Michael Raymond Bailey Jr. was a 22-year-old White man from Sandston, Virginia, whose shift at a McDonald’s on Nine Mile Road in eastern Henrico County ended in gunfire late on Sunday night, July 20, 2014. Police said Bailey stepped outside the restaurant in the 5100 block of Nine Mile Road around 11:15 p.m., and he was shot in the parking lot. He was rushed to VCU Medical Center, but he did not survive his injuries.
In the first hours after the killing, the scene stayed tense—employees were told to lock the doors while officers worked the case, and customers were turned away. Investigators said two people were seen running from the area, but they did not release a motive at the time. As the search widened, detectives asked the public for help, hoping someone in the community had seen more than they realized in those chaotic moments outside the restaurant.
The next day, police released additional images and described two “persons of interest” captured in photos near the time of the shooting, dressed in dark clothing with their heads and faces covered. One image, taken with an infrared camera, showed the heavier of the two with his face uncovered. Authorities again emphasized that they were still working to understand what drove the violence, and they urged anyone who recognized the individuals to come forward.
By early October 2014, the investigation had shifted from searching for unknown runners to naming suspects. Police announced arrests and charges against Deonte Maurice Jenkins Jr., of Colonial Heights, and Christopher Pitts, of Henrico. Jenkins was charged with first-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, shooting during the commission of a felony, and unlawfully wearing a mask in public in the commission of a felony. Pitts was charged with attempted robbery, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and conspiracy to commit robbery—charges that indicated investigators believed robbery was at the heart of what unfolded outside the restaurant.
Years later, Jenkins’ name appeared in a U.S. Supreme Court docket as a state prisoner seeking a writ of habeas corpus; the filing listed him at Wallens Ridge State Prison, and the Court denied the petition in October 2022. The available public reporting on the case details the initial investigation, the identification of suspects, and the charges filed, but it does not provide further publicly accessible specifics about later trial outcomes in the sources reviewed.
