Press Releases

FREDERICK, MD – Late this afternoon in Frederick County Circuit Court, Jason Michael Colley, age 42, of Monrovia entered an Alford plea to two counts of 1^st degree assault. An Alford plea is a type of guilty plea in which a defendant maintains their innocence but admits that the prosecution’s evidence would likely result in a guilty verdict if brought to trial. The State argued that the court sentence the defendant to a term in the Division of Corrections within the sentencing guidelines of eight to eighteen years based on the two counts, followed by five years of supervised probation. The defense argued for a term of home detention. Judge Julia A. Martz-Fisher sentenced Colley to a combined fifty years suspending all but eight years to be served on private home detention. The defendant was also ordered to serve five years of supervised probation with additional terms that he not engage in physical punishment of children. The plea agreement comes following four days of jury selection for what was slated to be a lengthy trial.

In response to the plea, State’s Attorney Charlie Smith commented, “the death of this child is certainly a tragedy and is also certainly a crime. Maryland state guidelines are in place to ensure consistency in sentencing. We strongly believe a guidelines prison sentence was warranted, but the judge believed differently.”

On September 19, 2017, Troopers with the Maryland State Police responded to the 12000 block of Fingerboard Road in Monrovia for the report of a sick or injured subject. The call came in as 6-month-old female infant that was having seizures and not breathing. The 911 caller was the defendant, Jason Colley. The infant was transported to Shady Grove Hospital in Montgomery County. The infant was later flown to Children’s Hospital in the District of Columbia where she later passed away.

Over the course of a lengthy investigation, detectives determined that the infant’s traumatic brain injury could not have been caused by an accident or illness, but by an intentional act.

The State was represented by Chief Assistant State’s Attorney Tammy Leache and Assistant State’s Attorney Lindsey Carpenter.

FREDERICK, MD – This morning in Frederick County Circuit Court, Titus Lamont Diggs Jr, age 20, of Frederick was sentenced by Judge Scott Rolle to a combined 40 years suspending all but 20 years active incarceration. Diggs entered a guilty plea May 31^st, 2022 to Armed Carjacking, Armed Robbery, Assault, Illegal Possession of a Firearm and Loaded Handgun on Person.

These charges stem from four separate incidents in the City of Frederick.

On December 2, 2020, officers with the Frederick Police Department were notified that two men were being treated at Frederick Health Hospital for injuries to their face and head. The victims had communicated via Snapchat with the defendant about purchasing a Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) vape cartridge. When the victims met the defendant in the 600 block of N. Bentz Street in Frederick, the defendant brandished a handgun, struck both victims with the handgun multiple times, and proceeded to rob the victims of two phones and approximately $200 in currency.

March 30, 2021, Frederick Police responded to Klinehart’s Alley and W. 6^th Street for the report of a firearm discharge. A second firearm discharge was reported on April 5, 2021 in between the 500 and 600 block of N. Bentz Street.

On April 18, 2021, officers with the Frederick Police Department were dispatched to the 200 block of E. 4^th Street for the report of an armed carjacking. The 84-year-old female victim was retrieving her purse from the back seat of her car when the defendant walked up brandishing a handgun at his side. The defendant demanded that she hand over her car keys and proceeded to drive off with her car. Diggs was found in possession of the stolen Chevy Malibu the following day by Baltimore County Police and subsequently arrested. When officers searched the car, they found a Ruger LCP .380 handgun and ammunition.  The shell casings from the gun discharges on March 30 and April 5 matched the gun recovered from him on April 19. Additionally, Diggs was identified through video and cell phone records as the shooter.

Frederick Police Department Detectives Sean McKinney, Kyrie Yackovich, and Stephen Radtke investigated the cases. The State was represented by Assistant State’s Attorneys Rebecca Clinton and Kyle Kane.

The investigation leading to the arrest and indictments of Diggs was a coordinated effort led by the Frederick Police Department in consultation with the State’s Attorney’s Office under the Maryland Criminal Intelligence Network (MCIN). The Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services provides grant funding and strategic support to MCIN member sites to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal organizations through interagency collaboration and data sharing to make Maryland safer.

Titus Lamont Diggs Jr.

FREDERICK, MD –This morning in Frederick County Circuit Court, Ryan David Bretzfelder, age 46, of Frederick, entered a guilty plea to first-degree murder and was sentenced in the May 2019 death of Devon Jamel Wallace. In a binding plea agreement reached between the State, Defense and Judge, Judge Julia A. Martz-Fisher sentenced Bretzfelder to life suspend all but fifty (50) years in the Division of Corrections. Upon release from incarceration, Bretzfelder must serve five years of supervised probation including all standard conditions, education, evaluation, and testing for substance abuse, abstain from alcohol and controlled dangerous substances and abusive use and illegal possession of prescription drugs, random drug and alcohol testing, mental health evaluation and any treatment as directed, have no contact with the victim’s family and stay away from their residences and places of employment, and undergo GPS monitoring. The binding nature of the plea agreement means that the sentence can not be modified unless all parties agree.

