FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. – A former NASA executive and Virginia police officer will likely spend the rest of his life in prison for murdering his neighbor who was a member of the Maryland National Guard. The 2020 homicide was captured on the defendant’s Ring doorbell camera, according to Law&Crime.
Michael Hetle, 52, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole by a Fairfax County judge after fatally shooting his next-door neighbor.
Javon Prather, 24, was shot seven times, some at point blank range, just moments after knocking on Hetle’s front door, WUSA9 reported.
Today, we mourn the passing of Spc. Javon Prather of @MDNG’s 1-175th Inf. Regt.
He served as an infantryman for nearly four years & was awarded the Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon & the National Defense Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon.
Rest easy, brother. pic.twitter.com/O67nRpBJ3r
— MD National Guard (@MDNG) March 4, 2020
The two neighbors had an ongoing contentious relationship dating back to 2016, according to the news outlet. The bitterness culminated when Prather was gunned down while standing on Hetle’s front porch at his home on Bedstraw Court in Fairfax.
NEIGHBOR MURDER: Police say 52yo former police officer Michael Hetle (left) is charged in the killing of his 24yo neighbor Javon Prather (right) last night in Springfield. Prather served in the National Guard. Source tells me this was over an ongoing dispute. @fox5dc pic.twitter.com/RoS4uwQzgx
— Evan Lambert (@EvanLambertTV) March 4, 2020
The March 3, 2020 murder was captured by Hetle’s own Ring doorbell camera. Hence, the condemning footage was played during his trial.
A jury found Hetle guilty of first-degree murder in October. He was also convicted of using a firearm during the commission of a felony, WTOP-FM reported.
“The video from the defendant’s front porch showed jurors what it actually looked like when the defendant opened fire on Javon,” prosecutors reportedly wrote in a sentencing memo submitted prior to Friday’s hearing. “The jurors were able to see the shock on Javon’s face. They saw Javon run for his life. They saw the defendant go after Javon and continue to fire. They saw Javon crumple to the ground as a bullet struck his spine. They saw the defendant take aim at Javon on the ground and fire one more round into Javon’s body.”
The video showed Prather knock on Hetle’s door and step back with his hands in his pockets as he apparently waited for his neighbor to answer.
Hetle responded by opening the door and firing six rounds in seven seconds at Prather. Four of those rounds were reportedly fired at “point blank range” and two of the shots hit Prather in the back as he fell down the stairs. Hetle then shot Prather a seventh time as he lay dying on the man’s driveway, Law&Crime reported.
The jury did not buy Hetle’s argument of self-defense. Prosecutors reportedly said Prather was “executed.”
Continuing his tirade after murdering Prather, Hetle could be seen aiming his firearm at Prather’s wife, threatening to shoot her when she tried to drag her husband’s limp body back to their property.
“You want it too?” Hetle yelled as Janelle Prather tried to check on her husband. “Get the f*** out of here. Get away,” he repeatedly yelled at the distressed woman while pointing his weapon at her.
Edited footage from the homicide can be viewed below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB7-4nhumMs&t=148s
Prosecutors also said “racial animus” played a role in Hetle’s murderous actions.
Janelle Prather testified that Hetle often referred to her husband by “a racial epithet for Black people,” The Washington Post reported.
Prior to the shooting, Hetle reportedly worked in risk mitigation at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. for the agency’s Enterprise Protection Program. He joined the agency in 2010.
Although Law&Crime also reported that Hetle was a former Virginia police officer, it’s unclear when or where he worked.
