Murder suspect has history of dropped charges

The man who Howard police say is responsible for the shooting deaths of a convenience store clerk and a Columbia man has avoided conviction in at least five criminal cases, records show.

Police charged Charles David Richardson, 23, of Columbia, with first-degree murder in the deaths of Trae Davon Allen, 19, of Columbia, whose body police found Monday less than a mile away from where Alevtina Zhilina was killed. Zhillina, 40, of Columbia, who was killed in April during her shift at the 7-Eleven convenience store on the 5700 block of Columbia Road.