Wheaton murder suspect was detained by police twice in Rockville before allegedly killing woman

A Wheaton woman might still be alive today, but for Montgomery County's sanctuary county immigration policies. According to Maryland court records, Elmer Marilan Campos-Martinez - who has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Wheaton mother and KFC employee Dania Mendez de Guerra - was detained in traffic stops twice by police since 2012. Because officers are forbidden to ask about the immigration status of those they stop, Campos-Martinez was put back on the streets, despite being in the country illegally.

Case records indicate that Campos-Martinez was pulled over by Montgomery County police on October 7, 2012 at 11:46 PM. He was cited for operating a motor scooter without a license on Veirs Mill Road at Parkland Drive. On April 23, 2013, Campos-Martinez paid a $50 fine and $33 in court fees. Without a check of his citizenship status, he was a free man.

While still living on N. Horners Lane in Rockville, Campos-Martinez was pulled over yet again by Rockville City police on April 20, 2014 at 11:13 PM. Driving an actual car this time, he was cited for driving without a license on Veirs Mill Road at First Street in Rockville.  Once again, the officer was not allowed to check his immigration status. In this case, Campos-Martinez did not even have to pay a fine or court fees. The prosecutor entered a nolle prosequi, meaning the State would not pursue the case, and the charges were thereby dropped.

Three-and-a-half years later, Campos-Martinez - now living in the Woods Edge Apartments on Cove Lane in Rockville - was working alongside de Guerra at the KFC at 2119 University Boulevard West in Wheaton. Leaving work, he laid in wait for the 21-year-old de Guerra to walk home to her husband and child on Amherst Avenue, police allege. Four days later, her body was found behind the CVS Pharmacy across a parking lot from her apartment.

Of course, he wouldn't have been there to lay in wait, had he been deported in 2012 after his first scooter misadventure (by the way, do you believe you would have avoided a fine and court fees if you were caught driving without a license? Is there now a separate law for non-citizens?). In fact, Campos-Martinez was deported in 1994. But the sanctuary policies of Montgomery County kept him coming back.

The victim, Dania Mendez de Guerra

If the murder allegations by police are true, those policies cost Dania Mendez de Guerra her life, and her family a wife and mother.

Suspect in Wheaton homicide was deported in 1994, returned to Rockville

Elmer Marilan Campos-Martinez, who has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Wheaton mother and KFC employee Dania Mendez de Guerra, is in the country illegally, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has confirmed. ICE issued a detainer against Campos-Martinez Saturday.

In a statement, ICE also confirmed that Campos-Martinez was already deported once to his native El Salvador, in 1994. They say he illegally crossed the border again, and made his way to Rockville, where he has been residing on Cove Lane.

Campos-Martinez continues to be held without bond, as the District Court judge in his case declared him a flight risk, due to his immigration status.

SunTrust Bank coming to Rockville Town Square

Well, if you were hoping for another interesting restaurant to open in the corner space at Gibbs Street and E. Middle Lane, you're bound to be disappointed by this turn of events. SunTrust Bank will be the new tenant there. Of course, there was a bank there before, if I remember correctly.

2 stabbed on N. Horners Lane in Rockville last night

Two people were stabbed last night in the 400 block of N. Horners Lane around 10:15 PM. Rockville police found the two victims and a third person outside a home. The third person retreated into the home, saying he had a gun. Montgomery County police assisted with an Emergency Response Team, getting the man to come out of the home and surrender.

He is identified as Dakota Shaynne Jones (DOB: 3/19/1988), of the 300 block of Howard Ave., in Rockville. Jones was arrested and charged with the following:

Second-degree attempted murder.

First-degree assault.

Reckless endangerment. 

The two stabbing victims were taken to a local hospital; their injuries were non-life-threatening, police say.

Anyone with information about this incident should call the Rockville City Police Department's Criminal Investigations Unit at 240-314-8938.

L.L. Bean opens today at Pike & Rose (Video + Photos)

L.L. Bean will open their newest store this morning at Pike & Rose. Located at 925 Rose Avenue, it is the only L.L. Bean location in the state of Maryland right now.

CLICK HERE: WATCH: L.L. Bean store tour

An invitation-only event was held yesterday for L.L. Bean fans, who were able to shop the two-level store before the general public. On hand for the event was L.L. Bean retail store Senior Vice-President Ken Kacere, who presented a $5000 donation to local chapters of the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Also spotted on the premises were Montgomery County Councilmember Sidney Katz, and the famous L.L. Bean Bootmobile, which attracted cellphone camera users passing through Rose Park in front of the store.

Kacere thanked property owner Federal Realty, noting that it had taken the Maine-based firm over a decade to find the ideal location for a store in this area. He said Pike & Rose not only wanted L.L. Bean, but that the youth of the development meant they would have the opportunity to build exactly the store design they wanted. There will be activities and giveaways all weekend at the new store.

Montgomery County Councilmember
Sidney Katz (left) stopped by

L.L. Bean Senior VP Ken Kacere (second from left)
presents local Girl Scout and Boy Scout leaders with
a $5000 contribution

The L.L. Bean Bootmobile,
inspired by the company's first
product, had Pike & Rose patrons
pulling out their cellphones for a photo

Rockville biotech firm partners with Michael J. Fox Foundation on Parkinson's research effort

Vigene Biosciences, a biotech firm based in Rockville, has partnered with the Michael J. Fox Foundation to further research on Parkinson's disease treatment. The partnership will make viral vectors that target alpha-synuclein, a substance that clumps in the brains of Parkinson's patients, more readily available to researchers in 2018.

"We are pleased to have taken this step to make critical Parkinson's disease research tools more accessible to the wider research community," Dr. Zairen Sun, Vigene's CEO, said in a statement. "We believe that a key way to accelerate therapeutic development for Parkinson's patients is to provide validated viral vectors, that will enable researchers to obtain quality data, so that they focus on understanding the mechanisms underlying Parkinson's disease."