On a Tuesday morning, August 10, 2021, the quiet of a Wheaton, Maryland neighborhood was shattered by the sound of gunfire. At approximately 8:56 a.m., the Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center received a call reporting a shooting in the 2000 block of Blueridge Avenue. When 4th District officers arrived at the scene, they discovered the body of 25-year-old Marvin Alexander Mendoza.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore would later rule his death a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds. At the time, investigators believed the shooting was an isolated incident. Although Mendoza's identity was confirmed, authorities did not have a confirmed address for him.
The investigation into the death of the male victim quickly led detectives from the Montgomery County Police Department's Major Crimes Division to identify suspects. Two days after the fatal shooting, on Thursday, August 12, 2021, police arrested 19-year-old Erik Aguilar of Silver Spring. He was taken into custody in Montgomery County on the strength of a criminal warrant and charged with first-degree murder.
A second suspect was arrested the following week. Randy Aaron Powell, 17, was also charged with first-degree murder in connection with Mendoza's death. Both Aguilar and Powell were held without bond. The Montgomery County Police Department continued their investigation and urged anyone with information regarding the homicide to contact the Major Crimes Division or to provide anonymous tips through Crime Solvers of Montgomery County.
