WASHINGTON —A man died after what police are calling a drug deal gone bad behind a Charles County movie theater Wednesday night.
Police responded to a call for a shooting in the parking lot behind the movie theater at St. Charles Towne Center around 8 p.m. in the 11000 block of Mall Circle Drive.
The victim was identified Thursday morning as Reuel Hicks, 18, of Waldorf. The sheriff’s office said Hicks and several friends were walking behind the movie theater when Hicks stopped and talked with the suspect — Deavan Quindel Jefferson — who pulled out a gun and shot him.
The sheriff’s office said Hicks died at a hospital.
“It appears the victim and suspect are acquaintances and were making a drug transaction when the shooting occurred,” the sheriffs said in a statement Thursday.
Jefferson ran off, but was arrested later, the sheriffs said. He’s being held at the Charles County Detention Center and is being charged with first-degree murder.
Hicks and Jefferson are acquaintances and were making a drug transaction when the shooting occurred, police said.
Police say the shooting does not appear to be related to activity inside the movie theater.
Anyone with information about this shooting can call 301-932-2222 or Charles County Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS.
WTOP’s Colleen Kelleher, Rick Massimo and Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this story from Washington.
