In the pre-dawn hours of Easter Sunday on April 9, 2023, the quiet of a Silver Spring, Maryland neighborhood was shattered by violence. Inside his family's home on Old Columbia Pike, 20-year-old Carlos Rashard Carter, a male, was asleep in his bed when an intruder forced his way in. The assailant, wearing a mask, broke through a rear door, then kicked down the young man's bedroom door and opened fire, shooting Carter multiple times.
Despite his severe injuries, Carter managed to flee the room, ultimately collapsing before his mother and siblings. First responders arrived at the chaotic scene around 3:22 a.m. to find Carter with significant trauma to his body. They administered life-saving measures and rushed him to a nearby hospital, but his wounds proved fatal, and he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
The investigation into the homicide quickly pointed detectives toward a suspect with whom Carter had a troubled history. Family members mentioned a person known as 'KB,' leading investigators to 20-year-old Kaleab Abebe Berhanu of Baltimore. The inquiry revealed a long-standing dispute between the two, reportedly stemming from a robbery several years prior where Berhanu was the victim and Carter was present. Detectives also connected Berhanu to a separate, earlier shooting that had left a close friend of Carter's paralyzed. Following a nearly month-long investigation, an arrest warrant was issued, and on May 4, 2023, police took Berhanu into custody. He was charged with first-degree murder, home invasion, and firearm-related offenses.
The case proceeded to a six-day trial, where prosecutors detailed how Berhanu had hunted down his former friend. In March 2024, a jury found Kaleab Abebe Berhanu guilty of first-degree murder and home invasion. During the sentencing hearing, the profound impact on Carter's family was evident as the court learned how he was killed in front of his mother. In September 2024, a judge handed down the maximum penalty, sentencing Berhanu to two consecutive life sentences plus an additional 20 years in prison, ensuring he would spend the remainder of his life behind bars for the fatal home invasion.
