In the early morning hours of February 4, 2017, a night out with her boyfriend turned tragic for 26-year-old Miaquita Gray of Lexington Park, Maryland. The evening began inside the Beer 4 U sports bar in Waldorf, where an altercation broke out that did not involve Gray. Her boyfriend, Emmanuel Perkins, was reportedly assaulted and robbed by three men in the restroom.
Shortly after, at approximately 1:25 a.m., Gray and Perkins left the establishment and were in the parking lot.
The suspects from the earlier confrontation also exited the bar. As Perkins pointed out the men who had assaulted him, one of them, later identified as Anthony Dangelo Wilkins, produced a handgun and began firing. In the chaos that ensued, Miaquita Gray was struck by a bullet in the upper body. She was rushed to a nearby hospital but was pronounced deceased. Perkins and another man sustained non-life-threatening injuries. It is believed that Gray was not the intended target of the shooting.
The investigation into Miaquita Gray's death quickly led authorities to identify two suspects: Anthony Dangelo Wilkins, 33, and Charles Leon Thompson, Jr., 33, both of Waldorf. A warrant was issued for Wilkins' arrest, and he was located in Emporia, Virginia, on February 12. His apprehension was not without incident, as he was involved in a shootout with Virginia State Police before being taken into custody. The following day, on February 13, Charles Leon Thompson, Jr. arranged through his attorney to turn himself in to the Charles County Sheriff's Office. Both men were charged in connection with the murder of Miaquita Gray.
In the ensuing legal proceedings, Charles Leon Thompson, Jr. pleaded guilty on December 4, 2017, to armed robbery and the use of a handgun in the commission of a violent crime. He was subsequently sentenced to 40 years in prison. On July 27, 2021, a Charles County jury found Anthony Dangelo Wilkins guilty of second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, and other related charges. On November 9, 2021, Wilkins was sentenced to 70 years in prison for his role in the death of Miaquita Gray and the assaults of the other victims.
