Annapolis, MD – This evening, in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, Ja’Quan Dontremique Green, age 24, of Middle River, was found guilty of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in a crime of violence by an Anne Arundel County jury in the May 2022 drive-thru window shooting death of 23-year-old Britrain Gray at the McDonald’s located on Route 3 South in Gambrills. The Honorable Judge Elizabeth Morris will schedule sentencing at a later date.
Following the verdict, State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess commented, “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 Det. Juan Honesto for the thorough investigation and my prosecution team.”
On May 13, 2022 at approximately 4:45 AM, officers with the Anne Arundel County Police Department were dispatched to the McDonald’s restaurant located at 1130 Crain Highway South in Gambrills for the report of an employee who was shot. Officers found the victim, identified as 23-year-old Britrain Marcelus Gray, of Odenton, inside the restaurant’s cash booth area suffering from a gunshot wound. Gray was pronounced dead on the scene.
On Saturday, May 14, 2022, an autopsy was performed on the victim at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore. The manner of death was ruled a homicide, and the cause of death due to a gunshot wound.
Investigators recovered evidence from the crime scene including video surveillance footage and ballistic evidence. Upon reviewing the surveillance video, detectives observed a black sedan pull around the exterior of the McDonald’s, with no tag and blacked-out windows. A short time later, investigators observed a suspect park the car and walk up to the McDonald’s drive-thru window where he then fired three shots from a 9mm handgun at close range as the victim was working inside. The suspect then fled on foot back to his vehicle. Investigators also noted that the shooter was wearing a dark jacket with a fur-lined hood, boots with fur trim, and distinct gloves with writing on them. Through analysis of the social media accounts, investigators noted that the defendant drove a car that matched the suspect vehicle, wore clothing that matched the suspect’s clothing, and was seen in videos holding a gun that matched the physical appearance of the suspect’s gun. Later in the investigation, a search warrant served on the defendant’s residence led to the recovery of what appeared to be similar boots, gloves, and a jacket from the defendant’s bedroom.
On July 7, 2022, defendant Ja’Quan Green was arrested for an unrelated criminal offense in Prince George’s County. At the time of his arrest, he was driving a black 2001 Cadillac Catera, a rare vehicle according to Maryland motor vehicle records. Green was found to be in possession of a handgun on his person, and the firearm was seized. The seized handgun was examined by the Prince George’s County Police Department’s Firearms Examination Unit. Testing concluded that the handgun Green was carrying was consistent with having fired the three 9mm shell casings recovered outside the drive-thru window in the commission of Britrain Gray’s murder. Green’s Cadillac Catera had a decal on it that also corresponded to one on the vehicle observed in the McDonald’s footage.
The State of Maryland was represented by State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess and Assistant State’s Attorneys Glen Neubauer and Murphy Hartford. The investigation was led by Detective Juan Honesto of the Anne Arundel County Police Department’s Homicide division.