A Silver Spring man arrested on Monday and charged with murder after a 2017 double homicide at Westfield Wheaton Mall will remain behind bars after a judge denied bond on Tuesday.
King Yassin Leigh-Conteh, 19, is “clearly a danger to the community,” Judge Holly Reed said in his decision.
Leigh-Conteh is charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Angel Alfredo Gomez Pineda, 24, of Silver Spring and Kevin Siloe Moya Cruz, 22, of Wheaton.
Prosecutors said Leigh-Conteh was involved in an altercation and surrounded by five individuals wielding decorative bamboo sticks from a nearby restaurant when he pulled a knife and chased the two victims.
The stabbings happened “in broad daylight right out in the hallway,” a prosecutor, Donna Fenton, said.
Tips came in linking Leigh-Conteh to the crime after police released surveillance photos and video footage of the Jan. 10 incident in September 2018, Fenton said. A tip also mentioned Leigh-Conteh intended to flee to Africa.
Leigh-Conteh was also found involved in an armed robbery with a knife prior to the incident, though the case was moved out of Circuit Court into juvenile court, Fenton said.
Leigh-Conteh appeared in Rockville District Court through video link from a county detention center. He was represented by attorney Robin Ficker of Robin Ficker Law Offices and only spoke to confirm he had received the charges against him.
Ficker argued that the surveillance footage isn’t clear enough to identify Leigh-Conteh or rule out the suspect charged a day after the crime and released in March 2017.
Police met Leigh-Conteh at his residence on Monday, but drove him to his new job prior to arresting him, Ficker said. He added that investigators identified Leigh-Conteh as a suspect in December 2018 but didn’t act until March.
“If they think my client is so dangerous … why is it just yesterday they went to his house to arrest him?” Ficker said.
Leigh-Conteh’s parents and brother also appeared before the judge to speak on his behalf.
Following the testimony, Wood allowed the state to respond. Fenton said a search of Leigh-Conteh’s residence found a hat and shoes that appeared to be items worn by the suspect in the video and photos.
Citing the results of the search at Leigh-Conteh’s residence and the allegations of fleeing the country, Reed moved to deny bond.
Leigh-Conteh has a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 5.
