In a quiet area of Dayton, Maryland, a workplace dispute turned fatal for 31-year-old Rodolfo Miguel Cervantes of Hyattsville. On a Friday afternoon in May 2014, Howard County Police were called to the 4900 block of Ten Oaks Road after reports of gunfire. Upon arrival, they discovered Mr. Cervantes' body inside an outbuilding on the property. He had been shot and killed.
The investigation quickly pointed to a coworker, Ismael Guerra Vasquez, a 36-year-old man also from Hyattsville.
It was determined that the two men were acquaintances who worked together at a greenhouse on the property where the shooting occurred. A witness informed police that the two men had been involved in a brief argument just before the fatal shots were fired. The witness also noted that Cervantes had been drinking before the confrontation.
Following the shooting, Vasquez fled the scene in a Nissan Altima. A witness was able to provide police with a description of the suspect's vehicle, which led to a traffic stop on Ten Oaks Road within 90 minutes of the incident. The driver was identified as Vasquez and he was taken into custody. A witness positively identified Guerra-Vasquez as the shooter, and police found four spent shell casings in his possession. He was subsequently charged with first and second-degree murder, first and second-degree assault, and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Vasquez was held without bond at the Howard County Detention Center. In December of that year, Ismael Guerra-Vasquez pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. He was later sentenced to 40 years in prison for the death of his coworker.
