But his best days abruptly ended in December 2022 in Prince George’s County.
“He was murdered for the car he always wanted,” Paul Thomas, Lee Thomas’s older brother, said in court Friday. “A senseless killing over an automobile.”
A teenager was sentenced to 30 years in prison in the fatal carjacking. During the hearing, family members of both the victim and convicted teenager pointed to a larger, now years-long problem facing the Washington region: carjackings committed by teenagers.
Diego Alexander Rivas, 18, pleaded guilty in November to first-degree murder. The then-17-year-old, alongside a 15-year-old, watched the gas station and waited for a carjacking opportunity, prosecutors said. Thomas was pumping gas when Rivas approached him and shot him in the face.
“Your actions on that day were extremely dangerous and so tragic,” Prince George’s County Circuit Court Judge Crystal Dixon Mittelstaedt said during the sentencing hearing for Rivas on Friday. “There is no ‘easy out’ of this.”
Assistant State’s Attorney Shauna Coleman recommended a life sentence with all but 30 years suspended, citing Rivas’s age and challenging upbringing. Natalie Whittingham-Burrell, a public defender, requested 20 years and a recommendation to the Patuxent Institution, a Maryland prison with a youth treatment program. She argued that Rivas lacked maturity because of his age, proved by his “foolish” actions and decisions following the crime. Rivas posted the carjacked car for sale on social media under his name and bragged about it to his friends, Whittingham-Burrell said.
“There was a plan to commit a carjacking, and that horrifically turned into a murder,” Whittingham-Burrell said.
Coleman argued that Rivas was “a coldblooded killer.”
According to the charging documents, two people — Rivas and the 15-year-old — approached the gas station in the 10000 block of Campus Way South in Largo from a nearby wooded area. Surveillance footage showed the two people had arrived in the area in a dark sedan at 7:21 p.m., left the area, and then reappeared at about 10 p.m.
For the next 56 minutes, Coleman said, Rivas and the 15-year-old hid behind a truck lying in wait for a victim. When Thomas showed up, Rivas approached him, shot him in the face at close range and then kicked his body from the open door of his BMW to drive off with the vehicle.
The 15-year-old tried to walk away, Coleman said, but Rivas threatened: “There’s two bullets in this gun — one is for you, one is for him.”
First responders arrived at the scene and took Thomas to a hospital, where he died shortly after.
Rivas took the BMW on a joyride, doing “doughnuts” and picking up his girlfriend afterward, Coleman said.
Thomas’s BMW was found abandoned days later in the District Heights area after a citizen “saw the news” and called 911.
Prince George’s County police announced the arrests of the two teens the following month in connection with the killing. Both were charged as adults, but the younger teen’s name was not released because of his age. Public records do not indicate the status of his case.
At Friday’s hearing, Thomas’s loved ones, wearing matching shirts with his picture, remembered their uncle and brother as funny, caring and hard-working. Thomas was the youngest of eight siblings. He repeatedly called to check up on his nephews, whom he treated like his children, two of his nephews said.
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End of carouselCarjackings can occur anywhere — in your driveway, at a stoplight or at a gas station. While carjackings are not the fault of the victim, knowing tips on how to prevent them can help put a person less at risk. This information has been compiled from interviews with law enforcement and police department resources.
- Don’t sit in an idling vehicles after starting your car. Police say carjackers watch parked vehicles and can tell when they’re occupied because headlights or running lights automatically come on when vehicles are started.
- Take notice of your surroundings: When walking to, or getting in and out of your car, look around. If something feels wrong, police and prosecutors say, trust your instincts.
- Park in areas with good lighting: This will allow you to see your surroundings better. Avoid parking in areas that obscure your view such as near large vehicles and dumpsters.
- When driving, stick to the center lane: This makes it harder to access your car.
- Lock your doors, even when driving: This makes it harder for a person to get into your car.
- If you’re stopped, keep enough room for a way out: The more space you give yourself around other cars, it will give you a better chance to drive away if someone attempts to take your car.
- Travel with another person if possible: Don’t drive alone at night, if you can.
And, if you are threatened for your car, police recommend giving it up to avoid any personal injury.
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He shared a special bond with his brother Paul. They were born 10 years apart but were often mistaken for twins and called by each other’s name. Whenever he sees a Metrobus, Paul Thomas said he is reminded of his younger brother.
The family is now in “a living nightmare,” they told the judge.
Rivas’s mother and father addressed the court before he was sentenced, asking that their son be shown mercy. Rivas attended church and helped his father with landscaping, his parents said through a court interpreter. Their family was shocked by their son’s actions and life has been “very ugly” since.
Thomas’s killing occurred amid an increase in carjackings and youth arrests linked to those crimes in Prince George’s and D.C. According to county police data, there were 508 carjackings in 2023, an uptick from 480 in 2022. In 2023, 147 juveniles were arrested in carjacking cases, compared with 115 adults. There have been 71 carjackings this year, as of Thursday, compared with 85 at this time last year.
Rivas asked Mittelstaedt if he could turn around to address Thomas’s family himself. He apologized to them and said he wished he could “take that day back.” As part of his sentencing, Rivas will have five years of supervised probation once he is released. If he were found in violation of probation, he would face his remaining life sentence.
“I know I was wrong for the crimes I committed,” Rivas said. “I just wish I was the bigger person that day … just stayed home.”
