A suspect in the fatal shooting of a 63-year-old Silver Spring man limped out of a Washington hospital before police could arrest him on a murder warrant, Montgomery County police said.
Winston D. Dillon, 39, is wanted on a first-degree murder charge in the shooting death of Clarence Rankine, who was gunned down outside his residence early Sunday.
Dillon was treated at the Washington Hospital Center for gunshot wounds to the leg that police said he suffered during Rankine’s shooting, but he checked himself out Wednesday, police said.
Lt. Paul Starks said an officer was not placed outside Dillon’s room because he had not been charged with a crime.
“We can’t restrict somebody’s freedom when they haven’t been charged with a crime,” Starks said.
Dillon signed himself out about 11 a.m. Wednesday, against the medical advice of the hospital staff, officials said.
Washington Hospital Center spokeswoman Paula Faria said they had no idea that Dillon was wanted. Medical staff made Dillon sign a document saying that he was leaving the hospital even though he was not medically ready, Faria said.
When police checked in with the arrest warrant, Dillon was gone, police said.
Montgomery County police continue to search for Dillon and another suspect in the slaying, Vincent L. Minto, 39.
Authorities are asking the public to help locate the men. Dillon was last seen wearing a heavy leg brace.
Around 5 a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to the 900 block of University Boulevard for a report of shots fired. When they arrived, they found Rankine dead near a side entrance to his home.
While they were on the scene, hospital officials notified them that two men were being treated for non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. One of them was Dillon. The other subject was identified only as a 43-year-old New Carrollton man.
Police said Rankine was hosting a gathering when he became involved in an argument with several men, including Dillon and Minto. At least 12 shots were exchanged in the shootout.
