Brent Sanderson, left, and Douglas Chase, right, have been charged in the Tuesday night killing.
Updated at 4:05 p.m. – Montgomery County police say a Rockville man and a Washington, D.C., man are responsible for the shooting death Tuesday night of 20-year-old Silver Spring man Eric Melgar at the Wheaton Metro station parking garage.
Police charged both Douglas Chase, 19, of Washington, D.C., and Brent Sanderson, 18, of Rockville with first-degree murder. Both have preliminary hearings set for Aug. 14.
Police said they responded at 7:06 p.m. Tuesday to reports of shots fired on the third level of the garage. Police say Melgar was involved in a confrontation with Chase and Sanderson when one of the suspects started firing shots at him. Chase and Sanderson then fled the garage on foot, according to police.
Officers located the two men nearby and one of them was in possession of a handgun. Police have not yet determined if a relationship existed between Melgar and the two suspects.
The investigation brought a massive police response to the garage, which is connected to the Metro station via a pedestrian bridge over Veirs Mill Road, and temporarily closed the station.
County Council member Nancy Navarro, who represents Wheaton, released a statement saying the area “on the whole continues to be an extremely safe place to live, work and raise a family,” and that the county’s ongoing redevelopment efforts for the nearby Wheaton Triangle will make it “more important than ever that our residents are safe and secure in their community.
“I have tremendous confidence that our outstanding police force, working in partnership with Metro Police, will redouble their efforts to keep Wheaton safe,” Navarro said. “We will not let one violent incident deter us from making Wheaton—and all of mid- and east-Montgomery County the best it can be.”
