Maryland Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison
For Killing Another Man Outside a High School
- Defendant Chased Victim, Firing At Least Four Gunshots -

     WASHINGTON - Oma Crawford, 25, of Landover, Md., was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for killing a man earlier this year outside a high school in the District of Columbia, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Crawford pled guilty in July 2011 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to a charge of second-degree murder while armed. He was sentenced by the Honorable William M. Jackson. Upon completion of his prison term, Crawford will be placed on five years of supervised release.

     According to the government’s evidence, Crawford and the victim, Ralph Thomas, 36, knew each other for several years through their involvement in high school and semi-professional football. At the time of the killing, in June 2011, Crawford played for the D.C. Falcons, and Thomas worked in the management of the team.

     Crawford was upset with Thomas over a personal matter, and, on June 3, 2011, he brought a .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol in a gym bag with him to a Falcons’ practice at McKinley Technology High School, in the 100 block of T Street NE. Crawford set down his gym bag at the edge of the parking lot and he and Thomas had a discussion at about 8:30 p.m.

     At some point in the exchange, Crawford ran to the gym bag, pulled out the gun and chased Thomas around the parking lot, firing at least four shots. The victim, who was unarmed, was struck by a bullet in the head and he died as a result of the injury.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of those who investigated the case for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), including Detectives Anthony Greene, Gabriel Truby, and Konstantinos Giannakoulias, and Officers Terrence

     Richardson and Titus Pittman. Finally, he commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Gee, who prosecuted the case.

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