Teen sentenced to 35 years for Wheaton Metro Station murder
ROCKVILLE, Md. - The teenager who shot and killed a man at Wheaton Metro Station last May will spend 35 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised probation.
Emmanuel Simmonds, 17, was sentenced for the murder of 18-year-old Tenneson Vaughn Leslie, Jr. by the Honorable Marybeth Ayres, who handed down the ruling in Montgomery County Circuit Court on July 26.
Judge Ayres recommended that Simmonds be admitted to the Patuxent Youthful Offenders program while incarcerated.
Simmonds had pleaded guilty on December 28, 2023, to charges of first-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
16-year-old pleads guilty in fatal shooting at Wheaton Metro Station
A 16-year-old pleaded guilty Thursday for the fatal shooting at Wheaton Metro Station in May of this year.
The incident occurred on May 18, 2023, at the Wheaton Metro Station.
Two groups of young males, who were strangers to each other, became involved in an altercation on an escalator and continued onto the train platform, where the shooting took place. According to police reports, Simmonds shot Leslie in the back of the head as Leslie and his friends attempted to run away.
After the shooting, Simmonds allegedly boarded a train and fled the scene. He was apprehended nearly a week later and subsequently charged with first-degree murder.
It took police nearly a week to capture the gunman. Simmonds, who was 16 at the time, reportedly boarded a train and fled the scene. He was subsequently charged with first-degree murder.
Simmonds' guilty plea and the subsequent sentencing bring some closure to a case that has deeply affected the families involved and the community at large.