News Releases

Update: Fourth Suspect Arrested for the June 5 Double Homicide of Shadi Adi Najjar and Artem S. Ziberov

For Immediate Release: Friday, December 1, 2017

Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) – Major Crimes Division continue to investigate the June 5 homicides of 17-year-old Shadi Adi Najjar and 18-year-old Artem S. Ziberov that occurred while the victims were inside a blue Honda Civic parked in the 8200 block of Gallery Court in Montgomery Village.  On June 17, Edgar Garcia-Gaona, age 24, of the 100 block of Lamont Lane in Gaithersburg, Roger Garcia, age 19, of the 19500 block of Frederick Road in Germantown, and Jose Ovilson Canales-Yanez, age 25, of the 18400 block of Cape Jasmine Way in Gaithersburg, were arrested and charged with the first-degree murders of the victims.  Today, Rony Alexander Galicia, age 25, of the 19500 block of Frederick Road in Germantown was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit the murders of the victims.

On Monday, June 5 at approximately 10:46 p.m., the Emergency Communications Center (911) received a call from a resident reporting the sounds of shots fired in the 8200 block of Gallery Court.  6th District officers responded to the area and located Najjar and Ziberov inside of a vehicle that was parked in the street on Gallery Court.  Both victims appeared to be suffering from apparent gunshot wounds and succumbed to their injuries at the scene.

The Montgomery County Forensics Services Section processed the crime scene and evidence was recovered to include DNA.  Investigators identified Galicia as a suspect and obtained a Montgomery County search and seizure warrant for a sample of Galicia’s DNA.  The Montgomery County Police Crime Lab has determined that the DNA at the crime scene belonged to Galicia.

Today (December 1), investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Galicia charging him two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.  Galicia was arrested at approximately 11:30 a.m. this morning, after he was stopped while travelling in a vehicle on Hungerford Drive (Route 355) near Mannakee Street in Rockville.  Bond information for Galicia is not yet available.

RLG

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Release ID: 17-404
Media Contact: mcpnews 
Categories: homicide