Murder Suspect Arrested for December Lewisdale Drive-By

By Michael Theis

Deputies from the Prince George's County Sheriff's Office have arrested a suspect in connection with a December drive-by shooting which claimed the life of a Lewisdale teenager and wounded another victim.

The suspect, Luis Carlos Guzman-Ventura, was arrested yesterday in Petersburg, VA, according to a press release issued by the sheriff's office. Working with Chesterfield County, VA police, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Prince George's County Police, Guzman-Ventura was caught as he attempted to escape out of a back door at a house in the 19000 block of White Fawn Drive in Petersburg. 

The case began at 12:15 a.m. on Dec. 5, when police were called to the 2200 block of Sheridan Street for a report of a shooting. Officers arriving on the scene discovered two males suffering from gunshot wounds. One adult male was transported to a local hospital for non-life-threatening wounds.

The second victim, 14-year-old Eliezer Benjamin Reyes of Lewisdale, was transported to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead. 

In the days after the shooting, police said that a preliminary investigation indicated that the shots were fired from a car as the victims and two other witnesses walked down the street together. Police said that two of the people in the group walking down the street were gang members, leading investigators to believe the shooting was gang-related.

According to online Maryland court records, Guzman-Ventura lived a stone's throw from the scene of the murder. His residence was listed as 2301 Rittenhouse Street in Chillum, just across East-West Highway from where the shooting took place in the Lewisdale neighborhood.

Guzman-Ventura stands charged with first degree murder, attempted first degree murder, two counts of assault in the first degree, two counts of assault in the second degree, two counts of reckless endangerment from a car, and one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime. 

Guzman-Ventura is the second suspect to be charged in connection with this case. In the hours immediately after the shooting, a Hyattsville City Police Department officer patrolling on Ager Road heard a description of the suspect vehicle. The officer then realized he was behind the suspect vehicle in traffic and attempted to initiate a traffic stop. At that time, two occupants of the vehicle bailed and tried to run away, police said. The HCPD officer gave chase on foot before capturing the driver, Hyattsville resident Jose Luis Rodriguez-Nunez, according to police.

Rodriguez-Nunez is charged with first degree murder, two counts of attempted first degree murder, two counts of first degree assault, three counts of use of a handgun in the commission of a violent crime, conspiracy, participation in gang activity and participating in gang activity which results in the death of a victim.