Largo Activist's Killing Goes to Trial as Defense Claims Self-Defense

A Prince George's County jury began hearing opening arguments this week in the trial of Terrelle Bailey, the 33-year-old Special Police Officer accused of fatally shooting anti-violence activist Cornelius “Neal” McDonald outside a Largo restaurant in November 2024. Prosecutors say Bailey chased McDonald into the parking lot of Jasper's Restaurant and shot him five times after a dispute over a woman turned violent inside the venue. Bailey's defense attorney argues his client believed McDonald was armed and fired in fear for his own life.

Jury selection took all day Tuesday before opening statements began Wednesday, according to WTOP News. Deputy State's Attorney Jonathon Church told jurors the case was a tale of “two paths” — Bailey's and McDonald's — that collided in the early morning hours of November 30, 2024, just after midnight, when the argument broke out inside the restaurant. An off-duty police officer working security that night ejected Bailey, McDonald and others from Jasper's following the confrontation, and that same officer later called for backup once shots were fired, per the outlet's report.

Church said surveillance video would show Bailey reaching into his waistband for the gun he used to kill McDonald, and that the shooting itself was not captured on video, though the case does include footage of repeated interactions between the parties leading up to it. That available video reportedly has no audio. At the time of the shooting, Bailey was legally carrying a firearm in his role as a Special Police Officer in Washington, D.C., according to FOX 5 DC.

Defense Says Bailey Feared for His Life

Bailey's defense attorney, Brian McDaniel, told jurors his client had never met McDonald before that night and was looking to avoid trouble, not cause it, despite prosecutors' framing of the dispute over a woman as the spark. McDaniel argued that other people were picking a fight with Bailey inside the restaurant, and that alcohol changes people's behavior — a point he raised as jurors will have to weigh whether drinking contributed to the night's events. He said Bailey followed McDonald and others outside believing McDonald was reaching into his waistband for a weapon, and that Bailey thought he had to save his own life.

Police later determined McDonald had only a cell phone in his waistband, not a gun, per the same WTOP report. McDaniel also said text messages would show McDonald was told to calm down before the confrontation escalated. Prosecutors, meanwhile, have pointed to a video that circulated on social media shortly after Bailey's arrest, which the FOX 5 DC report says appeared to show Bailey discussing or bragging about the shooting; separately, court proceedings have referenced Bailey going live on Instagram the night of the incident and remarking that a man who had interacted with him at the restaurant would be documented on Kilmoe, a platform that tracks violent crime in the region.

Grand Jury Indictment and Detention

A Prince George's County grand jury formally indicted Bailey on December 31, 2024, on charges of first-degree murder along with two misdemeanor gun offenses, according to WUSA9. A judge had already ordered Bailey held without bond in early December 2024, after prosecutors argued the multi-shot shooting posed a severe risk to public safety. Jurors were told they must acquit if they have a single doubt about the prosecution's case, a standard both sides sparred over throughout opening statements.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Bailey faces up to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole under Maryland Criminal Law § 2-201, per the Maryland General Assembly. The state abolished capital punishment in 2013, making life without parole the maximum penalty available.

A Peacemaker's Legacy

McDonald, an Upper Marlboro resident and Largo High School alumnus, was trying to be a peacemaker before he was killed, according to the WTOP report. He worked as a crisis hotline counselor in addition to leading his nonprofit, Stay Solid, which McDonald founded after his brother was shot and killed in Washington, D.C. in 2019, according to Prince George's County Council records. The organization aimed to combat gun violence and improve mental health, and it ran a high school tour called “Motivating Our Future” focused on steering young people away from trauma and violence, per background reported by The Washington Post.

McDonald's death came during a violent stretch for Prince George's County, which recorded 114 homicides in 2024 — its fourth consecutive year above 100 — before killings dropped more than 30% to 65 cases in 2025, per the Post's reporting. Maryland as a whole saw a 25% statewide drop in homicides in 2025, reaching the state's lowest annual homicide total in nearly 40 years, according to the Maryland Governor's Office. The trial is scheduled to continue Thursday in Upper Marlboro, with jurors ultimately tasked with deciding which account of that November night they believe.