Woman paralyzed after Md. road rage shooting; suspect is nephew of NBA star John Wall
GERMANTOWN, Md. (ABC7) — A random road rage shooting has left a woman paralyzed and Washington Wizards point guard John Wall's nephew, D'Andre Wall, in jail facing two counts of attempted murder that could result in a life-long prison sentence.
The criminal case, which dates back to Thursday, August 8, is only coming to light now after law enforcement sources contacted ABC7 last week.
It was around 7:30 p.m. when Montgomery County Police were dispatched to the 20700 block of Crystal Hill Circle in Germantown for a bullet that had entered a ground-level apartment. While investigating that scene, medical staff at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville called police to report a young female patient with a serious gunshot wound to her back. That woman's boyfriend had driven her to the hospital.
During an interview with detectives, the boyfriend explained he had planned to drop off THC cartridges at an address along Crystal Hill Circle; his girlfriend was riding in the front passenger seat. While following GPS directions in his Infiniti G35X sedan, the boyfriend suddenly changed lanes, in turn, cutting off a gray-colored Chrysler 200.
"The driver became irate at being cut off and began yelling and cursing and threatening [the victim and her boyfriend]," police wrote in charging documents obtained by ABC7.
The couple pulled into the Adler at Waters Landing Apartments and parked in front of the leasing office. That's when the occupants of the Chrysler 200 — a man and woman — exited their car, hurled more insults and pounded on the victim's car window. Those individuals — later identified as D'Andre Wall, 28, and his girlfriend, Khavena Millar, 24, — got back in their vehicle and drove away.
Spooked by the hostile behavior, the victims drove their Infiniti to a more secluded portion of the apartment complex and called their THC cartridge buyer. Minutes later, Wall allegedly drove up to the victim's car again, displayed a handgun and racked the slide before driving off.
That was enough for the victims to cancel their intended drug transaction and leave the area. While driving towards the apartment complex exit, Wall allegedly approached the Infiniti on foot and opened fire. One bullet pierced the Infiniti's trunk and front passenger seat, hitting the female victim in the back. The male victim was not hit.
Detectives asked the male victim to describe the shooter. He recalled a black man, 6-foot-2, with "large, distinctive tattoos" on his neck, gold chains and diamond studs in both ears. Cops spoke with a number of other eyewitnesses, each shared unique details that helped piece things together.
One eyewitness recalled seeing the shooter enter a gray-colored sedan with DC tags, grab a handgun from the glove compartment and place it in his waistband. Moments later, that same eyewitness heard four or five gunshots.
Police quickly determined that those DC tags were registered to Wall's girlfriend of four years. Investigators used a license plate reader database, utility bill on file and an undercover surveillance operation to determine Wall and his girlfriend lived in a third-floor unit less than 100 feet from where the gunfire broke out.
Six days after the shooting, police served a search warrant at Wall's apartment. The 28-year-old's girlfriend answered the front door. Police found Wall hiding in the closet of his master bedroom. While rummaging through dresser drawers, police say they located a packet of rules and regulations for "gang bangin," plus a piece of paper pledging loyalty to "Nine Trey Gangsta," a subset gang of the Bloods.
Authorities arrested Wall and his girlfriend, charging Wall with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault and reckless endangerment. Wall's girlfriend faces a single count of accessory to the crime.
According to multiple law enforcement sources, Wall is the nephew of Washington Wizards point guard John Wall. According to those same sources, the 6-foot-4, all-star athlete employed his nephew as a landscaper and maintenance man at his $5 million Potomac mansion. The 17,000-square-foot house contains eight bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, an indoor basketball court, movie theater, gym, sauna and luxury backyard pool.
In a January 2017, article posted on slamonline.com, John Wall described his relationship with D'Andre as "more like two cousins." In fact, the two are only eight months apart and grew up in the same Raleigh, NC, home as toddlers. One of John's older sisters — D'Andre's mother — ultimately moved into a different home, but remained in the Raleigh-Durham metro area.
