On the evening of November 26, 2023, a trip to Baltimore to inspect a potential car purchase turned into a tragedy for 18-year-old Carlos Carrazana-Ricardo. A high school senior from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who was born in Cuba, Carrazana-Ricardo and a friend had driven approximately 80 miles after seeing an advertisement for an Acura TL on Facebook Marketplace.
They met with the seller, arranged the viewing, but ultimately decided against buying the vehicle.
As Carrazana-Ricardo and his friend were in their own car preparing to leave the meeting spot on the 2700 block of Harlem Avenue, their departure was met with a sudden hail of gunfire from behind them. A bullet struck Carrazana-Ricardo in the head. Despite his grievous injury, he managed to shield his friend who was in the driver's seat. The friend frantically drove away seeking help, eventually crashing the vehicle a short distance away on the 2000 block of Winchester Street. Baltimore Police, responding to an alert in the area, found the critically wounded teenager. He was rushed to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Hospital, where the gravity of his injury prompted homicide investigators to take over the case.
The investigation quickly focused on the arranged Facebook Marketplace meeting. Detectives were able to trace the phone number that had been in communication with Carrazana-Ricardo to a man named Marques Harris, who was 18 at the time. The surviving friend later positively identified Harris from a photo lineup. When investigators executed a search warrant at Harris's home, they recovered a handgun. Harris was arrested and charged on December 2, 2023.
In September 2024, Marques Harris was convicted of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and other firearm-related offenses. During the sentencing hearing in March 2025, Carrazana-Ricardo's mother expressed the profound loss of her son, stating that he had simply gone to do a favor for a friend and that it had become a death sentence. The court sentenced Harris, then 20, to life in prison plus an additional 10 years for the senseless killing.
