HOLLYWOOD, Md.—Prince George's County State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks announced that a Grand Jury had returned an indictment against the man who shot and killed a county firefighter who lived in St. Mary's County back in April.
Darrell Elsworth Lumpkin, 61, of Temple Hills, was formally charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun in the shooting death of Prince George's Firefighter John "Skillet" Ulmschneider, of California, who along with another firefighter, broke down Lumpkin's door April 15 to check on his welfare for fear of a possible medical crisis.
Lumpkin fired inside of his home, killing Ulmschneider.
The Grand Jury did not return an indictment, though on a murder charge Alsobrooks' office had sought.
"He was not arrested but given a summons," said John Erzen, spokesman for Alsobrooks' office. "He's exposed to about 45 years maximum of prison time with 15 years of that being mandatory."
Erzen said, though, that even if Lumpkin were found guilty his sentence could be reduced to just five years if each count were served concurrently rather than consecutively.
Erzen said investigators were never adequately able to determine if Lumpkin was suffering from a medical episode as his brother had told 911 personnel.
Lumpkin faces six counts all together, two for each of the illegal handguns found in his home during the aftermath of the shooting.
There was a count each for possession of a weapon by a felon and possessing a weapon after being found guilty of a disqualifying crime, court documents showed.
The day of the incident the brother of Lumpkin called 911, saying that the subject of the call had not been responding to phone calls and may have been suffering a diabetic or other kind of medical crisis.
Ulmschneider, a 13-year veteran firefighter, was pronounced dead at MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center.
The Morningside volunteer firefighter who broke into Lumpkin's home, Kevin Swaim, was hit multiple times and is still recovering from his wounds.
Lumpkin's brother was also hit in the shooting.
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