15-year-old charged in Silver Spring double homicide appears in court

A 15-year-old suspect accused in a Memorial Day weekend double homicide in Silver Spring park appeared in court Tuesday. 

On Monday, Aug. 26, Montgomery County Police announced that the 15-year-old boy was arrested at Dulles Airport shortly after he returned to the country. During a public bond hearing Tuesday, FOX 5 learned he went to Spain.

Details have been relatively limited because this 15-year-old is a juvenile.  Maryland law prohibits the release of charging documents and attorneys cannot comment publicly on the case at this stage. The bond hearing is public, though.

The shooting happened May 26.

According to what was said in court Tuesday, the boy went to Philadelphia shortly after where his father allegedly bought a plane ticket to Spain on June 2 and the 15-year-old left on June 5.

According to the defense attorney in court, the charging documents indicate there was some sort of altercation that led up to the shooting, which killed Quincy Johnson and D’Andre Wint, both 20.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 2 men killed in Silver Spring shooting in Nolte Park

That defense attorney also questioned some elements of the charging documents linking his client to the shooting.

Monday, the judge denied bond and the 15-year-old will stay in a juvenile facility.

In the meantime, the defense attorney said in court that he’d request a so-called waiver study to determine if the case should be tried in adult or juvenile court.

FOX 5 caught up with State’s Attorney John McCarthy who declined to comment specifically on this case, citing the prohibitions laid out by Maryland law.

But McCarthy did speak about how his office looks at these waiver studies.

"I think these are very important decisions, and when these waiver studies come in, I meet with the attorneys that are assigned to the case and we discuss it. It’s procedure, it’s not unique to this case, it’s how we handle it because I think that decision to try a child in adult court is a very serious determination and I involve myself in that decision," McCarthy said.

As of now, as best we can tell, no other charges have been filed in this case. The defense attorney for the 15-year-old declined to comment after court today, as did the boy’s family through the attorney.

According to what was said in court Tuesday, there is a preliminary hearing in this case set for next Friday.

NewsSilver SpringMontgomery CountyCrime and Public Safety