Biography: Terrence LeDell Sterling

By: Father Isaac G. Sterling

Introduction:
As the Father of Terrence, I have taken on the challenge of writing a biography of his life. This
task has been made especially difficult, because two Washington D.C. Police Officers decided to
take the life of a young man that meant so much to so many. Terrence’s life had great potential
for being even more to a host of other people and his community.
My Son Terrence was not a saint he had his ups and downs over the 31 years he was here on
earth. During the course of his 31 years he did no harm to anyone except himself. He was his
own worst enemy because of some of the so called friends he claimed to have which were into
doing things that were not all that wholesome. It is my hope that as you read this biography, you
will see and come to understand who Terrence Sterling really was and the worth and potential of
his life had it not been cut short by the actions of two sworn Police Officers and their
overzealous efforts to pursue a young man on a motorcycle which was reportedly being operated
erratically.
This case, and/or the loss of an only son is still not clear as of today January 27, 2017, the latest
news regarding this case is that there is a Grand Jury that is being used to perform an
investigation that is ongoing by the U.S. Attorney’s (Carl Racine/Channing Phillips) Office
which reportedly convened the Grand Jury to assist in the investigation. As of this date no
charges have be brought in the case. There are still a lot of unanswered questions regarding my
Son’s death which was ruled by the Medical Examiner’s office as a homicide.
Biography:
As told through the recalling eyes, ears, mouths and memories of Terrence’s Mother Florence L.
Sterling, Sister Chrystal D. Sterling, Isaac G. Sterling Father, and a host of cousins, aunts,
uncles, friends and acquaintances. Early on in our relationship Terrence’s mother and I agreed to
have a family with two children. We prayed and asked God for two children and were open to
God’s answering our prayer anyway he saw fit. We know that Terrence was an answer to those
prayers. I being his father prayed while in college back in 1968 to have two children, ideally a
boy and girl. On Wednesday, July 31, 1985 at 4:50 pm God answered our prayers. When God
decided to answer those prayers he told the angels it was time to deliver a blessing. Our family
was blessed with the birth of a son and brother in Charlotte Presbyterian Hospital, Charlotte,
North Carolina. Terrence was given his fraternal grand fathers first name (LeDell) as a middle
name in memory and honoring his legacy, thus, the full name Terrence LeDell Sterling.
When Terrence was nine months old (April 1986), our family moved from Charlotte, North
Carolina to Fort Washington, Maryland. This came about as result of his father receiving a
promotion with the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Terrence as a baby was what was
considered a good baby. Most people admired him as a cute, quiet and well behaved son that
was always smiling and happy. Unlike most babies Terrence was readily accepting of others

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holding and caring for him in the absence of his mother and father. Those performing
babysitting services did not have a difficult time with him. As a toddler Terrence was enrolled
and attended Fort Foote Early Learning Center and Academy and at the age of five he was
enrolled in Forte Foote Elementary School. He then moved on to middle school at Lord
Baltimore. Terrence demonstrated exceptional ability in learning. His early childhood and
development progressed well. Teachers were impressed and Terrence was an honor student and
really did not want to miss any days of school. At an early age Terrence was an outgoing person
that loved to be outside (outdoors) and reveled at learning about insects and animals. When he
was 4-6 years of age he expressed a desire to have several animals as pets. These included a
dog, a cat, birds, gold fish and an ant farm. We went through several possibilities and finally
settled on getting birds first. We purchased 2 yellow canaries for a while and later we obtained
an aquarium with gold fish and guppies along with others. Terrence and Chrystal shared
responsibility for caring for the fish and fish tank under Florence’s and my supervision. Terrence
was a very outgoing child from early childhood. We had to keep an eye on him always because
he would speak to people and engage them in conversations. Often people would express how
cute or handsome he was while we were in the market place shopping or going to restaurants to
eat. He often engaged people in conversations regarding what they were doing; he would ask
them their names etc.
I remember one occasion when we were in a clothing store Florence and I were looking at coats
for adults; Terrence and Chrystal would hide on the inside of clothing racks and watch us as we
looked for him and his sister. He then would come out as if to scare us. On this particular
occasion when just for a moment or two, both Florence and I were scared to death he had walked
away with someone. Because when he would engage with other people he had a tendency to
follow them. Well he took his own good time at coming from between the clothing. He was
down on all fours watching us go from one rack of clothing to another all the while we
discovered he was watching us. From that time on we would always make sure he was nearby or
in a stroller, or in a shopping cart. On another occasion I remember when we had purchased the
canaries, Terrence went outdoors and caught caterpillars on a stick and brought them into the
living room to feed to the birds. While he was very comfortable handling the caterpillars, he
scared his sister and mother greatly. Terrence really wanted a dog as a pet but we were not
physically in an environment with enough space to have and properly care for a dog. Terrence
was always a happy child, even when disciplined for wrong behavior. He was always respectful
and did not talk back. Oh yes he would get upset and angry, but it didn’t last long. Terrence was
a person that loved to show-off on occasion and to pull practical jokes, most of which were not
harmful to him or others.
During the early years of his life we would take trips to rural North Carolina (Littleton, NC) and
my home town of St Francisville, Louisiana. This we would call going to the country traveling to
spend from 2 weeks to sometimes leaving Terrence and Chrystal to spend the entire summer
with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and other relatives. We especially remember
Terrence and his fraternal grandfather’s relationship. Having special times enjoying the use of a
pedal powered Gray and Black Trams AM car that was given to him as a Christmas gift when he
was toddler. That car was saved for Terrence to enjoy each summer from a toddler until he

