them. Surveillance video showed him pulling his car around to block theirs.
Thomas put the car in reverse to drive away. Dixon got out of his car and pointed his gun and flashlight at the victims’ car.
After the car drove past him, Dixon opened fire from behind it, killing Johnson and Williams.
“The police shot at us,” Thomas frantically told 911. “He killed both of my friends. They’re in the car dead.”
“I’m scared for my [expletive] life,” he told 911. “’Cause [expletive] tried to kill me, too.”
Thomas said he still copes with the trauma of the day Dixon killed his friends.
"I have nightmares at night, riding with those dudes still in the car, me, I was lost. I didn’t really know what to do," he said.
Dixon’s trial in February ended with a hung jury and was declared a mistrial.
He pleaded guilty in September to two counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree assault.
“This was outrageous conduct. It was unlawful conduct. It was murder,” Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said at the time. “He was not supposed to use his Pentagon-issued service revolver for personal reasons.”
Dixon faced up to 30 years in prison.
“We’re relieved that Mr. Dixon has accepted responsibility for his actions,” said Johnson’s cousin Marcus Kornegay. “And now we’re prayerful, and will remain prayerful, that the Montgomery County justice system will handle his sentencing justly and appropriately.”
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Dixon also is charged with two counts of assault for a previous incident at his condo building where he allegedly pulled a long gun on a homeless woman in the lobby. The state’s attorney’s office said it will not try that case but would present it as a factor during sentencing.
The judge said Dixon will be placed into protective custody in prison, because he used to be a police officer.
Dixon will be eligible for parole after he’s served half his sentence.
