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A Colonial Beach man who killed his former friend during an argument outside a party two years ago was ordered Friday to serve 17 years in prison.

Malcolm Jamal Epps, 32, shot and killed 33-year-old Alfonso C. Wilson of Kinsale on Aug. 22, 2020, in the parking lot of the Riverwood Apartment complex in Colonial Beach. Epps immediately admitted shooting Wilson and was taken into custody at the scene.

He pled guilty Friday in Westmoreland Circuit Court to second-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of a felony. As part of a plea agreement, he was sentenced to a total of 43 years with 26 years suspended.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Julia Sichol said Wilson’s mother accepted the plea agreement because it meant a juvenile witness would not have to testify and because her son would have wanted her to forgive Epps. The mother also presented a lengthy and emotional victim impact statement in which she wrote about the trauma her son’s death has caused many people.

According to the evidence, Wilson lived with Epps until about a month before he was killed. Epps’ girlfriend also lived in the home, and she and Wilson got into a disagreement about him not contributing to the rent. On the day of the shooting, she would not let Wilson into the apartment because she claimed he had disrespected her.

Epps told police that Wilson had been drinking heavily that day and was upset because Wilson’s girlfriend had just suffered a miscarriage. Epps said he had seen Wilson with a gun about 30 minutes prior to the shooting.

Just prior to the shooting, the two men got into a physical altercation. Epps’ story was that Wilson’s gun fell out of his pocket when he was slammed onto the trunk of a car.

Sichol said Epps reported that he grabbed the gun and told Wilson he was going to put it somewhere. Wilson responded that he was going to get another gun, but turned around and said to Epps, “[Expletive] you man, I don’t need no damn gun.”

Epps said he shot Wilson after the victim took a swing at him. He told police he felt threatened because Wilson had pulled a gun on him earlier.

He said the two men continued to argue after he shot Wilson in the stomach, and someone called 911 after Wilson collapsed. He was rushed to Mary Washington Hospital, where he died.

A juvenile witness told police that Wilson and Epps were arguing in the breezeway, possibly about money. He said the two men fought, but the fight didn’t last long and the men appeared to have made up.

Suddenly, another man “came out of nowhere” and punched Wilson in the side of the head, knocking him to the ground. That man is known as “Blade.”

The juvenile said that Epps then took the gun from Wilson’s waistband. He said Epps shot Wilson after Wilson asked him to return his gun.

“Why did you do that?” the boy was quoted as shouting before running back into an apartment.

Another witness told police that when she asked Epps what had happened, he told her “that [expletive] disrespected me, so I shot him with his own [expletive].” She said she saw Epps walking around the parking lot ejecting bullets from the gun before throwing the gun into a storm drain.

“Blade” was later identified by police, Sichol said. He denied hitting Wilson and claimed he was inside when the shooting occurred.

Attorney Anna Lindemann represented Epps. She said self-defense and manslaughter arguments would have been presented had the case gone to trial.

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