UPPER MARLBORO, Md.
April 23, 2013 (AP)
Police in Maryland said Tuesday that a 27-year-old man
accused in the fatal shooting of his stepfather, a District of Columbia police
detective, has surrendered to authorities.
Prince George's County police said Tuesday evening that
Antwan James surrendered and was being held at police headquarters. He is
accused of killing 46-year-old D.C. police Detective Joseph Newell on Monday
night following a dispute over yard work at their home in Upper Marlboro, Md.
Authorities say the entire incident was captured by
surveillance cameras at the home.
Police said James, a former District of Columbia
firefighter, was charged in a warrant with first-degree murder. Authorities had
been searching for him after they said he ran away after the shooting.
Before the shooting, Newell had asked James to help him with
some yard work, and James refused, Assistant Police Chief Kevin Davis told a
news conference.
As Newell stood on a stepladder outside his garage while
screwing in a light bulb, James approached him from behind and shot him in the
back, Davis said. He fell to the driveway, and James stood over Newell and
fired several shots, Davis said.
"It was an execution," he said.
Police have found no motive other than the argument over
yard work, Davis said.
"It's as simple and tragic as that," he said.
James had been living with his stepfather since he was fired
from the fire department sometime in the past 18 months, said Davis, who had no
details about what led to the firing.
Newell had been with the Metropolitan Police Department
since 1989 and investigated dangerous assaults, MPD Assistant Chief Peter
Newsham said. Newell was married and had two teenage daughters in addition to
his stepchildren, Newsham said.
Online court records from Maryland show James was charged
last month with violating his probation on a second-degree assault charge. He
also received probation before judgment in an unrelated drunken-driving case,
records show.
