Malik Deaundre Hart, 20, of Hyattsville, Dominic Lawrence Johnson, 21, of Waldorf, Malik Antonio Moses, 22, of District Heights, and Destiny Zhane Stephenson, 22, of Forestville were each charged with 16 counts of felony first-degree assault and 16 counts of second-degree assault.
Destiny Stephenson was also charged with having a handgun in a vehicle and having a loaded handgun in a vehicle after police recovered a Glock .40 caliber handgun in her Hyundai Sonata .
The four were charged between October 28 and the 29th of 2021, after shooting citizens with paintball guns at multiple locations around Waldorf last year.
On October 30, 2020, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office received an influx of calls in reference to several citizens being shot by an unknown suspect with a paintball gun. A call was received at approximately 1:50 p.m., by citizens at the Safeway located at Waldorf Marketplace, who were actively being shot with paintballs. Two male victims were hit with paintballs. They described the suspect vehicle as a gold in color Hyundai passenger car. Moments later the Sheriff’s Office received a call from another male victim stating he was at the intersection of Route 228 and Route 301, and was struck by paintballs, he also described a gold Hyundai Sonata.
Approximately ten minutes later another male victim was in the parking lot of the 7-11 on Crain Highway, in Waldorf, when he was struck by paintballs.
A short time later a male victim was walking on St Charles Parkway, when he was struck by a paintball by a light skinned male leaning out the window of a car. A second victim on St Charles Parkway was riding his bicycle when he was struck by paintballs. A third male victim was walking on Huntington Circle, when he was struck two times in the chest by paintballs. In all, at least seven people were shot by paint balls on October 30th.
On November 6, 2020, at approximately 5:35 p.m., the Sheriff’s Office received numerous calls in reference to citizens being shot by a suspect with a paintball gun at the Safeway on King Street, in Waldorf. A video showed a gold in color Hyundai Sonata with a sunroof, and five spoke chrome rims. As the Hyundai drives by a male victim who was standing out front, he immediately bends over and grabs his head after being shot with paint balls. The vehicle continues to drive off towards Village Street. Two other male and two female victims who were also were struck by paintballs and described the suspect vehicle as a gold sedan. Later that day two male victims was shot with paintballs, one in the area of Floyd Avenue and another on Copley Avenue, in Waldorf. A male victim was also shot with a paintball in the area of Panera Bread, in Festival Way, in Waldorf.
All 16 victims were at various locations within Charles County, on October 30, 2020, and November 6, 2020, and the majority all described the same vehicle and same suspects. All the victims were in close proximity to one another when they were shot. Several of the victims suffered visible injuries and one victim was transported to the hospital for injuries he obtained to his face after being struck by a paintball.
On November 12, 2020, a call was received for subjects at Dr. Mudd Elementary school banging on the school. Patrol Officers arrived on the scene and located a gold Hyundai Sonata with a sunroof, five spoke chrome rims with a Virginia license plate UKD4034 in the parking lot. There were three males and one female at the school. The 2021 Hyundai Sonata is registered to Destiny Stephenson, and she was positively identified at the scene. The Hyundai Sonata was towed pending a Search and Seizure Warrant.
Search and Seizure Warrants were obtained authorizing the search of the Hyundai Sonata and a search of the vehicle was conducted.
During the search, police opened the glove box and It fell wide open, from the hinge being disconnected. Behind the glove box in the compartment behind the front dash, police observed a black in color Glock .40 caliber handgun. The Glock had one round in the chamber and nine rounds in the magazine. Under the front passenger seat, police located a .380 spent shell casing and in the front center console area In front of the gear shifter, they located a box of .380 ammunition with 4 live rounds.
The Hyundai Sonata bearing Virginia registration UKD4034 is the same vehicle seen on video surveillance from October 30, 2020, at the time of the paintball shootings. The same vehicle was seen on November 6, 2020, when victims were struck by paintballs.