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outgrew it at the age of 7 or 8 years old, then it was bicycles. When he spent summer visits in
his mother’s home town, Littleton, N.C., it was the wide open spaces to roam the neighborhood
with his relatives there. He was always excited to interact with farm animals, such as cows,
horses, chickens, dogs, cats, you name it, and he was interested in learning about them. He loved
to ride on four wheeled vehicles and the experience of being outdoors. He enjoyed and loved
riding bicycles, big wheels, and going to the park. From the time he entered 9th grade he wanted
a motorcycle of his own, but I, as his father refused to purchase one, because of concerns
regarding safety and the associated expenses. We now know that his desire for a motorcycle
never waned, and continued into adulthood. Terrence at the age of 18 or 19 bartered for his first
motorcycle, a trail bike.
Terrence demonstrated exceptional ability in learning. He entered the Magnet School Program at
Middleton Valley Academy and later, middle school at Lord Baltimore Middle School. During
these years Terrence was a straight “A” student and received several certificates for perfect
attendance and for being on the honor roll.
During the years 1998-2006 an onward, Terrence participated in Christian growth Studies
through the church and was actively involved in public school at Lord Baltimore and Oxon Hill
High School. He earned certificates of appreciation and/or Diplomas were awarded as follows
October 1998 Diploma awarded for Christian Growth Study Plan
June 1999 Certificate of Recognition awarded by the PTSA of Lord Baltimore Academy
Certificate of Appreciation Awarded for Outstanding Performance in Volunteer Mission
Service by El-Bethel Baptist Church, Fort Washington, MD 20744
March 2006 Awarded Certificate of Commission for Answering the Call to be on
Mission in North America, awarded by North American Mission Board, Southern Baptist
Convention
Certificate awarded acknowledging being a part of EL-Bethel Baptist Church’s Acts 1:8
Network
Terrence was taught at home the value of work through having to perform chores at home. We
also made it a requirement to be able to be as self sufficient as possible by being able to cook,
wash dishes/clothes, mop, vacuum, and clean the house, take out the garbage, sew, iron and etc.
At the same time he was also taught how to be respectful, responsible and to obey those in
authority over him. We often discussed with both Terrence and Chrystal how we as parents were
brought up and that we felt and believed we should inspire and teach them the same ethics,
morals, and values we grew-up with.
During the years 2001 to 2004 Terrence attended Oxon Hill High School, Oxon Hill, Maryland
and while a student, he started working part time at Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Fort
Washington, Maryland. Terrence loved his job at KFC because he enjoyed the new found
independence, and enjoyed serving and meeting people. His friends called him “Chicken or
KFC” (LOL) because of his fondness for the job. It was during his last year at Oxon Hill High

