On the night before Thanksgiving, November 25, 2020, a dispute in Capitol Heights, Maryland, tragically cut short the life of 34-year-old Jamell McEachern, a Black male. The altercation escalated to violence, ending with McEachern suffering from a fatal gunshot wound.
Prince George's County patrol officers were called to the 7000 block of Valley Park Road around 11:00 p.m. for a report of a shooting. Upon arrival, they discovered McEachern outside a residence with a gunshot wound.
He was quickly transported to a nearby hospital, but his injuries proved to be too severe, and he was pronounced dead a short time later.
The preliminary investigation pointed to 24-year-old Oflen Drake of St. Pauls, North Carolina, as the person responsible for McEachern's death. It was determined that the two men were acquainted and the shooting occurred during a dispute between them. Drake was taken into custody at the scene of the shooting. He was subsequently charged with first and second-degree murder and other related charges. A court commissioner ordered that he be held at the Department of Corrections without bond.
