A 35-year-old man who police said is a member of the Crips street gang was sentenced Friday to 42 years in prison for the November 2023 murder of a man at a Silver Spring, Maryland, wings restaurant.
Markus Dowdy, who has no known address, was convicted in February of second-degree murder and several other charges in the shooting death of 34-year-old Marvin Jefferson. Prosecutors said Dowdy was retaliating after Jefferson had punched him in the face the week prior.
Another man standing outside the restaurant was hit in the head by a stray bullet, according to charging documents, but survived.
The shooting happened just before 6 p.m. at the America’s Best Wings in the White Oak Shopping Center, near the corner of New Hampshire Avenue and Columbia Pike in Silver Spring.
According to charging documents, Dowdy entered the restaurant, stared down Jefferson and began arguing with him. Eventually, Jefferson briefly stepped out of the restaurant, at which point Dowdy went to the back of the store and pulled out a handgun, charging documents state.
When Jefferson came back inside, police said, Dowdy shot him multiple times, even as Jefferson tried to run away. One of the shots flew through the glass at the front of the restaurant and struck a man standing outside in the head, surveillance video shows.
The video shows Jefferson crawling through the shattered restaurant door as shots continue to ring out. Footage also shows customers inside the restaurant and other shoppers outside at the bustling strip mall panic at the sound and sight of the gunshots.
Then, Dowdy appears from the restaurant and stands over Jefferson, pistol whipping him in the face before leaving the scene, according to charging documents and the surveillance video.
According to Montgomery County police, Dowdy has an extensive criminal history and was on supervised probation at the time of the shooting for a firearms violation and a conspiracy charge related to his participation in a corrupt criminal organization.
Dowdy is a validated member of the Crips criminal street gang, investigators said.
He was sentenced to 25 years on the second-degree murder charge, seven years for violating probation, five years for assault in the shooting of the man who survived, and five years for reckless endangerment.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
