Jury acquits Maryland man of murder in gunfight that killed toddler

Washington Post

20-05-2025

Johnny Turcious, a 29-year-old Maryland man, was involved in a shootout that left a toddler dead, according to a Prince George's County jury's verdict on Monday.
But his gun didn't fire the bullets that struck the boy and his mother in the Langley Park area in February 2024, and the jury voted not to hold him responsible for the child's death.
Turcious, of Hyattsville, faced 11 counts, including the first- and second-degree murder of 2-year-old Jeremy Poou-Caceres. The jury convicted him of three counts: attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder of one of the men targeted in the shooting, and prohibited possession of a regulated firearm.
Deliberations stretched over three days. Turcious is scheduled for sentencing Sept. 12, Assistant State's Attorney Daniel Kim said. Turcious faces up to life in prison plus 45 years.
Kim said at a virtual news conference after the verdict that the understanding of the legal theories applied in the case by the prosecution — which included 'transferred intent' and 'accomplice liability' — is probably why the jury struggled to agree.
While the lethal weapon, an AK-47 rifle, wasn't fired by Turcious, his involvement in the shooting that also wounded the toddler's mother made him equally liable, Kim said during his closing argument.
'Because of accomplice liability, you might as well put the rifle in Mr. Turcious's hands,' Kim said. 'The law in this case establishes that no one gets a discount for having bad aim.'
Several of the jury notes centered on these technical theories and how to apply them, Kim said.
Defense attorney Keith Lee Hiller argued that there was no physical evidence linking Turcious to the shooting. He also questioned the credibility of the state's key witnesses, including the driver of the vehicle involved in the shooting, who pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact.
'Witnesses can be mistaken, witnesses can lie,' Hiller said.
On the evening of Feb. 8, 2024, Turcious and a companion, Israel Fuentes Jr., armed themselves with guns, hopped into a stolen gold Ford Explorer with two others and drove around seeking to kill a teenage boy and his friends, Kim said.
According to charging documents, a witness described the shooting as a territorial dispute over drug dealing.
Around the same time, a then-17-year-old mother, Rosa Caceres, was returning home on a walk from a nearby McDonald's with her son, Jeremy. She crossed the path of the group that Turcious and Fuentes were looking for on Kanawha Street.
In a nearby parking lot, Turcious and Fuentes got out of the SUV and began shooting at the group, Kim said, as the intended targets attempted to flee in the same direction as Caceres and Jeremy.
A shootout ensued, bullets striking the back of the boy strapped in his stroller. Turcious fired at least once, Kim said.
Jeremy was pronounced dead a short time later at Children's National Hospital. Caceres was treated for a gunshot wound to one of her legs.
Caceres identified Turcious as one of the men who exited the SUV. So did David Medina, who admitted to driving the Ford involved in the killing.
In a written statement to detectives, Medina identified Turcious's picture. He said Turcious, nicknamed 'Dopeboy,' grabbed him 'and put a knife to me and put me in the car,' and that 'he was the one shooting the handgun.'
Kim said that when police arrested Turcious, he was wearing clothing matching that of the shooters captured on video. They also found a gun converted to fire .22-caliber bullets, the same as the ammunition recovered in the Ford Explorer, inside the apartment where he was hiding, Kim said.
In an attempt to alter his appearance, Turcious's braids had been cut off in the bathroom, Kim said.
Caceres didn't identify Turcious to detectives when she first talked to authorities, said Hiller, the defense attorney. He cast doubt on her memory, saying Caceres couldn't identify Turcious until after seeing a photo on social media that named him as a suspect.
'Mr. Turcious's fate is in your hands, not social media's,' Hiller said to the jury during his closing argument. 'How is Ms. Caceres, more than a year later, able to identify a total stranger, near sunset, two football fields away?'
Hiller said the police detective who responded to the scene testified that the men wore face masks.
Before his plea deal, Medina faced life in prison, Hiller said.
'But he's given a way out — he's looking between one year to six years. He had to testify,' Hiller said.
Kim argued that Medina pleaded guilty because 'he knew he was guilty' and because of the evidence against him.
Turcious declined to testify.
'I might not always agree with everything that a jury decides on as to what counts they decide to find guilt on, but in this case, I can certainly guess why they did render the verdict they did,' Kim said. 'At the end of the day, I believe that he was guilty of all the counts, and again, that's why we charged it the way we did.'
Fuentes is scheduled to stand trial in January. 'He looks forward to his day in court,' said Thomas Mooney, an attorney for Fuentes.
'We will fight as equally as hard to have that person found guilty as to the murder of her son,' Kim said, adding, 'The next trial will be against the person who fired that rifle and likely fired the shots that killed Jeremy.'