Judge Rules Med Tech Accused in Potomac Philanthropist’s Killing Competent to Stand Trial
Prosecutors cite surveillance evidence alongside a ballistics match to a trooper shooting as the case advances.
Overview
- A Montgomery County judge, following a Maryland Department of Health evaluation, found 22-year-old Maurquise James competent to stand trial and ordered him held without bond.
- James is charged with first-degree murder in the Feb. 14 shooting death of 87-year-old Robert Fuller at Cogir Potomac Senior Living and with attempted murder for allegedly firing at a Maryland State Police trooper.
- Investigators say security footage shows a masked person using a secured side door near the time of the killing, and they recovered multiple wigs and discarded paper towels during the probe.
- Charging documents allege James used insider access as a medication technician, entered Fuller’s apartment the night before, and circumvented door alarms, with prior door tampering recorded in January.
- Ballistics testing links the firearm in Fuller’s killing to a round fired at the trooper, while the defense plans not-guilty pleas and disputes that the surveillance images identify James; a preliminary hearing is set for March 27.