BALTIMORE — It's been more than six-years since an off-duty Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police sergeant was murdered in West Baltimore.
On Wednesday prosecutors announced charges against the alleged killer, 24-year-old Dion Thompson.
It was the early morning of November 4, 2017 when Tony Mason Jr. and his girlfriend were parked outside the Elgin Townhomes.
A car pulled up beside the couple and began shooting up the vehicle they were sitting in.
Mason died on scene, while his girlfriend survived.
With little evidence to go on, the case went cold until 2023, when a witness came forward saying they knew the shooter.
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While not present the night of the murder, the witness offered a detailed account of what Thompson said transpired.
According to this witness, Thompson left a friend's house nearby when he saw Mason and his girlfriend parked outside.
Thompson apparently became paranoid, thinking Mason was there to rob or retaliate against him for other crimes he'd already committed.
The witness claims Thompson told his two friends, 'Man-Man' and 'Chub,' to "get the guns."
Charging Documents say the trio hopped into a car and circled back to where Mason was parked.
That's when 16 shots rang out. Thompson and company fled the scene afterwards. There's no evidence suggesting that Thompson knew Mason was an officer. In fact it wasn't until later in the night while watching the news that he found out.
The witness recalled Thompson saying he went to Philadelphia to trade the getaway car.
On March 16, 2018 Thompson was arrested by Baltimore County Police during a home raid in which a gun and large amounts of drugs were recovered.
Thompson was released pending trial, but was ultimately convicted and is now serving time in federal prison, with a scheduled release date of January 17, 2026. Prosecutors say Thompson was the leader of a drug organization called "The Slickest Ones," which operated in the neighborhood where Mason was murdered.
"For far too long, the details surrounding Sergeant Mason's tragic death have remained a painful mystery," said Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela A. Smith. "However, the Baltimore Police Department, the FBI, the ATF, and the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s office never stopped following up on tips and tracking down leads."
As for 'Man-Man' and 'Chub,' the witness remembered Thompson identifying the pair by their real names.
Turns out Jerard Walker, aka Man-Man, died in a car crash on April 4, 2018.
The real name of 'Chub' is redacted from charging documents, but court document indiciate he was acquitted of attempted murder charges stemming from a September 2018 road rage shooting.
'Chub' has not been charged in connection with Mason's murder as of publishing time.
