Baltimore man charged in 2017 death of DC Police officer shot due to paranoia: BPD

BALTIMORE, Md. (7News) — D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith joined Baltimore officials as they announced charges for a man accused of killing an off-duty D.C. Police officer in 2017.

Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office's new Cold Case unit announced the arrest of Dion Thompson, 24, for the death of Tony Anthony Mason Jr., 40, a D.C. Police sergeant who was found shot on the 2800 block of Elgin Avenue on Nov. 4, 2017.

"Today we gather with mixed emotions that have long been intertwined with the memory of Sgt. Tony Mason Jr.," Chief Smith said. "On Nov. 4, 2017, we lost a member of the MPD family to senseless gun violence."

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Baltimore city officials said a 2023 Crime Stoppers tip led them to Thompson, but remained tight-lipped on much of the case details.

The search for a suspect in Mason's death began on Nov. 4, 2017, when police at 12:45 a.m. learned a suspect approached a parked black Nissan Verda with Mason and an unknown woman, 43, and fired several shots. Mason and the woman were in a relationship, according to charging documents, and were reportedly sitting in the vehicle listening to music and drinking.

Mason was unarmed at the time of the shooting, and an initial investigation found neither he nor the woman had connections to gang or criminal activity. After the shooting, Thompson allegedly told a witness that he went to Philadelphia to get rid of the vehicle he used in the shooting, trading it in for an Impala.

Both Mason and the woman were taken to an area hospital, where Mason died from his injuries.

Thompson, according to charging documents from Baltimore Police, said he shot at the vehicle after becoming paranoid that the people in the parked Nissan Verda were there to retaliate against him for previous alleged crimes.

The search for a suspect went mostly cold for months after.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Baltimore City Homicide Unit at 401-396-2100 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP.