Prosecutor: Suspect planned for a month to kill assisted living resident

A Montgomery County prosecutor said the suspect in a Valentine’s Day homicide planned the “cold-blooded killing of a defenseless 87-year-old man” for a month.

Maurquise Emillo James, 22, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Robert Fuller Jr., who was found with a gunshot wound to the head at the Cogir Potomac Senior Living facility.

On Tuesday police arrested James in downtown Rockville across from district court.

“He had a traffic date,” Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said after James’ bond hearing Thursday on the murder charge.

Montgomery County district court Judge Michael O. Glynn III denied bond but granted a request from James’ lawyer for a competency hearing for his client, which will be discussed in court March 5.

Before the hearing, two men, one who identified himself as James’ cousin and the other as his grandfather, declined comment.

At the hearing’s end, defense attorney Mike Stark addressed James, who appeared in court on a video monitor: “You are loved. You have family in this courtroom. We are going to get through this.”

James, of Baltimore, is also accused of firing at a state trooper during a predawn traffic stop in Baltimore on Tuesday and driving away. The shell casings from those shots matched the one found in Fuller’s apartment.

Assistant State’s Attorney Jodie Mount said James was in court because of “one murder and one near miss” and that he shot at the trooper’s face twice. “It is a miracle that trooper is alive.”

Stark, who is representing James in both the alleged murder in Potomac and attempted murder of the state trooper, told the Banner on Friday that his client is working with investigators.

“Mr. James cooperated from the jump. He submitted to a lengthy interview with Montgomery County detectives,” Stark said. “We’re going to continue to cooperate with police to the extent we can.”

A med tech

At the Cogir facility, James wore a wig and a mask, disabled alarms and propped open doors to evade law enforcement, according to court documents.

He received his Maryland med tech license in 2024 and began working at Cogir’s Potomac location in October. He visited Fuller’s apartment twice Feb. 13. He administered medication to Fuller and another resident who shared the apartment but slept in a separate bedroom.

That resident told investigators he found it odd that James returned to the apartment that night to ask if the prescribed medication, Oxycodone, had kicked in. He said he has good hearing but did not hear a gunshot.

Detectives said tipsters helped identify James after Montgomery County Police released a video of a suspect last week.

Alleged attempted murder

The trooper James is accused of firing at suffered powder burns from the gunshots.

Officers later that day arrested James in downtown Rockville after he tried to flee.

Montgomery County Police said the murder case will be tried first and then James will be transferred to Baltimore for the charges related to the encounter with the state trooper, which include attempted murder, weapons and assault counts.

The judge Thursday denied bond in that case too.

Philanthropist, attorney

Fuller is a longtime attorney in Maine and was known for his charitable donations in Augusta, the state capital. He authored a self-published murder mystery and moved to Potomac to be closer to family.

Fuller and his wife, Moira, who died in 2023, contributed millions of dollars to numerous causes in and around central Maine, including MaineGeneral Medical Center, Kennebec Valley YMCA, Lithgow Public Library and Kennebec Historical Society, according to the Portland Press Herald.

Fuller also donated generously, including at least a $100,000 gift in 2022, to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. The group profiled him in an annual report in 2019.

Cogir Potomac issued a statement in the wake of James’ arrest expressing gratitude to Montgomery County Police: “We are relieved that a suspect has been arrested.”

Stark said that Fuller was “loved and valued by his community and whoever murdered him should be prosecuted.”

A preliminary hearing in the murder case is scheduled for March 27.

Rondez Green and Ginny Bixby contributed to this article.

This article has been updated.