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School (2003-2004) that Terrence suffered a set-back because of disciplinary actions (cutting
classes) and not getting his school work done. We discovered this was being caused by his
following the wrong crowed, experimenting with alcohol and smoking marijuana. He was
subject to disciplinary actions at home and at school. Terrence Florence and I went through
three sessions of counseling with a Licensed Psychologist at Center Point Counseling Center,
Lanham, MD in order to get at the root cause of his actions. As a result of his actions he did not
meet the requirements for graduation in 2004. Once he got his head and heart together, Terrence
became determined not to be defeated and went to Woodstock Job Corp Center, 10900 Old Court
Road, Woodstock, Maryland in 2004-2005 where he earned a certificate of apprenticeship in
Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC). Once this training was completed he next
enrolled in Crossland High School Evening School and graduated august 2005 with a perfect
attendance and was on the honor roll earning his High School Diploma.
During the time frame 2005-2006 Terrence worked for the Examiner Newspaper, 801 South
Picket Street, Alexandria, VA on a full time basis and worked for AMD Mechanical on a part-
time basis. In the 2006 to 2007 time frame Terrence went to work for AMD Mechanical full
time and shifted to working for The Examiner Newspaper on a part-time basis. He would work
for the Examiner on Fridays and Saturdays evenings while working for AMD Mechanical full-
time Monday-Friday sometimes long hours in addition to providing coverage during the day on
Saturdays and Sundays and holidays. He was dedicated to his job.
During his 12 years of employment by AMD Mechanical, Terrence trained to become a licensed
HVAC Technician and later mechanic by taking classes on different types of HVAC units and
equipment. This involved learning to install, remove, and repair different types of HVAC units.
He also trained and became qualified to work on, and install all gas and propane furnaces; all
heat pumps, mini splits and packaged units both residential and commercial AC units. In
addition, he trained and obtained his CFC Universal License. He also qualified to perform duct
cleaning and insulation (hanging) ducts. He performed duct repair including configuring his own
canvases or transitioning from scratch or installing dampers, or bypass duct air flow switches,
duct airflow fans, and insulating all ducts no matter the size.
We use to wonder why Terrence was so dedicated to his job at Leisure World Senor Living
Center. We would plan an outing as a family, or family vacations and trips to include Terrence
but he would refuse because of his job. We did not find out why until his passing, how dedicated
Terrence was to a position and career, and his care for the people living at Vantage Point West,
Leisure World Senior Living Center. There had been forged over the 12 years a special
relationship between Terrence, the Owner of AMD Mechanical and many of the residents of
Vantage Point West, including Leisure World’s Management and staff. Theirs was a
relationship, which transcended the normal employer/employee and client relationship. Theirs
was a relationship where they had come to genuinely love and care for each other. When the
residents learned of Terrence’s passing, they also were deeply heart and felt the loss as much as
we his family did. They described their relationship with our son as though he was their son or
grandson. We received numerous cards and letters from the residents and management
describing how kind, courteous, respectful, dependable, and helpful Terrence was to them. He

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was more than just the HVAC Technician. There response to us was not only in cards and letters
many of the residents shared with us financial gifts also. Their responses were so heart-
warming, we felt the need to not only respond in writing thanking the residents for their
condolences and cards of sympathy, but to set a date in October 2016 where we as family could
actually visit the residents of Vantage Point West in person and give them our thanks. As a
result of our meeting them in person, I feel compelled to share two of many occasions that were
described to us when we learned all of our parenting and pouring into Terrence paid off.
There was a resident that had fell in her apartment one day back in 2015 and had severely
cut open her head. She was lying on the floor and could not get up to summon help for
herself. Terrence while going about his daily activities heard this lady crying and
screaming for help called the Leisure World Office and had them Call 911 to help this
Lady. On the day we visited in October, this lady through her tears credits Terrence with
having helped to save her life.
On one other occasion there was this elderly couple whose husband admired a cap that
Terrence was wearing when he came to perform service on their HVAC unit. This
gentleman wanted Terrence to give him the cap he was wearing while servicing their
unit. Terrence had a thing for caps and shoes. Terrence’s reply was I will buy you one
and bring it to you. This gentleman’s wife said, unexpectedly, the next day Terrence
came to their residence with the same cap for her husband. We were told Terrence went
out and purchased a new cap for her husband and gave it to him so that they could have
caps alike. This lady said that her husband was so touched by this act of kindness; her
husband cherished that cap until he died.
There are other acts of kindness for and to residents such as, taking time to explain what
he was doing when making his rounds to change filters. He was known for taking the
time to explain how to change filters, or to set thermostats so that residents were
comfortable. There were acts related of him being a gentleman and holding the doors
open for female residents as they came in or were going out.
Terrence was not only dedicated to AMD Mechanical clients at Leisure World, Silver Springs
Maryland; he was the same for clients in other single family homes. I remember on one occasion
back in 2015 when Terrence arrive home at approximately 10:00 pm one night after having put
in a long day which started AT 8:00 AM. It was snowing when he got home. Just after getting
home, a friend of his called, needing his help because they were without heat. Their heating unit
had stopped operating. It was still snowing outside and Terrence was debating to use the service
vehicle assigned to him by AMD Mechanical or his own personal car. I asked him if he really
had to go on the service call that night, or could it wait until morning. His reply was I need to go
and see what the problem is and see if I can help as this friend of his had just had their first child
a new baby only weeks old. I offered my jeep to use but he refused as he was not familiar with
it. Seeing the stress on his face, I offered to drive him there and he accepted. We were at his
friend’s house from about 11:30 pm until 1:45am when we left. Terrence was able to determine
what the problem was, and develop a temporary fix so that the family could have heat until he
could purchase a new part on the next day to make a permanent repair. This was the type of

