In the early hours of a Wednesday morning in Suitland, Maryland, a routine stop at a gas station turned into a fatal encounter for Wayne Pope. The 27-year-old man had just made a purchase at the Exxon on Silver Hill Road on May 3, 2017, and was returning to his vehicle shortly after midnight. It was then that he was confronted by an armed assailant.
A struggle ensued between Pope and the man, tragically ending with Pope being shot.
He was found by police suffering from a gunshot wound to his upper body and was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators quickly determined that the motive for the attack was robbery, as the suspect not only shot Pope but also stole his car before fleeing the scene. Witnesses indicated that Pope did not appear to know his killer.
Within a week, the Prince George's County Police Department announced an arrest in connection with the senseless killing. Furl John Williams, a 24-year-old from Fort Washington with no fixed address, was taken into custody. Williams was charged with the murder of Wayne Pope. The investigation revealed that Williams was also a suspect in a separate homicide that had occurred just days earlier in Germantown, Maryland.
