A fatal Valentine’s Day shooting at an upscale Potomac senior home prompted a state review of the facility, which found that a resident had claimed abuse by a staff member and another had been injured falling out of a wheelchair.

The review of Cogir of Potomac began only two days after the killing of 87-year-old resident Robert Fuller Jr., according to Amanda Hils, a spokesperson with the state’s Department of Health.

Fuller’s death precipitated the “unannounced complaint survey,” which also involved five days of record reviews and interviews with Cogir’s assisted living manager and the alternate assisted living manager in early March, according to Hils and records of the probe reviewed by The Banner.

The review was meant to “assess resident health and safety, and the facility’s compliance with applicable requirements,” Hils said in a statement.

The state review was conducted by the Department of Health’s Office of Health Care Quality.

Maurquise Emillo James, 22, worked at the Cogir home as a medical technician. He is charged with first-degree murder in Fuller’s death. James’ lawyer has said his client is innocent.

Assisted living facilities like Cogir, Hils said, are surveyed on-site at least once a year to determine if they comply with federal and state standards. But the Office of Health Care Quality is also authorized to conduct announced and unannounced surveys of assisted living programs.

Cogir was licensed in February 2021.

Fuller, who paid $20,000 per month to live at Cogir, was a longtime lawyer in Maine and a philanthropist.

A lawsuit filed last month on behalf of Fuller’s girlfriend, Linda Buttrick, claimed that James’ mother was a high-ranking nurse at the facility who protected him. According to the suit, Buttrick, who was also Fuller’s apartment-mate, told police she suspected James had killed Fuller.

The state review did not name the resident or staff member involved in the alleged abuse at the senior home.

But the report on Cogir made other observations and determinations.

• A review of 16 resident records found that in three cases, Cogir failed to ensure medications were reviewed promptly and matched signed medical orders. One resident’s diuretic medication wasn’t started until eight days after it was ordered.
• The alleged abuse of a resident by a staff member wasn’t properly documented in follow-up paperwork.
• A staff member did not properly fasten a resident to a wheelchair on a Cogir bus, and the resident was injured and required a cast.
• Cogir failed to “conspicuously” post “Reporting Abuse” signs in common areas on the first through third floors, its wellness center and the memory care unit.

The review’s findings were described as a “statement of deficiencies” atop the document.

According to an emailed statement from a Cogir spokesperson who declined to be identified, the state surveyed the facility in November 2025 and cited no deficiencies.

James is also charged with first- and second-degree attempted murder for allegedly shooting at a state trooper during a predawn traffic stop on Feb. 24. Later that day, he was arrested in downtown Rockville ahead of a court appearance related to a traffic violation.

Shell casings collected from the scene matched the ones collected from the Potomac senior home, police said.

At Cogir, James is accused of using a paper towel to block a door sensor in a stairwell leading to the couple’s apartment on Jan. 9, leaving it disabled until after Fuller’s killing, according to Buttrick’s suit.

On Feb. 13, the night before the killing, James administered medication to the couple and returned 20 minutes later to ask Buttrick if the oxycodone he gave her had “kicked in,” the suit contends.

The following morning, Buttrick woke up to a crime scene.

She “saw everything — the gunshot wound, the blood soaking his pillows and sheets,” the lawsuit said.

Banner reporter Julie Scharper contributed to this story.