The two men charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a 2-year-old boy in Langley Park, Maryland, last week will be held without bond.
On Monday, suspects Johnny Alejandro Turcios, 28, and Israel Fuentes Jr., 33, of Lewisdale, were charged with first- and second-degree murder in the death of 2-year-old Jeremy Poou-Caceres. A Prince George’s County judge ordered the two to be held without bond before their next scheduled court appearances next month.
“We are going to pursue this case. Like we do every other case. But this is a very sad case — it just is. A 2-year-old, an innocent child is dead, gone. [He] didn’t have a chance to really fully live a life, to pursue their dreams, to grow up,” State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy said at a press conference after the hearing.
Braveboy vowed to get justice.
“My heart is broken. Our community is grieving, the family of the baby is grieving,” said Braveboy.
The 17-year-old mother of the child, who was also shot during the exchange, spoke to Telemundo44 saying, “When I heard the first gunshot, I knew I had to run because I knew I had to protect my son.”
According to charging documents, Turcios and Fuentes were in an argument with a group of other men over drug distribution territory before they opened fire on the group and got into a carjacked gold Ford Explorer.
Attorney Giovanna Miller said, “We believe that they were caught in [the] crossfire, based on accounts given by the witnesses.”
The carjacked Ford connected to the incident was found with an AK-47 style gun inside — which matched the shell casings near the scene.
It was later discovered that Turcios was on probation following a robbery conviction but still had a gun at the time of the murder.
Authorities also said about 90 minutes after the shooting, Fuentes called police and said he was robbed of his phone and money in the same area. Fuentes blocked the number he was calling from, something detectives say he did to attempt to explain why his phone history would put him near the murder scene.
WTOP reported that neither of the men’s public defenders argued that they should be released on bond.
Police are still searching for two other suspects in this case, as the investigation is ongoing.
A GoFundMe has been set up for Poou-Caceres’s funeral expenses. It has raised more than $5,000 so far.
WTOP’s William Vitka contributed to this report.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
