On the night of December 19, 2022, 54-year-old Lee Alexander Thomas, a male resident of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was fatally shot during a carjacking at a gas station in Largo. The incident occurred at approximately 11:00 p.m. in the 10000 block of Campus Way South. When officers from the Prince George's County Police Department arrived at the scene, they discovered Thomas suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
He was transported to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries a few hours later.
The investigation into the homicide revealed that two individuals were responsible for the attack. According to prosecutors, the assailants, then 17 and 15 years old, had been waiting at the gas station for an opportunity to carjack a vehicle. When Thomas arrived to pump gas into his white BMW, a car he had recently purchased and was very proud of, he was approached by the older teenager. The suspect shot Thomas in the face before he and his accomplice fled the scene in the stolen vehicle. The car was found abandoned a few days later in District Heights.
In January 2023, authorities announced the arrests of two teenagers from Upper Marlboro in connection with the murder. The 17-year-old, Diego Alexander Rivas, and a 15-year-old were both charged as adults with first-degree murder, armed carjacking, and other related offenses. In November 2023, Rivas pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. In March 2024, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in the killing of Lee Alexander Thomas. The legal proceedings for the younger suspect are ongoing.
