A staffer at an assisted-living facility in Maryland has been charged in connection with the killing of an elderly millionaire resident, according to police.
Maurquise Emillo James, a 22-year-old from Baltimore who worked for the Cogir Potomac Senior Living facility, was arrested Tuesday following the deadly shooting of Robert Fuller Jr., 87, the Montgomery County Police Department announced Wednesday.
Authorities found Fuller unresponsive inside his apartment at the assisted-living facility on the morning of February 14 after a report of a medical emergency. He was later pronounced dead.
Police didn’t find a gun at his apartment, but did discover evidence “consistent with a contact gunshot wound to the head,” Montgomery County police said.
Surveillance video from the facility showed a masked suspect entering the building through a side door. Shortly after, the suspect left through that door and ran down the sidewalk.
Amid their investigation, police released video of Fuller’s suspected killer in hope the public would help identify the person. The video showed a person with long black hair, a long-sleeve flannel shirt and dark-colored pants walking in the courtyard area of the facility.
Police said that video led to tips that helped identify James as the suspect. A mugshot of James showed him with shorter hair than the suspect in the video.
Montgomery County Police Captain Sean Gagen said at a press conference of the suspect’s long hair, “At the time, we had no idea that that was a wig,” per WTOP News.
“Some people thought that could have been a part of a disguise,” Gagen added.
A motive for the killing was not immediately clear.
James was also charged with attempted murder over the shooting of a state trooper at a traffic stop days after Fuller was killed, according to authorities.
Early Tuesday morning, a Maryland State Police trooper stopped a silver 2009 Infiniti G37 without tags, police said.
During the stop, the driver fired twice at the trooper “in close proximity,” before fleeing, Maryland State Police said. The trooper was not seriously injured, according to Montgomery County police.
“Detectives received a lead indicating the same gun was used in both the shooting of Fuller and the incident involving the trooper,” Montgomery County police said.
Information on legal representation for James was not immediately clear. The Independent has reached out to Cogir Potomac Senior Living for comment.
Fuller was a former lawyer and a millionaire who gave back to his community, according to reports.
NBC 4 Washington said Fuller spent much of his life in Augusta, Maine. Maine State Representative Bill Bridgeo told the outlet Fuller donated millions to local projects: “A new YMCA , a new hospital in town, a big expansion to our high school.”
Martha Everatt-Stpierre started the Betsy Ann Ross House of Hope, a nonprofit that provides transitional housing for veteran women and is now known as the Sister in Arms Center, with Fuller’s help, WMTW reported.
“He was the first person with money that really took me seriously,” Everatt-Stpierre told the Maine outlet.
