A Carroll County grand jury has indicted Jose Manchame, 41, of Manchester, on a second-degree murder charge in the shooting death of 18-year-old Mauricio Guzman-Leon, according to the Carroll County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Guzman-Leon was shot April 28 during a house party in Manchester, according to a Wednesday news release, and died of his injuries on May 4.
Manchame was indicted May 16 on one count of second-degree murder and one count of the use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence. The second-degree murder charge has a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison, and the firearm charge could result in up to 20 years in prison with five years mandatory, and no parole, according to the release.
Officers from the Maryland State Police Westminster Barrack responded April 28 at about 6 p.m., to reports of a shooting at 4900 Hanover Pike in Manchester. The victim was not there when they arrived; police learned that Guzman-Leon was driven to the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office in Westminster by his brother.
Guzman-Leon, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head, was transported by helicopter to Shock Trauma at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. He died May 4 as a result of his injuries, the news release stated.
The victim’s brother, Rudy Guzman-Leon, told sheriff’s deputies that he and his brother went to the Manchester address to pick up his mail when an argument began and the two brothers left. When the brothers returned in the late afternoon, Guzman-Leon said Manchame shot at him and his brother. They drove away looking for help, and were subsequently involved in a car crash, according to the news release.
Witnesses reported hearing five gunshots coming from the Hanover Pike address, then seeing a silver sedan speed away from the property. Carroll County sheriff’s deputies responded to two separate collisions near the Hanover Pike residence that involved a silver sedan, the news release states.
Rudy Guzman-Leon told investigators that he knew Manchame and is friends with Manchame’s son, according to the release.
Maryland State Police stated that witnesses told them they were familiar with the two brothers, and that they were instigators of arguments at the residence several times throughout the day.
During an April 29 interview with state troopers, Manchame said the two brothers came to his home several times and accused him of stealing government documents sent to the address by mail, according to the release.
Manchame told investigators that after Rudy Guzman-Leon tried to pick a fight with him and refused to leave the property, Manchame went into his house and got a loaded .38 revolver then fired five shots toward the car the brothers were in, according to the release. Police recovered the revolver owned by Manchame, according to the release.
Manchame is being held without bail, pending a June 14 appearance in Carroll County Circuit Court.
