Woman sentenced to 18 months house arrest
47-year-old played role in shooting death of New Carrollton man
A Laurel woman was sentenced to 18 months of house arrest Tuesday for her role in a Laurel roadside murder last February.
Rakyia Denise Talley, 47, pleaded guilty in December to accessory after the fact of murder in the second degree in the killing of Antwaun Conyers, a 32-year-old New Carrollton resident. She was originally charged with first-degree murder but was indicted in June on the lesser charge.
Talley was arrested less than a week after Conyers was found shot on Russett Green East in Laurel. The Feb. 8 murder was the second of 12 homicides investigated by Anne Arundel County Police in 2023.
In Talley’s initial charging documents, Anne Arundel Police indicated that she was not the shooter, but rather the gunman was Christopher Rojas, a 28-year-old Laurel man who has evaded authorities for over a year.
Video surveillance obtained by police showed Conyers, a father of four, walking along Russett Green East when a gray Nissan Altima pulled up alongside him. Using the footage, investigators were able to link the sedan to Talley, who they described as a “close personal associate” of Rojas’.
A witness told police they saw a man step out of the sedan and shoot Conyers with a handgun. Officers found several bullet cartridges around the body, according to charging documents. Conyers’ mother, Brigette Fitzhugh, told the court her son had been shot from behind.
“He didn’t even know what was happening to him,” she said in Anne Arundel Circuit Court Tuesday afternoon.
Conyers was pronounced dead at the scene.
From the onset of their investigation, detectives believed Conyers was the victim of a targeted shooting. The day before his death, police met with Rojas near Russett Green East after the 28-year-old reported his car stolen. Talley was with Rojas when he accused someone matching Conyers’ description of stealing the vehicle.
Talley and Rojas were seen the next morning at a business near Russett Green East. Rojas had found his vehicle in the parking lot, according to charging documents. As he was inquiring about the vehicle, he saw Conyers walking nearby, police wrote, and said he was going to shoot him. Conyers was killed less than six minutes after Rojas and Talley drove away and less than 300 meters from the business, according to charging documents.
Talley was arrested two days later and charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and a firearm offense. The three charges were entered as nolle prosequi Tuesday, meaning that they were dropped.
Her 18-month sentence will mark the beginning of five years of supervised probation. She received credit for the year she was incarcerated.
Assistant State’s Attorney Jason Steinhardt told the court Tuesday that for Conyers’ family, when it comes to closure, “today is not
that day.”
Steinhardt prosecuted the case alongside Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Doud.
Public defenders Anne Stewart-Hill, who worked Talley’s case alongside Tiffany Holley, called the plea agreement “sensible and just” given that her client had no prior criminal record.
Conyers’ family members had different perspectives on the decision. In a victim impact statement read by Steinhardt, Conyers’ brother Quintin Conyers described Talley’s sentence as “a slap on the wrist.” Another family member thanked Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Mark Crooks as he left the courtroom.
Conyers was remembered by family as a charismatic and funny son, brother and friend.
“They took joy away from a family,” Conyers’ sister Diamond Fitzhugh wrote in a victim impact statement. “They took laughter out of our household.”
His mother described Conyers as a “road dog,” her protector and hero.
An arrest warrant for Rojas has been active since last February. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call 410-222-4731 or the TipLine at 410-222-4700.