Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Sunday commuted the three-year prison sentence for a former Fairfax County police officer who was convicted in the deadly shooting of a fleeing shoplifter.

Mr. Youngkin, a Republican, called the prison term for former Sgt. Wesley Shiflett “unjust” and said in a Sunday night statement that it “violates the cornerstone of our justice system — that similarly situated individuals receive proportionate sentences.”

“I want to emphasize that a jury acquitted Sgt. Shifflett of the more serious charge of involuntary manslaughter, a conviction for which the sentencing guidelines recommend no jail time or up to six months’ incarceration.”  

His order paves the way for Mr. Shiflett to be released immediately.

The governor also said the court imposed the prison sentence Friday despite recommendations of no incarceration from probation and parole authorities.

“Sgt. Shifflett has no prior criminal record, and was, by all accounts, an exemplary police officer,” Mr. Youngkin said. “It is in the interest of justice that he be released immediately.”  

Mr. Shifflett, 36, was booked into jail after Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows handed down the sentence over his conviction in the fatal February 2023 incident outside Tysons Corner Center.

Last fall, a jury found Mr. Shifflett guilty of recklessly discharging a firearm in the shooting that killed 37-year-old thief Timothy Johnson.

The former sergeant expressed his “deepest and heartfelt condolences to the Johnson family” shortly before he was sentenced Friday in the crowded courtroom.

“This is a victory for everyone, and I don’t say ‘victory’ as any kind of loose term, because it will not bring our son back. But I do want to acknowledge that this is historical and unprecedented, and for that I am grateful,” Melissa Johnson, Timothy Johnson’s mother, said in a statement after the hearing.

Mr. Shifflett’s defense attorneys had told WRC-TV they would appeal the sentence.

Police union reps previously accused Fairfax County’s top prosecutor of pushing a “politically motivated” case that was determined to secure a conviction.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, a Democrat who has been backed by left-wing billionaire George Soros, received court approval for a special grand jury into the shooting after an initial grand jury declined to indict Mr. Shifflett.

The special grand jury gave Mr. Descano greater influence in the charging process.

“Instead of honoring this decision, Mr. Descano opted to bypass standard legal procedures and convene a special grand jury,” the union said following the jury’s October verdict. “This demonstrated his continued manipulation of the judicial system, one that he has sworn to uphold, in favor of avenues that further his personal political agendas.”

Mr. Shifflett shot and killed Johnson in a wooded area near Tysons Corner Center after the thief stole two pairs of sunglasses and fled the massive shopping mall.

Mr. Shifflett testified that he saw Johnson fidget with his waistband during the pursuit. The officer fired two shots at the suspect moments later.

No gun was found on Johnson, who eventually died at a hospital.

“I did not have the luxury to wait to see a gun,” Mr. Shifflett testified at his trial. “We are trained that hands are going to harm you and hands are what are going to kill you.”

Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis fired Mr. Shifflett shortly after the incident. However, the chief said the body camera footage wasn’t clear about how much of a threat Johnson presented in the heat of the moment.

The prosecution nearly upended its case when in closing arguments it used a clip from Mr. Shifflett’s body camera that wasn’t submitted for evidence.

The clip was from moments after Mr. Shifflett shot Johnson and captured the ex-sergeant telling other officers that he ordered Johnson to “show me your hands.”

Body camera footage from the pursuit revealed that Mr. Shifflett never made that order

Prosecutors argued that Mr. Shifflett made up the quote because he knew he was in the wrong, but the former officer’s defense team said it would seek a mistrial over the faulty evidence.

The prosecution acknowledged the error, and the defense later relented.

The judge instructed the jury to forget the clip during deliberations, but the union characterized the clip as a timely lapse in judgment to serve the prosecution’s case.

• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.