MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — An 18-year-old is facing a first-degree murder charge in connection to a deadly April shooting and carjacking in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
The accused is Earl Deangelo Charles Jr. of North Potomac, according to the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD).
Police said Charles Jr. shot 32-year-old Christopher Gove at a home on Carrington Hill Drive on April 9, 2026.
Gove was found by officers inside the home with at least one gunshot wound around 5:55 a.m. that day. He died at the hospital.
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A shell casing was discovered in the driveway, and officers talked to witnesses who said they spotted a black car leaving the area.
The car was later found in the area of Key West Avenue and Darnestown Road, and a check of the registration confirmed the car belonged to Gove.
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Through forensic testing of evidence found during the investigation, detectives were able to connect the shell casing at the scene to a gun in Prince George’s County, and learned the gun had already been recovered during a previous arrest of Charles.
That’s how detectives connected him to the crime, police said.
Charles faces charges of first-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence and armed carjacking.
He is currently being held at Montgomery County’s Central Processing Unit until his bond hearing.
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