A 22-year-old employee at an assisted living facility is facing charges after allegedly donning long female wigs to disguise himself while committing the murder of an 87-year-old millionaire philanthropist whom he regularly cared for. Additionally, he is accused of firing at a Maryland state trooper during a pursuit on Tuesday.
The Montgomery County Police Department’s Major Crimes Division revealed during a Wednesday news briefing that Marquis Emilio James, from White Marsh, Maryland, was apprehended in connection with the murder of Robert G. Fuller Jr. on Valentine’s Day at the Cogir Potomac Senior Living Facility. James is also linked to Tuesday’s incident involving the shooting of a state trooper during a traffic stop in West Baltimore.
James, who had been working as a medication technician at the facility since October, was reportedly captured on surveillance video entering and exiting through a compromised courtyard door around the time Fuller was shot in the head in his apartment.
No items appeared to be stolen from Fuller’s residence during the incident, as noted by Montgomery County Police Chief Marc Yamada.
Further investigation revealed that the alarm sensor on the door had been disabled back in January, coinciding with a day when James was the sole person observed using the door.
Police discovered folded paper towels, which were used to prop doors open both on the day of the murder and on subsequent days, during their search.
Yamada said that days after Fuller’s death, James was found inside the facility after his shift ended, gave a suspicious explanation to other workers, triggered another exterior door alarm, and fled when a supervisor was going to be notified.
The door he used to exit had also been tampered with, according to authorities.
At about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, a Maryland State Police trooper pulled over James’ car to conduct a traffic stop after noticing he was missing license plates.
As the trooper approached the car, James, who was driving, suddenly opened the car door and fired two shots, said Maryland State Police Lt. Col. Steve Decerbo.
The bullets narrowly missed the trooper by inches, and he only sustained minor injuries.
“Without a doubt, our Maryland State trooper escaped an outcome that could have ended much differently,” Decerbo said.
James immediately drove away, and investigators later recovered a shell casing from the scene that matched ballistic evidence from Fuller’s murder, linking the two cases.
Montgomery County Police, Maryland State Police and the US Marshals took James into custody Wednesday afternoon in Rockville after a brief foot chase.
James is charged in Montgomery County with first-degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
He is being held without bond, with a court hearing scheduled.
While conducting two search warrants in Baltimore County, investigators recovered “numerous” wigs and a mask, consistent with what appeared to be a disguise in surveillance footage.
Police initially said there was no clear description of the person’s gender or race, adding the suspect seen in the footage could be male or female due to the long wig.
Yamada added police “do not have a good sense of why” James allegedly shot and killed Fuller.
“Upon speaking with him, he said their relationship was very good, and he would never have hurt Mr. Fuller,” he said. “So we’re hopeful that as we get further in … we’re going to get a better sense of what was going on behind the scenes, what types of communications Marquis James had, [and] what he was searching on his electronic devices. We’re hopeful that that’s going to lead us to a better sense of why.”
Yamada would not confirm if James had a criminal record.
Maine State Rep. Bill Bridgeo, who met Fuller while working as city manager in Augusta, told NBC 4 Washington Fuller was a prominent attorney and a retired Navy Reserve officer.
Bridgeo told the local station Fuller donated millions to the community to build a new YMCA, hospital and expand a high school.
