Authorities say ballistic evidence later tied the case to a trooper shooting in Baltimore.
ROCKVILLE, Md. — A 22-year-old medication technician is accused of wearing a disguise to get inside a Potomac senior living building and fatally shooting an 87-year-old resident, a well-known philanthropist, before investigators say evidence from a later traffic stop linked the two cases.
Police say Maurquise Emillo James, of Baltimore, was arrested Feb. 24 and charged with first-degree murder in the Feb. 14 death of Robert Fuller Jr. at Cogir Potomac Senior Living. James also faces attempted murder charges tied to a separate encounter with a Maryland State Police trooper. The two investigations converged when ballistic evidence entered into a national database indicated the same gun was used in both shootings, authorities said. Officials have not announced a motive and said nothing appeared to be stolen from Fuller’s apartment.
Officers and firefighters were called to the facility in the 10800 block of Potomac Tennis Lane about 7:34 a.m. Feb. 14 after a reported medical emergency. Fuller was found unresponsive inside his apartment and was pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives said they observed evidence on Fuller’s body and inside his bedroom consistent with a contact gunshot wound to the head. No firearm was found in the apartment, and the state medical examiner later ruled the death a homicide.
Investigators said surveillance video became central to the case. Footage reviewed by detectives showed a masked person walking toward a side door of the building and entering into a stairwell. A short time later, the same person was seen leaving through that door and running down the sidewalk, police said. Detectives later determined the exterior door had been propped open and the alarm deactivated. On Feb. 20, police released video of a person in a courtyard wearing what they described as a distinctive plaid jacket. Tips generated by that release helped identify James, authorities said.
Charging documents and interviews with employees helped fill in gaps investigators said the video could not show. The person in the footage was captured from behind, and early on police said they could not determine the person’s race or gender. Co-workers later told detectives that James had worn a similar plaid jacket while working, investigators said. Police Capt. Sean Gagen said the long dark hair seen in the video appeared to be part of a disguise. “At the time, we had no idea that that was a wig,” Gagen said during a news briefing. Detectives later recovered multiple wigs and a mask while executing search warrants, investigators said.
Police also focused on the side door that the masked figure used, describing it as an entrance that was not commonly used even by employees. Investigators said they found a paper towel that appeared to have been used to prop the door open. Detectives said a sensor on the door was not working the night of the killing, and they traced earlier video from January that showed James in the same stairwell area on a day when a door alarm was deactivated. Police said the alarm and sensor were reset after the homicide, but investigators later learned of another unusual incident involving the same door and James’ behavior.
According to investigators, more than a week after the killing, a co-worker contacted police after an alarm involving that side door sounded early in the week. Authorities said James had stayed beyond the end of his shift, and when the alarm went off, he denied setting it off. Employees checking the area reported seeing a napkin propping the door open and a folded paper towel nearby, and investigators said the battery had been reversed so the sensor would not work. Asked whether that suggested another attack might have been planned, Gagen credited staff for reporting what he called odd behavior. “I truly do feel that we headed something nefarious off,” he said.
While Montgomery County detectives worked the Potomac homicide, state police were investigating a shooting during a traffic stop in Baltimore. In the early morning hours of Feb. 24, a trooper attempted to stop a silver Infiniti sedan without tags around 3:30 a.m., authorities said. Investigators said the driver opened the door slightly and fired at the trooper before speeding away. The trooper was not seriously injured, police said. Evidence collected at the scene included at least one 9mm shell casing that was entered into the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, and detectives later received a lead indicating the same gun was used in the Potomac killing, police said.
Montgomery County Police Chief Marc Yamada said agencies shared information quickly once the ballistic match emerged. “Investigators from Montgomery County and the Maryland State Police, along with the U.S. Marshals, began actively working together,” Yamada said, adding that the cases were determined to be connected. Later on Feb. 24, task force officers assigned to the U.S. Marshals fugitive task force arrested James in downtown Rockville after he tried to run from officers, police said. Investigators executed two search warrants in Baltimore County and recovered items they described as potential evidence.
Prosecutors said James had worked at the facility since October 2025 as a medication technician, a role that involved giving residents their prescribed drugs. Investigators said the last documented contact with Fuller came the day before the killing. Court records cited by local outlets said James returned to speak with Fuller’s roommate about whether a prescribed pain medication had taken effect, a visit described as unusual. Authorities said the sound of the gunshot did not wake the roommate, and they have not said whether Fuller was the intended target or whether anyone else inside the building was at risk that morning.
Fuller, a former attorney, had become known beyond Maryland for philanthropy tied to veterans and community projects in Maine, where he previously lived. Officials have described him as a millionaire and said news of his death traveled quickly back to people who knew him there. Investigators have not publicly identified personal conflicts between Fuller and James, and they said they have not found evidence that property was taken from Fuller’s apartment. During the investigation, police said they received information about James’ workplace relationships and about his movements in and around the facility, but they said a clear motive remained unknown.
James was held pending a bond hearing, and local reports said a judge later ordered him held without bond and directed that he receive a psychiatric evaluation. In that hearing, James appeared by video from jail and asked to see a doctor, according to local coverage. In addition to first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, he faces charges that include assault and using a firearm during a crime of violence, authorities said. Police have not said whether additional charges could follow as the investigation continues.
Cogir Potomac Senior Living has cooperated with investigators, police said, and the case has raised questions among families about building access and alarm systems in senior facilities. Investigators have not said whether the side door alarm was disabled by a mechanical failure or intentional tampering, but they said video and physical evidence supported the conclusion that the door was propped open. Police also have not said whether the suspect obtained the disguise materials on site or brought them to the building.
As of Thursday, James remained jailed in Montgomery County while prosecutors prepared for the next court steps. The next milestone is a scheduled hearing in district court, where a judge will address detention and begin setting a timeline for the case.
Author note: Last updated Feb. 27, 2026.