Suspect in 2019 Crystal City workplace shooting indicted

The convicted murderer charged with shooting his ex-girlfriend in her Crystal City, Virginia, office in August of 2019 has been indicted on five counts by an Arlington County grand jury, WTOP has learned.

Mumeet Muhammad allegedly forced his way into the woman’s office, in the 1500 block of Crystal Drive, and assaulted and shot the woman, before he was shot by police on Aug. 28, 2019.

Court records show Muhammad was indicted Monday on five counts: Aggravated Malicious Wounding, Use of a Firearm in Commission of a Felony, 2nd offense, Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, and two counts of Simple Abduction.

Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti confirmed Muhammad had been indicted.

If convicted of the most serious count — Aggravated Malicious Wounding — Muhammad could face 20 years to life. With all the charges combined, he could face life in prison plus 30 years.

“Our first and last priority is to keep the community safe,” Dehghani-Tafti told WTOP in a statement. “This was a dangerous and terrifying situation for all the victims and the officers alike. We take gun violence very seriously and will not tolerate it here.”

In 1992, Muhammad, who was then known as Tonie Macklin, was convicted of murdering a man in Arlington and was sentenced to 37 years in prison.

He was released on mandatory parole in 2017, according to the Virginia Parole Board.

In July 2019, Muhammad was charged in D.C. with two misdemeanors for allegedly punching and threatening a man.

Several weeks later, on Aug. 9, court records show the woman was granted a temporary restraining order, saying she feared for her safety because of threats from Muhammad.

On Aug. 20, 2019, U.S. Park Police arrested Muhammad near Fort Dupont Park in Southeast D.C., after responding to reports of shots fired. The gun was recovered by a search dog.

However, D.C. prosecutors dropped a federal gun possession count.

Theo Stamos, Arlington’s prosecutor at the time, told WTOP it was “unconscionable” that Muhammad was roaming the streets, because he was a convicted murderer and was the subject of a recent protective order filed by the woman, who said she feared for her life.

Soon after Muhammad’s arrest, WTOP asked a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia why prosecutors chose not to prosecute Muhammad — a convicted felon who allegedly had a gun and was the subject of a restraining order. The spokeswoman declined to comment.

In March 2020, Muhammad was indicted by a D.C. grand jury on four gun-related counts connected to the Fort Dupont Park incident.

Muhammad has been held since his arrest. His next court date will be set next week.

Neal Augenstein

Neal Augenstein has been a general assignment reporter with WTOP since 1997. He says he looks forward to coming to work every day, even though that means waking up at 3:30 a.m.

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