Sergeant James Victor Arnaud

James Victor Arnaud

Sergeant James Arnaud and PFC Elizabeth Magruder were shot and killed while attempting to serve a psychiatric petition on an individual in a home in the 9300 block of Lynmont Drive in Adelphi at 9:30 pm.

The suspect retreated to a rear bedroom and opened fire with a handgun. Sergeant Arnaud was shot in the throat, and PFC Magruder was shot in the back of the head. The suspect fled the scene following the shootings but was arrested two days later after undercover officers spotted him coming from an apartment building approximately two miles from the scene of the shooting. The handgun used in the murders was recovered from the suspect as well.

The suspect was found guilty of two counts of second-degree murder and using a handgun in the commission of a felony in November 2003. In September 2005, the convictions were overturned on appeal, and the suspect was ordered to face a new trial. He was again convicted during the second trial and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. In December of 2023, he was released from prison.

The murders of Sergeant Arnaud and PFC Magruder were the first line of duty deaths for the department in its 306-year history.

Sergeant Arnaud was a United States Army Vietnam War veteran and had served with the Prince George's County Sheriff's Department for 13 years. He was killed two days before his 54th birthday. He is survived by his wife, two children, and two grandchildren.

He was posthumously promoted to Sergeant.