Police investigate death of Maryland inmate tied to 2023 Thanksgiving shooting

A 23-year-old jailed for a 2023 shooting on Thanksgiving Day in Landover Hills was found dead in his Allegany County prison cell, Maryland State Police said.

Omar Valdez-Granados of Prince George’s County was found dead on the floor of his cell at North Branch Correctional Institution on Monday morning, according to state police. Officials said police believe Valdez-Granados’ cellmate was in the cell at the time of his death, but they have not announced any suspects in his death.

Police said Valdez-Granados was transported to the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy and the official cause and manner of his death. The State Police Homicide Unit is continuing the investigation.

Valdez-Granados was one of three people arrested for the fatal shooting of a man in Landover Hills on Thanksgiving Day in 2023, according to the Prince George’s County Police Department. Police were called to the 7100 block of Webster Street and found Federico Cruz Ojeda, 45, of Landover Hills, shot.

Ojeda died at the hospital, police said. Prince George’s County Police detained Valdez-Granados and three others the following Monday, accusing the men of shooting Ojeda amidst a dispute.

Online court documents show Valdez-Granados was found guilty of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and firearm violation charges last year. He was serving a life sentence for his alleged involvement in the shooting.

Valdez-Granados is the fifth state prisoner death police are investigating this year and the second at the “hyper-max” security North Branch Correctional Institution. In January, Larry Horton, 51, was found dead in his cell at the Allegany County prison. In 2025, five people were killed while jailed there, the most of any Maryland prison.

In addition to Horton, Joseph Harrell, 33, and Javon Foster, 38, both died while jailed in a Maryland prison — the Jessup Correctional Institution — in January. Last month, Quran Middleton-Bey, 31, died while serving time at the Eastern Correctional Institution.

Last year, 13 Maryland prisoners were killed while jailed in state institutions, the most in any year in recent history.