News Releases

Suspect Arrested for Burtonsville Area Homicide

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Major Crimes Division have charged Denzel Massamba Kasaka, age, 22, of Twig Terrace in Silver Spring, with the first-degree murder of 20-year-old Jose Augusto Ruiz of Lisage Way in Silver Spring.

On Sunday, June 14, at approximately 11:46 p.m., 3rd District officers and Fire & Rescue personnel responded to the report of an unconscious male who was bleeding inside of a vehicle in a parking lot located in the 13700 block of Avonshire Drive.  Officers located the victim, later identified as Ruiz, inside of a vehicle with cutting injuries to his body.  He was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Officers located witnesses to the homicide at the scene and obtained video surveillance of the incident.  Investigation determined that at approximately 10:40 p.m., Ruiz and another adult were in Ruiz' car in a parking lot on Avonshire Drive.  Kasaka drove to the parking lot and he and Ruiz began to argue.  The argument became physical and Kasaka stabbed Ruiz.  Detectives do not believe that this homicide is random.

Ruiz' body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) in Baltimore where an autopsy will be conducted.

On the evening of June 16, Kasaka was arrested on the strength of an arrest warrant charging him with first-degree murder.  He was transported to the Central Processing Unit.

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Release ID: 20-214
Media Contact: Rebecca Innocenti 
Categories: homicide