Trial begins for Maryland driver accused of intentionally hitting police officer

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - It may be judgment day for a Montgomery County man accused of purposely trying to run down a police officer on I-270. The officer lost both of his legs in the high-speed collision back in October 2023.

The jury heard closing arguments Thursday in the attempted first-degree murder trial of Raphael Mayorga — the man prosecutors say tried to kill a Montgomery County police officer by intentionally running his car into him on 1-270 about a year and a half ago. 

What we know:

Police Sgt. Pat Kepp lost both of his legs in the crash early in the morning of Oct. 18, 2023. 

According to police, Mayorga was seen doing doughnuts in his lime-green Dodge Challenger, getting on and off of the highway wildly, swerving and speeding. After he nearly ran another car off of the road, police made the decision to deploy stop sticks.

Prosecutors say Kepp was standing in the left lanes of northbound I-270 in Gaithersburg, about to deploy stop sticks to stop the vehicle, which was going 162 miles an hour — three times the posted speed limit.

READ MORE: 19-year-old driver charged after intentionally hitting officer on I-270 in Gaithersburg

The prosecution says as Mayorga came up the highway, he saw Kepp and intentionally moved from the middle lanes to the far left lanes, barreling down the road toward Kepp’s patrol car, eventually striking the officer.

They say continued Mayorga continued speeding down the highway until he hit stop sticks laid out by another officer.

Mayorga is facing first and second-degree attempted murder and assault charges. Police say he also had a female passenger with him and was driving without a license.

The other side:

The defense's argument is that the collision was not intentional, and that Mayorga did not try to kill Kepp.  

In an interview with detectives played in court, Mayorga said he saw the officer standing in the roadway, hit the brakes and tried to swerve. He claimed he didn't know he'd hit the officer and only heard a tire pop. 

But Kepp's dashboard camera video — before and after impact — shows Mayorga never slowed down. 

The backstory:

Montgomery County prosecutors say Mayorga, who was 19 at the time of the incident, had been known to bait police. They say he had also been arrested by Kepp once for speeding.

Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy spoke about Mayorga's history with the police department back in October when the crash happened. 

READ MORE: Suspect accused of intentionally running over Montgomery Co. sergeant has history of ‘baiting’ police

"Between April 28 and June 1 of this year, on four separate occasions, he [Mayorga] baited the police here in Montgomery County into high-speed chases along 270. That was effectively what he was doing again on this particular evening," McCarthy said, referring to the crash on I-270. "During some of the previous chases, they [police] would actually make phone calls to him. They knew who he was, he knew who they were, and he dared them to try and catch him."

"In the four previous chases, he outran the police. There are limitations on police pursuit policies and what they’re allowed to do. He got away from the police," McCarthy added. "An arrest warrant was issued for him. It took a certain number of days before that arrest warrant could be served."

Moving forward:

Kepp, an 11-year police veteran, has since advocated for traffic safety to state legislators. He also testified on the opening day of the trial Monday.