18-year-old sentenced to life in prison, will serve 40 years for Bethesda stairwell killing
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - One of three teenagers originally accused of killing a man in a Bethesda shopping center in 2021 has been sentenced to life in prison, but will only serve 40 years, according to Montgomery County officials.
A judge sentenced Joshua Wright, 18, to life in prison suspend all but 40 years for the death of 33-year-old, father of six, Lawrence Wilson Jr. This means Wright's sentence is technically life in prison, but the judge decided he will serve 40 years and then be placed on five years of supervised probation upon release.
On Dec. 19, 2021, Wright, then-16-year-old Antonio Lawrence and then-18-year-old Blaise Uchemadu met the victim in an emergency exit stairwell outside the Target at the Shops of Bethesda to purchase two ounces of marijuana. However, in court, it was revealed this was all pre-planned to rob the man.
On Dec. 20, 2021, the uncle of one of the teens called police saying his nephew told him he stabbed and killed a man at the Target on Wisconsin Avenue the day prior.
Court documents reveal Wright walked into a Montgomery County Police station on Dec. 20 saying he witnessed the killing.
Investigators say on surveillance video, the three suspects are seen entering the stairwell and 17 minutes later, they run away.
The three teens were arrested and charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.
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Authorities say the suspects lived together at the Greentree Group Home in Bethesda.
In March 2022, the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office dropped the charges against Uchemadu due to "insufficient evidence to proceed to trial."
Wright had pleaded guilty to the charge of first-degree murder in July 2022. Lawrence is scheduled for trial beginning Feb. 6, 2023.
Wright will be admitted into the Patuxent Youthful Offenders Program while incarcerated.