Army veteran accused of killing 3 neighbors in Annapolis to be held without bond
Annapolis man accused of shooting 3 neighbors to be held without bond
The Annapolis man arrested and charged with 3 counts of second-degree murder and more in the shooting of six people Sunday night was ordered held without bond in court Tuesday. Three of those people who were shot died at the scene. Three others suffered injuries but will survive. FOX 5’s Stephanie Ramirez was in the courtroom where more information was shared on the suspect in this case.
The Annapolis man arrested and charged with the murder of three people and the wounding of three others after an alleged argument over a street parking space was ordered held without bond on Tuesday.
Family members of the three men killed cried as the suspect, 43-year-old Charles Robert Smith, appeared for his bond hearing via closed-circuit TV.
In court is where lawyers revealed Smith is a former military member, who had been diagnosed with PTSD and is currently on five different medications for his diagnosis. The Annapolis prosecutor said in court Smith, "apparently snapped due to the loud noise of the party."
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Annapolis man accused of killing 3 neighbors over parking dispute
Authorities arrested and charged a neighbor with the fatal shooting of three people and wounding of three others outside a home in Annapolis Sunday night. Witnesses told police the shooting stemmed from a dispute over street parking.
Smith’s attorney Mark Howes mentioned Afghanistan to the judge when bringing up his client’s Army service from 2008 to 2013. However, after the hearing, Howes was unable to clarify whether Smith had been deployed to Afghanistan or served in the Army during the war there.
In a statement, an Army spokesperson told FOX 5: "Charles Robert Smith served as an imagery analyst (35G) in the regular Army from February 2008 to June 2013. He had no deployments and held the rank of specialist at the end of service."
Howes told the judge his client lives with his mother in Annapolis, is single, does not have children, and is still looking for work. Smith's attorney also asked the judge for his client’s release so that he could get back to his medications, noting Smith had not received treatment the last two days.
The judge mentioned allegations of "multiple accounts of extreme violence" and said the "unpredictable causation factor," led to his decision to order Smith held without bond.
"Right now, the family is very grateful for all the condolences everyone has given us," said Mariana Segovia, the sister of the 25-year-old victim Christian Segovia. "This is a very, very serious matter. I really don’t want it to be swept up for anybody. These issues have been going on all over America, and it’s really unfortunate that [it’s] so close to home, here in Annapolis out of all places.
"I want everyone to know that this cannot keep going on," she continued. "We can’t keep losing fathers. We can’t keep losing, you know, our loved ones like this, not like this – not a week before Father's Day, you know? So, I ask everyone to please continue to share the story, please keep reporting. Please let everyone know that we will not stop until this is reported as a hate crime. What happened here is not, you know, an act of PTSD. It’s not – this was a murder."
Kathleen Kirchner identified herself as the private attorney representing the families of the father and son killed: 27-year-old Mario and 55-year-old Nicolas Mireles.
"Of course, any time one hears that someone is suffering from PTSD, especially after serving our country, that’s significant and that’s not a small issue. However, we don’t think it in any way excuses his behavior or the damage that he’s done," Kirchner said. "This was an unprovoked attack. It was undeserved, and they’re absolutely heartbroken and shattered they were present for it. I don’t want to go into the details of what I’ve heard but what I can tell you is it’s awful what they experienced. Just awful."
The suspect’s attorney told FOX 5 his client did not have a criminal record before this fatal shooting. Howes also identified Smith as a legal gun owner.
He called the shooting "regrettable" for the community and also said he looks forward to their day in court.
Families of all three men killed shared two different GoFundMe pages with FOX 5, hoping to help fundraise for the victims’ children and funeral expenses.
Court documents shared on Monday say the shooting broke out after a dispute over a street parking space, according to witnesses. A physical altercation was described before charging documents revealed Smith pulled out a gun, and a tussle over the firearm began. Those same charging documents describe Smith as allegedly standing over 27-year-old Mario Mireles and shooting him several more times, before retreating to the home to grab a rifle. The court documents claim Smith used the rifle to shoot out of a front window toward those rushing to help 27-year-old Mario Mireles and 25-year-old Christian Segovia.
FOX 5 has learned that 55-year-old Nicolas Mireles was shot and killed trying to help his son, Mario. The three others also shot were described as friends of Mario Mireles by the family attorney. They suffered non-life-threatening injuries and are expected to survive. Kirchner told reporters she only knows anecdotally Smith did not care for Mireles when asked about possible hate crime charges. Howes said he had not seen evidence of such.
Annapolis police said the potential to add federal hate crime charges still exists if the evidence warrants it.
Police have still not provided a motive or disclosed other information like how many bullets were recovered from the scene. The FBI and ATF were still on Paddington Place 45 hours after the shooting, assisting Annapolis police in their investigation.