“It was the hardest thing of my life.”
Sheila Caldwell spoke about days spent sitting through the trial of Markus Dowdy, 34, of Silver Spring, listening as prosecutors described a previous dispute between Dowdy and her late son Marvin Jefferson, also 34.
They got into a fistfight where Jefferson allegedly got the better of Dowdy, and video of the fight may have been posted to social media, she said.
Then, on Nov. 4, 2023, Jefferson walked into the America’s Best Wings carryout at the White Oak Shopping Center. Dowdy was there.
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He had a gun, and, prosecutors say, retaliation on his mind as he chased Jefferson toward the door while firing.
Security cameras captured the deadly mayhem as it burst out of the carryout.
Jefferson was fatally injured. A second man hit by the gunfire survived.
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“In this particular instance, the individual, Mr. Dowdy, shot and killed not only the victim in this case, but he shot his own friend in the head,” said Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.
Caldwell said it was excruciating to be in that courtroom, but she did it for her son and the two children he leaves behind.
“He took the best part of my life away. He took the best part,” Caldwell said. “I've lost a lot of family members, but losing a child like that, to me, is just the worst.”
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Dowdy is set to be sentenced in June. He’s facing penalties that mean he will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.
