Herndon man sentenced for shooting in Leesburg

Zeon Detwan Garner, 22, appeared before the Loudoun County Circuit Court for sentencing for his convictions of three counts of Malicious Wounding and one count of Reckless Handling of a Firearm. The Honorable Stephen E. Sincavage sentenced Garner to serve an active period of incarceration of six years and three months in the Virginia Department of Corrections.

In the evening hours on May 30, 2024, Garner, with his mother and sister, encountered a group of three individuals in the courtyard of a Leesburg apartment complex. Garner had an ongoing dispute with a person in the group. As Garner and his family members passed the group of three, one of the individuals allegedly brandished a firearm and made threats to Garner as he walked into the apartment building. Garner returned to the courtyard and once again passed the group, who continued to “mean mug” him,
and walked to a vehicle to retrieve a 9mm semi-automatic handgun.

Upon returning to the courtyard, Garner immediately opened fire on the group, firing at least eight rounds in their direction as they stood in the apartment building courtyard. After a thorough search of the courtyard, forensic evidence showed that Garner was the only person who had fired a weapon. All three individuals in the group had been shot and sustained injuries from Garner. Two of the three have fully recovered from their injuries, but one person still suffers from significant impairment of function because of the wounds he sustained from Garner.

At the conclusion of the investigation, it was determined that Garner’s use of force by repeatedly firing a gun into the opposing group was not justified or excused under any applicable self-defense principles, as Garner had safely removed his family from the scene and had also safely removed himself twice from the scene before attacking the group.

“Thanks to the comprehensive investigation conducted by the Leesburg Police Department, this individual has received justice for his crimes. It is a miracle that innocent bystanders were not injured in this senseless shooting,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Bob Anderson.

During the sentencing hearing, Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Matthew B. Lowery argued that “[T]his behavior will not be tolerated by the community … the victims shot were also engaged in criminal activity, but Garner feloniously and maliciously shot them … In this case, retribution is to be had for the occupants of the apartment complex that use that courtyard … [W]e are very fortunate that no one unintended was shot in this densely packed apartment complex … [T]his is in no way a self-defense case … it was closely analyzed and if it were a case of self-defense—charges [against Garner] would have never been brought.”

Defense counsel conceded that “the law in Virginia is clear that when he went to his car to retrieve his weapon it was no longer self-defense.”

Before he pronounced Garner’s sentence, Judge Sincavage said, “we are here to focus on the crimes that you committed and not the person you are … these acts are malicious … I agree with the Commonwealth … it is not legally characterized as self-defense … although you believed you were protecting your family, it does not give you an open page to do whatever you want … it put a lot of people in danger, emphasized by the Commonwealth, I think that is an important factor … the act you undertook … someone shooting a firearm in a very public area … there is no justification for the shooting.”