Ja’Quan Dontremique Green, 25, of Middle River, was sentenced Friday afternoon to life in prison plus 20 years for the May 2022 murder of 23-year-old Britrain Gray, who was shot to death while working the overnight drive-thru window at the McDonald’s on Route 3 South in Gambrills.
The Honorable Judge Elizabeth Morris handed down the sentence in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court. An Anne Arundel County jury convicted Green of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in a crime of violence on Jan. 21, 2026 — a verdict the Southern Maryland Chronicle covered at the time.
“Today’s sentence delivers justice for Britrain Gray and ensures that a dangerous offender is removed from our community,” State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said. “This senseless violence stole a young man’s life while he was working the overnight shift at the drive-through window. Though nothing can undo this tragedy, I hope this sentence brings some measure of peace and closure to Britrain’s family, many of whom endured seeing the horrific evidence of their brother gunned down while he was building Happy Meal boxes for kids.”
Leitess also credited the prosecution and investigative team. “I want to commend Assistant State’s Attorneys Glen Neubauer and Murphy Hartford for their tireless efforts securing a conviction, and Detective Juan Honesto and the Anne Arundel County Police Department Homicide Unit put together a thorough investigation.”
How the case unfolded
Officers were dispatched to the McDonald’s at 1130 Crain Highway South in Gambrills at about 4:45 a.m. on May 13, 2022, after a report of an employee shot. They found Gray, of Odenton, inside the restaurant’s cash booth area suffering from a gunshot wound; he was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy the following day at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore ruled the death a homicide caused by a gunshot wound.
Investigators recovered surveillance footage showing a black sedan — with no tag and blacked-out windows — circling the exterior of the restaurant before a suspect parked, walked up to the drive-thru window and fired three shots from a 9mm handgun at close range while Gray was working inside. The shooter fled on foot back to the vehicle. Investigators noted he was wearing a dark, fur-lined-hood jacket, boots with fur trim, and gloves with distinct lettering.
Detectives connected Green to the crime in part through his own social media activity, which showed him driving a car matching the suspect vehicle, wearing similar clothing, and holding a gun matching the one seen in surveillance footage. A search warrant executed at Green’s residence turned up boots, gloves and a jacket similar to those worn by the shooter.
Green was arrested nearly two months later, on July 7, 2022, on an unrelated charge in Prince George’s County. At the time, he was driving a black 2001 Cadillac Catera — a rare vehicle, according to Maryland motor vehicle records — with a decal matching one seen on the suspect’s car in the McDonald’s footage. He was also found carrying a handgun, which Prince George’s County Police Department’s Firearms Examination Unit later determined was consistent with having fired the three shell casings recovered at the crime scene.
The state 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 Unit.