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person my son was with friends and acquaintances. It did not matter what the need was, if he
could help, he on many occasions did his best to help.
The Owner of AMD Mechanical also loved and cherished Terrence like a brother. It was in
2014 and/or 2015 when Terrence basically ran the company for him while the Owner was out for
several months because of a major illness. Terrence picked up the pace and kept on going
providing service and new unit installations as though the owner was still running the business.
Terrence was so dedicated to his profession and had begun to gather information, books, manuals
needed to prepare for and work toward an HVAC Master License and eventually owning his own
business. This we had talked about on several occasions in which he became more and more
convinced he needed to do. He liked working with his hands in HVAC and did a lot of the work
on his own motorcycle.
Terrence was active in community and civic activities during his life. In school Terrence was
active in PTSA activities he was enrolled in the Magnet School Program and was an Honor Roll
student, while in Oxon Hill High School he was in the Air Force ROTC Program for two years.
In addition to discipleship training at EL-Bethel Baptist Church, Fort Washington, MD Terrence
participated in mission activities helping the homeless, the elderly, and children in need in
Washington, DC, Baltimore, Fort Washington, Oxon Hill, MD; New York, and Mississippi. He
was active in the Men’s ministry of his church.
Terrence joined the Riverside Baptist Church and accepted Christ at the age of six.
Approximately 4 years later with his parents he united with the El-Bethel Baptist Church under
the leadership of Rev. Dr. James Dixon, Jr. for a period of twenty 21years. As a youth and young
adult Terrence served on the Usher’s Ministry. He was always available to help when needed.
Terrence loved the Lord, he loved his church family and he loved life!
As a member of the Brotherhood Alliance Sport Rydahs TM, a local Maryland Motorcycle Club,
Terrence participated in an annual back to school book bag and school supply drive, the Comcast
Cares Community Program which helps to paint schools and repair homes for the less fortunate.
He also participated in the annual autism charity rides for Davidson School and in the annual
blanket and coat drive for the homeless.
Yes Terrence will be missed by many friends, relatives, and coworkers, acquaintances. If he
claimed you as a friend in his mind you were in the relationship no matter what. If you called he
would be there. If you needed a ride to work, to fix a flat, it didn’t matter he would make it your
way or find someone who could in his absence.

Terrence was a very proud owner of his cherished friend Jazzy. A Presa Canario (commonly
referred to as a Presbyterian). Jazzy was purchased as a puppy and raised to be an adult dog by
Terrence and one of his friends Mann. Terrence was responsible for feeding, taking to the
veterinarian when needed, and keeping clean the kennels for he and his friend’s dogs. Most of
the upkeep for the dogs was done after work also. On occasions Terrence would sleep over at
his friend Mann’s house to assist with Jazzy especially during pregnancy and deliveries. Jazzy
was mated on two occasions that I am aware of. She had two litters of 7 to 9 puppies which were

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sold to various persons including two puppies sold to NFL players. The proceeds from these
dogs were used by Terrence to further his education and training, and payments on and Infiniti
car he was purchasing. One puppy out of the last litter Jazzy had was a runt which Terrence
could not stand to depart with.

Terrence was attracted to this breed of dog because it was large and confused with being
aggressive. But in actually, The Presa Canario seems to be powerful with a square head that is
nearly as wide as it is long. Jazzy was 80 to 100 pounds, and stood at about 25 to 30 inches tall.
Jazzy was impressive when she stood tall with broad chest. Most folks would assume she was
aggressive but in actuality Jazzy was a docile, affectionate dog much like his owner in character.
She was a great family dog and protective. If Terrence was accepting of you so was Jazzy. It
was funny to hear him talk about how he and his dog would interact while walking or playing to
get the exercise Jazzy needed. They both could tolerate a lot of cold air during the winter which
Terrence said Jazzy tolerated well. After Terrence’s passing, his friend Mann graciously agreed
to keep Jazzy which we check on from time to time and understand that she is doing well for her
age.

Yes Terrence is gone and with his death ends the legacy of the Sterling Family from his father
side of the family as their will be no children born to carry on the Sterling name. But I am proud
and blessed to have had Terrence as my son. He was a wonderful child and man that lived life
with gusto. No grass grew under his feet as he was busy being involved in life helping to make
this world a better place and easing the pain and discomfort of others, and helping to meet the
needs of others. If you met him you would never forget him because he had a very infective
smile and personality. He was quite but engaged. He would go the extra mile to help you, and if
needed he would give you the shirt off his back. No one I know ever left him as stranger and
everyone really loved him even his acquaintances. He is and shall be missed in the physical, but
never forgotten, because he lives on in our hearts and minds forever until we meet again in
eternity.