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A pair of police cases came to a head, leading investigators to charge two from Baltimore in connection to the murder of 24-year-old Dylan Migel Perez last month after a gun used in the shooting was found during a separate investigation into a robbery.
In October, officers from the Howard County Police Department were called to the Exxon gas station in the 6000 block of Foreland Garth in Columbia, where there was a 30-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds who was taken to an area hospital.
Minutes later, police say that two others, a 22-year-old man and Perez showed up at the Howard County Medical Center. Perez died from his injuries, and the other two victims were treated and released.
While investigating a July robbery in Ellicott City when a teen was armed at gunpoint, detectives served a separate search warrant at multiple locations in Columbia, which led to the seizure of multiple weapons and "ghost guns" in various stages of assembly - including one that was determined to have been used in the triple shooting that left Perez dead.
"Every day, we make it a priority to ensure every Howard County resident not only remains safe but feels safe," County Executive Calvin Ball said. "By combining investigative expertise in our violent crime, robbery, firearms, property crimes, and drug units, we are able to look at these cases through a wider lens.
"We are now one step closer to holding these suspects accountable and providing some closure on crimes that have disturbed our community."
Shamond Isiah Steward, 18, and a 17-year-old boy are being charged as adults for first- and second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and multiple weapons charges.
Four others from Columbia were arrested in the robbery and illegal firearms cases and charged with:
- Kevin Mobley, 46: Illegal possession of multiple firearms (he was released on $50,000 bond);
- 16-year-old boy: Possession of privately-made firearms;
- 17-year-old boy: Robbery, assault, possession of unregulated privately-made firearms;
- 17-year-old boy: Robbery, assault, and illegal possession of multiple firearms
“These two cases are a perfect example of our office working in lockstep with the Howard County Police Department to fight violent crime,” Howard County State’s Attorney Rich Gibson said. “Although these alleged defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty, it is our goal to effectively marshal the evidence presented to us and hold those involved accountable.”
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