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Frederick resident Edy Daniel Marroquin-Soma, 23, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and has been sentenced to life in prison with all but 25 years to serve in the Division of Corrections followed by 5 years of supervised probation upon release, officials announced on Tuesday, March 28.
The State had asked the court for an above the guidelines sentence of life suspend all but at least 40 years in prison, while the Defense asked the court to impose active time of 12 years.
According to prosecutors, shortly before 5:15 a.m. on Aug. 26, 2020, members of the Frederick Police Department were called to the 500 block of Logan Street in Frederick to investigate a reported fight.
Upon arrival, officers found a 78-year-old man unconscious on the side of the road. Paramedics at the time said that the victim suffered head trauma and he was rushed to the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore in critical condition.
The man suffered life-altering injuries as a result of a traumatic brain injury and other injuries that investigators say he will never be able to fully recover from.
An investigation into the attack determined that on the night of the attack, Marroquin-Soma was sitting in his truck drinking and listening to music - highlighted by multiple empty beer bottles that were found on the street and grass near the truck during the assault investigation.
Surveillance footage obtained from a nearby home captured the assault, where Marroquin-Soma can be seen on top of his 78-year-old victim “rapidly punching down and then stomping.”
A shirt from the victim was also recovered, covered in blood. Marroquin-Soma had cuts and trauma to the fingers and thumbs, as well as a bandage covering an injury to his right knee, while his DNA was found on the elderly man.
“This attack on an elderly man out for a walk in his neighborhood is both shocking and disturbing. We have always worked tirelessly to protect those victims who cannot protect themselves,” Smith said in a statement.
“I hope that today’s sentence gives the victim, his family, and the community a sense of comfort in knowing that (Marroquin-Soma), and others who harm the vulnerable, will be punished harshly.”
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