In the late hours of September 10, 2021, a sense of unease settled over the 12100 block of Ell Lane in Waldorf, Maryland, as the sound of a single gunshot pierced the night. Responding to reports of the shooting, officers from the Charles County Sheriff's Office arrived at an apartment complex to a grim scene. There, in a breezeway, they discovered the body of 25-year-old Arick Jordan Jackson of Washington, D.C.
He had sustained a fatal gunshot wound and was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The initial investigation into the death of the male victim quickly transitioned into a homicide case as detectives began to piece together the events of that tragic evening. Surveillance footage from the apartment complex proved to be a critical piece of evidence. The video showed Arick Jordan Jackson arriving and engaging in conversations with a group of people shortly before the fatal shot was fired. Investigators observed Jackson speaking with a man later identified as Jermaine Christopher Stringer. After their interaction, Jackson walked towards the breezeway. Moments later, the sound of a gun being racked was heard as Stringer approached the same area. The footage captured the harrowing moments as Jackson attempted to flee before Stringer pursued him and fired a single shot, striking him in the upper back.
The investigation led to the identification of two suspects. On September 21, 2021, police arrested 33-year-old Darius Delonte Newman of Clinton, charging him as an accessory after the fact. A little over two weeks later, on October 5, the U.S. Marshals Service task force apprehended the primary suspect, 35-year-old Jermaine Christopher Stringer of Accokeek, in Washington, D.C. Stringer faced a litany of charges, including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and illegal possession of a firearm. A crucial piece of forensic evidence that linked Stringer to the scene was a red plastic cup he had left behind, which contained his fingerprints and DNA.
After a four-day trial, a Charles County jury convicted Jermaine Christopher Stringer of first-degree murder, use of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, and related charges on September 18, 2025. The court heard how Stringer had fled the scene with his co-defendant, Darius Delonte Newman, who drove them away after the shooting. For his role in aiding Stringer's escape, Newman was sentenced to 1172 days in prison for being an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. On September 26, 2025, Jermaine Christopher Stringer was sentenced to life in prison plus an additional 20 years. During the sentencing, the judge referred to the murder as an 'execution' and acknowledged the profound and lasting impact on the victim's family.
