In the early hours of a Monday morning, the quiet of a Hyattsville convenience store parking lot was shattered by the sound of gunfire. When police officers arrived at the 7700 block of 23rd Avenue near University Boulevard East just before 1 a.m. on September 5, 2022, they found a man suffering from gunshot wounds. The victim, later identified as 44-year-old Roberto Santos-Melendez of Hyattsville, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the shooting moved swiftly, and
just days later, authorities announced the arrests of three individuals in connection with the homicide. The suspects were identified as 43-year-old Carol Garcia-Rivas, 24-year-old Deandre Smith, and 33-year-old Abdi Omar. All three were taken into custody and subsequently charged with first and second-degree murder, along with other related charges. Following their arrest, they were held at the Department of Corrections without bond.
While the arrests brought a sense of progress in the case, the motive behind the fatal shooting of Roberto Santos-Melendez remained unclear to the public. Investigators continued to piece together the events that led to the violent encounter in the parking lot. The charges against the three suspects marked the beginning of the legal proceedings to bring justice for the death of Roberto Santos-Melendez.
