Theodora Yvonne Summers, a 40-year-old female, was tragically killed on the afternoon of March 16, 2007, when a stray bullet entered her home in Lanham, Maryland, and struck her in the head. At the time of the incident, Summers, a hotel restaurant hostess, was in her residence on the 6700 block of 96th Avenue, getting ready for work. She was home alone and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Known affectionately as 'Tear' to her friends, she was remembered for her laughing eyes and sweet smile.
The shooting was the result of a dispute that did not involve Summers. Two men, Robert Tyrone Stamp, 22, and Robert W. Francis, 20, were firing from a moving car at an admitted marijuana dealer named Dexter DeLeon, with whom they had an ongoing conflict. DeLeon was wounded in the attack, and his pit bull was killed. One of the bullets fired during this altercation pierced a window of Summers's home, leading to the fatal and unintended outcome.
In the subsequent investigation, both Stamp and Francis were arrested. Robert Tyrone Stamp, identified by police as one of the shooters, was charged with first-degree murder. He later pleaded guilty to this charge and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Robert W. Francis was acquitted of first- and second-degree murder but was convicted by a jury of involuntary manslaughter, two handgun violations, attempted murder of DeLeon, conspiracy to murder DeLeon, and first-degree assault.
