Father adds attempted murder to rap sheet after shots fired at mother

A Maryland man faces charges after shots were fired during a child custody exchange Sunday evening, January 8, 2023.

At 8:35 p.m. that night, Stafford County sheriff’s deputies responded to a home at Windsor Circle and Federal Drive in Argyle Heights for a call about a disturbance with a weapon.

Just before the call, the suspect was with the child and another woman and had agreed to meet the child’s mother at a 7-Eleven on Dixon Street in Fredericksburg to return the child to his mother after a visit. As the mother got out of her car to get the child, the woman behind the wheel of the suspect’s car sped off with the suspect and child still inside.

The mother returned to her car and followed the other car into Stafford County. Both vehicles stopped in Argyle Heights. The mother got out again to retrieve the child, and the suspect fired several rounds.

The victim was not struck, but her car received two bullet holes.

The driver of the suspect’s car proceeded to flee the area toward King George with the suspect and the child still in the vehicle. A lookout was broadcasted for the suspect vehicle, but it was not located. Fortunately, a short time later, deputies learned the suspect had dropped the child off with a relative.

Police turned over the uninjured child to over to the mother. Police arrested the suspect on Tuesday, January 10.

Almon Wheeler, 28, is charged with attempted murder, malicious shooting at a vehicle, and firearm possession by a felon in Stafford County. He also faces prior charges from in Fredericksburg for failure to appear in court, in Spotsylvania County for a Capias, and in King George County for assault and battery, police said.