A young assisted living worker is facing multiple felony charges after investigators linked him to the killing of an elderly resident and a subsequent shooting involving a Maryland state trooper.
According to Fox News, authorities say the 22-year-old employee was taken into custody on Wednesday following a brief foot chase in Rockville.
He is accused of the Valentine’s Day death of an 87-year-old resident at a senior living facility in Potomac and of firing at a trooper during a traffic stop days later.
Police said the suspect had worked as a medication technician at the facility since October and had regular contact with the victim during evening rounds.
Surveillance video allegedly shows him entering and exiting through a courtyard door around the time the resident was found fatally shot inside his apartment.
Investigators determined the alarm sensor on that door had been disabled weeks earlier, on a day when the suspect was the only person seen using it.
Folded paper towels were also discovered propping doors open on the day of the killing and again days afterward.
Nothing appeared to be missing from the victim’s home, according to Montgomery County Police Chief Marc Yamada.
Days after the death, staff members reported the employee was found inside the building after his shift had ended. He allegedly gave an explanation that raised concern, triggered another exterior door alarm, and left before a supervisor could be notified.
Police said that the exit door had also been tampered with.
Early Tuesday morning, a Maryland state trooper stopped the suspect’s vehicle for missing license plates. As the trooper approached, the driver opened the door and fired two shots, authorities said. The rounds missed by inches, and the trooper suffered only minor injuries.
“Without a doubt, our Maryland State trooper escaped an outcome that could have ended much differently,” said Maryland State Police Lt. Col. Steve Decerbo.
Ballistics evidence recovered at the traffic stop matched evidence from the senior living facility homicide, linking the two cases, investigators said.
Search warrants executed in Baltimore County uncovered wigs and a mask consistent with a disguise seen on surveillance footage.
Police initially could not determine the suspect’s gender from the video because of the suspect’s appearance.
The suspect is charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bond. A court hearing is pending.
Yamada said investigators are still trying to determine a motive.
“Upon speaking with him, he said their relationship was very good, and he would never have hurt Mr. Fuller,” Yamada said. “So we’re hopeful that as we get further in … we’re going to get a better sense of what was going on behind the scenes.”
The victim was described by a former city official who knew him as a prominent attorney, retired Navy Reserve officer, and major donor to community projects, including a YMCA, a hospital, and a high school expansion.
