A jury in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court convicted Ja’Quan Dontremique Green, 24, of Middle River, of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in a crime of violence this evening in the May 2022 shooting death of 23-year-old Britrain Marcelus Gray at a McDonald’s drive-thru in Gambrills. The Honorable Judge Elizabeth Morris will set a sentencing date at a later time.
The verdict followed a seven-day trial that required Gray’s family to attend and relive the events. State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess stated after the decision, “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 described the killing as “a senseless assassination of a young man who was at work preparing Happy Meals for kids when he was shot through a window.” She commended the Anne Arundel County Police Department, specifically Det. Juan Honesto, for the thorough investigation, and praised her prosecution team of Assistant State’s Attorneys Glen Neubauer and Murphy Hartford.
The incident occurred on May 13, 2022, at approximately 4:45 a.m. at the McDonald’s located at 1130 Crain Highway South, Route 3 South, in Gambrills. Officers from the Anne Arundel County Police Department responded to reports of an employee shot inside the restaurant. They located Gray, of Odenton, in the cash booth area suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy performed the following day, May 14, 2022, at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore determined the cause of death as a gunshot wound and the manner of death as homicide.
Investigators collected video surveillance footage and ballistic evidence from the scene. The footage showed a black sedan with no visible tag and blacked-out windows circling the exterior of the restaurant. A suspect then parked, approached the drive-thru window on foot, and fired three shots from a 9mm handgun at close range while Gray worked inside. The shooter fled back to the vehicle on foot. Surveillance captured the suspect wearing a dark jacket with a fur-lined hood, boots with fur trim, and gloves with distinctive writing.
Detectives linked Green to the crime through multiple pieces of evidence. Analysis of his social media accounts revealed that he drove a vehicle matching the suspect car, wore clothing consistent with the suspect’s attire, and appeared in videos holding a firearm resembling the one used. A search warrant executed at Green’s residence recovered items from his bedroom that appeared similar to the jacket, boots, and gloves seen in the footage.
On July 7, 2022, Green was arrested in Prince George’s County on an unrelated criminal charge. At the time, he was driving a black 2001 Cadillac Catera, described as a rare vehicle per Maryland motor vehicle records. Authorities seized a handgun from his possession. The Prince George’s County Police Department’s Firearms Examination Unit tested the weapon and determined it was consistent with firing the three 9mm shell casings recovered outside the McDonald’s drive-thru window. The Cadillac also bore a decal matching one visible on the suspect vehicle in the surveillance video.
The case underscores the role of combined investigative techniques, including video analysis, social media review, ballistic matching, and physical evidence recovery, in resolving violent crimes in Anne Arundel County. Gambrills, located in northern Anne Arundel County near the intersection of major routes, includes commercial areas such as the McDonald’s where the shooting occurred, serving both local residents and travelers along Route 3. The early-morning timing and workplace setting highlighted vulnerabilities for service industry employees during overnight shifts. Gray’s death removed a young worker from the community, and the conviction provides closure for his family after more than three years of proceedings.
