A 43-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the May shooting death of a Silver Spring store owner.
Julio Nelson Paredes, of no fixed address, already is in federal custody after he and three other men were linked to a series of armed robberies in Maryland between May and August. The group, federal authorities said, targeted Hispanic retailers, many of whom handled international cash transfers. Jorge Villatoro owned one of those stores, Variedades Jenny, on the 600 block of University Boulevard East, until he was allegedly murdered with Paredes’ shotgun.
After the shooting, Paredes and an unidentified culprit fled to a nearby 7-Eleven where they carjacked a Comcast van and escaped, police said. A hat containing Paredes’ DNA was found in the van, and the shells from the shotgun matched those he used to rob a store in Queen Anne’s County on Aug. 7, police said. Paredes and three other men were arrested after that robbery.