“He was into basketball. I took the wrong route,” D'Andre is quoted as saying in the article. “I was into the streets and stuff. So while he was playing basketball, I took the whole opposite route.”
John Wall, who was a standout player at the University of Kentucky and became the number one pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, took note of his nephew's struggles. In 2015, he told D'Andre — who was trying to launch a rap career at the time — to book the next flight to DC.
“I moved him up from North Carolina to keep him out of trouble, keep him out the streets as much as possible, just give him a pathway to show him he can be anything if he just puts his mind to it,” John Wall told slamonline.com. “Seeing me work every day and seeing how I compete and how much heart and competitiveness I put into what I do in the game of basketball, he does the same in his raps.”
John Wall did not return multiple requests for comment about his nephew's recent arrest. In 2017, he signed a four-year, $170 million contract extension with the Wizards. But then last winter, he reportedly slipped and fell in his home, forcing him to sit out the remainder of the 2018-19 season. It's unclear when the lightning-bolt point guard will return to the court.
"We are aware of the situation and have been in contact with John," a Wizards spokesman wrote in a statement to ABC7, stressing that John Wall is in no way implicated in the pending attempted murder case. "Our thoughts are with the victims and their families and we won't have further comment."
During bond review last month, an attorney representing D'Andre Wall made reference to John Wall without stating his name or his level of notoriety. The same attorney stressed that her client was scheduled to begin a new construction-demolition job within a few days and posed no real threat to the general public.
"He does have significant ties to the community, his brother lives here, his uncle lives here," the attorney stated. "I would ask the court to consider a reasonable cash bond in this case."
Yet, both the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office and Montgomery County Pre-Trial Assessment and Supervision Unit argued that D'Andre Wall should remain incarcerated while awaiting trial.
"The defendant has a criminal history listed in sections four and five of our report," a pre-trial services employee stated, noting that D'Andre Wall has failed to appear for court dates in previous cases.
According to court records, D'Andre Wall has previously been sentenced for crimes including possession of stolen goods and selling schedule VI narcotics.
"This was a stranger-on-stranger case, specifically a road rage," the prosecutor handling the bond review remarked. "He could have stopped this at any point in this series of events and he would not be in this situation. He first, allegedly, threatened the victims, then returned, displayed the handgun, racked the slide and then came back a third time on foot and fired into the car several times."
When asked if he cared to make any comments, D'Andre Wall told the judge, "No, ma'am, I just need to get back home to my family."
Upon weighing the facts at hand, Montgomery County District Court Judge Amy Bills gave D'Andre Wall the news he did not want to hear.
"Based upon the nature of the charges alone, the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Wall poses a danger to the community," Judge Bills stated. "The least restrictive means to ensure the safety of the community pending trial will be held without."
D'Andre Wall is scheduled to return to Montgomery County District Court on September 13, for a preliminary hearing. He faces up to two life terms in prison, plus an additional 55 years. D'Andre Wall's girlfriend — who sources say works at a local daycare center — bonded out of jail on a $2,500 unsecured personal bond. Her preliminary hearing is also scheduled for September 13.
Although the shooting victims were illegally selling THC cartridges, police say they most likely will not file charges in light of what happened to them. The female victim is paralyzed from the waist down; her boyfriend is saddled with emotional wounds.
“People need to learn how to find a better way to control their anger," said Betty Sue Rollins, who heard the gunfire from her apartment balcony. "Whatever bothered them through the day, as they go through a commute, they take that anger out on everyone else.”
Rollins explained that the rogue bullet that entered a ground-level apartment ultimately hit a bedroom mirror. The tenant — a single mother with two children — was shaken to her core by the incident.
"Quite frankly, that's the story here. It's not that some NBA star's relative did something stupid, it's that someone lost their cool and could've killed a person in this family-oriented neighborhood," Rollins concluded.
