PGPD PGPD Homicide Unit Charges Suspect For Fatal Shooting at Cemetery

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Wilson Chavis​

The Prince George’s County Police Department’s Homicide Unit charged the man who shot two people at a Suitland cemetery, killing one of the victims. The suspect is 48-year-old Wilson Chavis of Hughesville, MD. He’s charged in connection with the fatal shooting of 30-year-old Ronald Steven Banks of Washington, DC. Banks was a pallbearer at a burial service being held at the cemetery.



On June 6, 2023, at approximately 1:20 pm, patrol officers responded to a cemetery in the 4100 block of Suitland Road for the report of a shooting. Banks was located suffering from a gunshot wound. He died a short time later at a hospital. A second victim, an adult female, suffered a graze wound.



The preliminary investigation revealed Chavis owns the funeral service company that was providing funeral and burial services for a young child who was being buried at the cemetery. While the burial service was preparing to get underway, Chavis confronted two people at the service. Those individuals are affiliated with a second funeral service company with which Chavis has a long-standing business dispute. Several funeral attendees became upset with Chavis and confronted him over his behavior. The preliminary investigation suggests Chavis pulled out a gun and fired two shots, striking both victims. He then fled the cemetery in his vehicle. Several minutes later, an officer with the Morningside Police Department observed Chavis and conducted a traffic stop. He was taken into custody.



Chavis is charged with first and second-degree murder, attempted first and second-degree murder, and related charges. He is in the custody of the Department of Corrections.



If anyone has information relevant to this investigation, they are asked to please call detectives at 301-516-2512.



Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477), or go online at www.pgcrimesolvers.com, or use the “P3 Tips” mobile app (search “P3 Tips” in the Apple Store or Google Play to download the app onto your mobile device.) Please refer to case number 23-0033316.



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Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: https://so.md/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at https://so.md/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at https://so.md/expungeme.