McDonald's Drive-Thru Window Shooter Convicted: Prosecutor

GAMBRILLS, MD — A Middle River man was convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder in the 2022 drive-thru window shooting of a worker at a McDonald's restaurant in Gambrills, Anne Arundel County prosecutors said.

Ja’Quan Dontremique Green, 24, of Middle River, was found guilty of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in a crime of violence in the May 13, 2022, shooting death of 23-year-old Britrain Marcelus Gray, of Odenton, at the McDonald’s on Route 3 South, according to a news release.

A sentencing date will be scheduled at a later date.

Following the verdict, State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said in a statement, “My heart breaks for the family of Mr. Gray, as they’ve had to relive the trauma of this murder having attended the trial over the past seven days. I am glad that we were able to deliver justice for Britrain and his family.”

Leitess added, “This was a senseless assassination of a young man who was at work preparing Happy Meals for kids when he was shot through a window. I also want to commend the Anne Arundel County Police Department and Detective Juan Honesto for the thorough investigation and my prosecution team.”

The shooting happened about 4:45 a.m. at the restaurant located at 1130 Crain Highway South. Officers found Gray inside the restaurant’s cash booth area suffering from a gunshot wound. Gray was pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy performed by the chief medical examiner in Baltimore determined the manner of death was a homicide, and the cause of death was due to a gunshot wound.

Surveillance video seen by police showed a black sedan pull around the exterior of the McDonald’s, with no tag and blacked-out windows. A short time later, investigators saw the suspect park the car and walk up to the McDonald’s drive-thru window, where he fired three shots from a 9mm handgun at close range as the victim worked inside, according to a news release from the prosecutor. The suspect then ran back to his vehicle.

Investigators said the shooter wore a dark jacket with a fur-lined hood, boots with fur trim, and distinct gloves with writing on them. A police analysis of social media accounts showed Green drove a car that matched the suspect vehicle, wore clothing that matched the shooter’s clothing, and was seen in videos holding a gun that matched the physical appearance of the suspect’s gun. Police seized similar boots, gloves, and a jacket from Green’s bedroom.

On July 7, 2022, Green was arrested for an unrelated crime in Prince George’s County. At that time he was driving a black 2001 Cadillac Catera, a rare vehicle according to Maryland motor vehicle records, authorities said. Green possessed a handgun, which was seized andexamined by the Prince George’s County Police Department’s Firearms Examination Unit.

Authorities said testing determined the handgun Green carried was consistent with having fired the three 9mm shell casings found outside the drive-thru window in Gray’s murder. Green’s Cadillac Catera had a decal on it that also matched one on the vehicle seen in the McDonald’s footage.