Maryland
Suspect in killing of Maine millionaire in Maryland found incompetent for trial
POTOMAC, Maryland (WGME) — The man accused of killing a Maine millionaire at a Maryland senior living facility has been found not competent to stand trial.
Twenty-two-year-old Maurquise James of Baltimore is accused of killing 87-year-old Robert Fuller on February 14 inside his apartment at Cogir Assisted Living in Potomac, Maryland, where James worked as one of Fuller’s caregivers.
He was arrested by police after a separate incident, where he shot at a Maryland State Trooper during a traffic stop just 10 days after allegedly killing Fuller.
Suspect in killing of Robert Fuller Jr., a Maine lawyer and philanthropist, who{ }was shot to death at a senior living facility in Maryland. (Montgomery County police)
According to WJLA, a judge ruled James is incompetent and “dangerous,” ordering him held in a psychiatric facility until his next evaluation in November.
While the criminal case moves forward, questions remain about what facility leaders knew before Fuller’s death.
The family of Fuller’s longtime partner, Linda Buttrick, has filed a civil lawsuit claiming management ignored repeated warnings about James’ behavior.
According to WJLA, Buttrick and Fuller lived together at the Cogir senior living facility. She was inside their apartment when Fuller was fatally shot, allegedly by James , who was a Cogir Medicine Technician.
The lawsuit alleges James’ mother — a senior director at the facility — suppressed complaints and retaliated against staff who raised concerns, including firing a nurse who documented issues with James just 11 days before the killing.
Cogir Potomac Senior Living (WJLA)
In the days following the killing, multiple employees — and Buttrick herself — identified James to police as a possible suspect or person of interest, according to the filing. Despite that, the lawsuit said Cogir continued assigning him as Buttrick’s medication technician and sent him alone into the apartment where Fuller had been killed.
“Buttrick, who has Parkinson’s disease and had just discovered her partner’s body, was required to receive medications from the hands of the man she identified to police as a suspect,” the complaint states. “She was alone in her home, which was still a crime scene, with zero protection and no recourse.”
The lawsuit seeks to hold Cogir accountable for what it describes as “violations of Ms. Buttrick’s safety and dignity” and an “institutional disregard for resident welfare” that the family believes contributed to Fuller’s death.
Cogir of Potomac did not immediately respond to WJLA’s request for comment.
Fuller practiced law in Maine for more than 35 years, was a senior officer in the Naval Reserve, and authored the murder mystery novel “Unnatural Deaths,” published in 2009.
His philanthropy included contributions to many institutions in the Augusta area, including a $1.64 million gift in 2021 to modernize Cony High School’s Alumni Field complex, according to the Bangor Daily News.
Robert Fuller Jr., a Maine lawyer and philanthropist, was shot to death at a senior living facility in Maryland on Saturday. He was 87. (WJLA)
The BDN reports he was a descendant of Supreme Court Chief Justice Melville Fuller, who served from 1888 to 1910 and notably voted to uphold the “separate but equal” decision in the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson.
Fuller commissioned a statue of his ancestor in 2013 that was installed in front of the old Kennebec County courthouse in Augusta. However, the BDN reports the statue became controversial after the killing of George Floyd in 2020 and the scrutiny that followed of the county’s history of racial injustice. Fuller agreed to take the statue back and pay for its removal.
Fuller had reportedly moved to the Washington D.C. area to be closer to family before moving into the senior living facility.
Ethan Andrews with the Bangor Daily News and WJLA contributed to this report.
Maryland
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Maryland
More wet weather for Memorial Day in Maryland
BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Updated 6:30 a.m. May 25 — The rainy pattern continues before warmer temperatures and drier weather return later this week.
Memorial Day comes with more scattered showers and a pop up storm with highs in the warmer mid to upper 70s.
Tuesday and Wednesday bring more scattered showers with highs in the warm upper 70s and low 80s.
After that, high temperatures will be in the upper 70s to low 80s through the end of the week with mostly dry days.
Maryland
Two injured in Laurel shooting during online sale meet-up, police say
LAUREL, Md. (7News) — Police in Laurel are investigating a shooting that injured two people during what authorities said was an online marketplace meet-up.
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The incident was reported around 12:35 p.m. on Sunday.
Officers responded to the 14700 block of Baltimore Avenue, police said, where they found two victims suffering from gunshot wounds near the Harris Teeter in Laurel Towne Centre.
Both victims were taken to trauma centers with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, police said. Investigators said preliminary findings indicate the shooting happened during a planned exchange tied to an online sale.
SEE ALSO | At least 1 hurt after pair of shootings in Laurel
In a statement, a police spokesperson urged residents to use designated safe-exchange locations when completing online transactions. The investigation remains ongoing.
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