ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND: A man accused of taking the lives of three Latinos, including a father-son pair, has now been slapped with three hate crime counts. In total, Charles Robert Smith has reportedly been charged with 42 counts, which include three counts each of first-degree murder, six counts each of attempted first-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and second-degree assault.
Law & Crime reported that the 43-year-old was allegedly responsible for the deaths of Mario Antonio Mireles Ruiz, 27, 24-year-old Christian Marlon Segovia, and Nicolas Mireles, 55. Mario was the son of Nicolas. The man has also been accused of wounding three others and assaulting three more during the June 11 violence over a street parking dispute.
A media release from the Office of the State’s Attorney for Ann Arundel County said, “The surviving victims include: Rosalina Segovia, age 29, Paul Melvin Johnson III, age 28, Enner Joel Cananles-Hernandez, age 26, Judith Abundez, age 26, Harcinia Ruiz, age 58, and Mario Ayala Rodriguez, age 29.”
Who is Charles Robert Smith?
Smith is an alleged criminal who murdered three people last month while one of the victims’ mothers was hosting a birthday party at her home located on Paddington Place. However, things went south when one of the guests parked their vehicle in front of Smith’s house. The feud soon turned fatal, which claimed lives.
“During the tussle, Mr Smith shot Mario Mireles. He also shot Christian Segovia. Mr Smith then stood over Mario Mireles and shot him several more times,” The Washington Post cited cops saying in the charging documents.
‘The dude shot my dad’
The 12-year-old son of Nicolas, Danny, told Baltimore NBC affiliate WBAL-TV, “I was just in the car, and I saw everything that happened.” He continued, “There was an argument because one of my brother's friends parked in front of this dude's house. The old lady came out arguing, so my brother came to help them out, and then the dude just comes outside with his gun and points it at my brother.”
“After that, a whole bunch of my family just go running to him to check if he's OK, but then the dude comes out again. He starts shooting,” Danny asserted, before adding, “The dude shot my dad ... he killed him. He was so nice. He helped us out so much." Another son of Nicholas, Eric Velasquez, also added, “He was supportive. Everything. He tells us to get up, don't give up. He says he's proud of us. He says, 'Make sure not to give up in life.”
