In the fall of 2017, a planned drug deal in Laurel, Maryland, took a violent turn, ending the life of 14-year-old Xavier Cole Young. On the evening of October 28th, Xavier, a resident of Odenton, met with several other teenagers on North Laurel Road for what authorities believe was a prearranged drug transaction. An altercation broke out during the meeting, and a single shot was fired from a car window, striking Xavier.
Emergency services arrived at the scene around 11 p.m.
to find Xavier with a critical gunshot wound. He was rushed to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he fought for his life for two days before succumbing to his injuries on Monday, October 30, 2017. The investigation into the shooting quickly pointed to a botched marijuana deal.
Witnesses at the scene provided crucial information that led Howard County police to identify and locate the suspects. Early on the Monday morning that Xavier passed away, officers found 19-year-old Luis Gerardo Ordonez and 16-year-old Francisco J. Rodriguez in a black Nissan Altima in Ellicott City. Inside the vehicle, which matched the description of the car that fled the scene, police discovered a handgun. Both Ordonez and Rodriguez were taken into custody.
A third teenager, 16-year-old Melvin Jacome, was also arrested in connection with the murder. All three were charged as adults with murder, assault, reckless endangerment, and firearms violations. During the trial, testimony revealed a plan that went awry. The drug deal was reportedly intended to be a robbery by one party and a shortchanging by the other. The situation escalated, leading to the fatal shot. The driver of the car, Francisco Rodriguez, testified that it was Melvin Jacome who fired the pistol that killed Xavier. Though the murder weapon was never recovered, text messages from Jacome's phone indicated his involvement in a robbery that evening and a subsequent message claiming he had 'hit him with a hollow.'
In October 2018, a jury found Melvin Jacome guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree assault, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and conspiracy to commit armed robbery, among other charges. He was sentenced in December of that year. Francisco Rodriguez accepted a plea deal on the lesser charge of conspiracy to commit robbery in exchange for his testimony against Jacome. Luis Gerardo Ordonez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit armed robbery and a firearm charge in May 2018.
