On a summer evening in Woodbridge, Virginia, the life of 24-year-old Najee Alexander Mason, a Black male, was cut short by a single gunshot. The fatal incident unfolded on June 4, 2016, in the 14900 block of Potomac Heights Place, near the Elan Potomac Heights luxury apartments. Police responded to reports of a shooting around 9:18 p.m. and found Mason suffering from a gunshot wound. He was quickly transported to a nearby hospital, where he died shortly after his arrival.
This tragic event marked the 11th homicide in Prince William County that year.
The investigation into Mason's death swiftly identified his roommate, Abdisalam Ali Roble, 25, as a suspect. Investigators believe an argument between the two men escalated into the deadly shooting. A warrant for Roble's arrest was issued, and on June 7, he was located and apprehended by U.S. Marshals in Syracuse, New York. Roble was charged with murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He was held in New York awaiting extradition back to Virginia to face the charges.
Further investigation led to the identification of two other men allegedly involved in the homicide. Ricardo Stephen Tompkins, 24, of Mechanicsville, Maryland, was located and arrested in Syracuse, New York, at the same time as Roble. Tompkins was charged with second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Several months later, in August, a third suspect, 27-year-old Antonio Jones Gadson of Southwest Washington, was arrested in Alexandria, Virginia. Gadson was also charged with second-degree murder in connection with Najee Mason's death.
