Prince George’s County Police have announced the arrest of a suspect in the fatal stabbing of a man who had been cutting in line for chicken sandwiches at a Popeyes restaurant in Oxon Hill earlier this month.
Police arrested Ricoh McClain, 30, of District Heights, Wednesday afternoon at a house on Nova Avenue in Capitol Heights. He was charged with first- and second-degree murder, assault and reckless endangerment.
According to police, Mr. McClain was among the customers waiting in line for the popular chicken sandwiches on the evening of Nov. 4, when Kevin Tyrell Davis began methodically cutting his way to the front of the line over the course of about 15 minutes.
Mr. McClain called out Mr. Davis, 28, on his behavior, and an argument ensued between the two at the restaurant in the 6200 block of Livingston Road in Oxon Hill, police said. Within a matter of seconds after both had exited the eatery, Mr. McClain “immediately stabbed Davis and fled from the area,” police said in a news release.
“It should be sobering to all of us that violence can erupt that quickly,” police Chief Hank Stawinski said Thursday during a news conference.
Officers were called to the scene at about 7 p.m. and found Mr. Davis suffering from a single stab wound to the chest. He died at a hospital.
Dozens of customers witnessed the incident.
“The detectives, the forensic evidence investigators and the fugitive apprehension team have worked around the clock since this occurred 10 days ago to bring it to resolution,” Chief Stawinski said, adding that dogged detective work ultimately secured Mr. McClain’s arrest with the cooperation of the public in the widely publicized case.
Detectives scoured video footage from surveillance cameras around the time of incident and released an image of a man and a woman who had left the restaurant in a car immediately after the stabbing.
The chief said Mr. McClain was arrested without incident and no other arrests are expected in the case. He did not mention the woman in the surveillance camera image.
Police had identified Mr. McClain as a suspect in the stabbing earlier Wednesday and described him as being armed and dangerous.
Chief Stawinski said that Mr. McClain admitted to officers that he was at the scene of the stabbing and corroborated the police account of the incident gleaned from the surveillance footage.
The police chief added that there is no evidence indicating a longstanding dispute between the suspect and the victim, refuting reports and theories on social media.
A spokesperson at the news conference said “there was a reason to charge [Mr. McClain] with first-degree murder” but declined to speak further on the topic.
First-degree murder occurs with premeditation or planning, and second-degree murder from a rush of emotion, like anger or fear.
Police had said that they found a knife in Mr. Davis’ possession after the stabbing but didn’t think he displayed it during the incident.
Chief Stawinski said those who are advancing a light-hearted narrative that the slaying occurred just over a chicken sandwich “belittling the consequences” on the incident.
“Those who have advanced this narrative have marginalized the grief of a family,” he said.
Popeyes first launched its chicken sandwich in August, and it proved so popular that it sold out after 15 days. The chicken restaurant reintroduced the sandwich on Nov. 3. The stabbing occurred the next day.
“What happened in Maryland last night is a tragedy and we are saddened to hear about this senseless act of violence. Our thoughts are with the victim’s family and friends,” Popeyes said in a written statement.
• Sophie Kaplan can be reached at skaplan@washingtontimes.com.
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