On the morning of May 2, 2019, deputies with the Jefferson County, WV Sheriff’s Office located the body of 24-year-old Virginia resident Devon Jamel Wallace in a field near the 4300 block of Summit Point Road near Charles Town, WV. Investigators immediately started working to identify the man, the circumstances of his death, and how his body ended up in that location. Once detectives identified Wallace, they discovered that he had used a cellular messaging application via a WiFi connection registered to the defendant’s address on Wilcox Court in Frederick. The investigation also revealed that a female named Samantha Guthrie was in a relationship with Mr. Wallace, and on the evening of May 1, 2019, the two, along with Ms. Guthrie’s toddler, traveled to Frederick to visit her friend, Ryan Bretzfelder.

Detectives learned that on the evening of May 1^st while at the home on Wilcox Court, Guthrie and Wallace began to argue and the argument started to become physical. Mr. Bretzfelder, who had known Ms. Guthrie for years, then attacked Mr. Wallace. Mr. Bretzfelder subsequently admitted to police that “he snapped” and beat Wallace with a BBQ grill brush, his fists, and then finally struck the victim multiple times in the head with a large rock from the backyard. Later that night, Bretzfelder and Guthrie traveled to West Virginia and disposed of Wallace’s body. The autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in West Virginia concluded that Mr. Wallace died of multiple skull fractures.

Ms. Guthrie previously plead guilty to being an accessory after the fact to first degree murder.

Several members of the victim’s family attended the plea and sentencing. Ms. Renee Webb, the victim’s mother, Ms. Delese Adon, the mother of the victim’s child, and Mr. Jonathan Rhock, the victim’s cousin, all addressed the Court at sentencing.

J. Charles Smith III, State’s Attorney for Frederick County, noted “It has been three years since this brutal murder occurred; three long years for the family of Devon Wallace to endure to get to this day. We are pleased that they are pleased with this substantial sentence. We wanted to provide as much certainty and closure as possible for the family. We thank them for their patience and grace throughout this process.”

The State was represented by Assistant State’s Attorneys Colleen Swanson and Lindsey Carpenter.

Ryan David Bretzfelder

FREDERICK, MD – This morning in Frederick County Circuit Court, Willian Alexander Reyes-Reyes, age 29, of Frederick was sentenced to twenty years suspend all but ten years in the Division of Corrections for 2^nd Degree Rape. In December 2021, a Frederick jury found Reyes-Reyes guilty of 2^nd degree rape, 3^rd degree sex offense, and 2^nd degree assault. In sentencing, charges of 3^rd degree sex offense and 2^nd degree assault merge with 2^nd degree rape. Upon release, Judge Theresa Adams ordered that Reyes-Reyes serve five years of supervised probation, register as a Tier-3 sex offender, have no contact with the victim or females under age 16, submit to the COMET program, and follow all recommendations by the court and probation agent.

State’s Attorney Charlie Smith commented, “The sentence was the maximum under the sentencing guidelines, and he deserved it.  Frederick is very fortunate to have an SVU prosecution team who aggressively seeks justice for these victims.”

On October 11, 2019, officers with the Frederick Police Department responded to an apartment on Waverly Drive in Frederick. Officers spoke with an adult female who advised her 14-year-old daughter said she was raped the day prior, October 10, 2019. Investigators learned that the victim had been hanging out with a group of friends in the woods behind the Elmwood Terrace Apartments on the evening of October 10th. The defendant, who was known to the victim, was also with the group. When the victim went to leave the group and go home, the Defendant insisted upon walking her home.  Once away from the group, he told her he was lost and told her to sit down while he tried to figure out where they were.  As soon as she sat down, he attacked her.

The SVU Prosecution team consisted of Chief Assistant State’s Attorney Tammy Leache, Investigator Jimmy Simms, Victim Witness Coordinators Beth Hubble and Kim Murdock, and Legal Associate Melanie Sokolovich.

Willian Alexander Reyes-Reyes

FREDERICK, MD – This afternoon in Frederick County Circuit Court, Jordan Burris Hooks, age 29, of Frederick was sentenced to thirty years with all but eight and a half years of that sentence suspended and to be served in the Division of Corrections. Hooks will receive credit for the time he has served since his arrest on the charges in this case. Hooks was convicted in a November 2021 jury trial of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, conspiracy to commit second-degree assault, and accessory after-the-fact to first-degree murder. Judge Julia A. Martz-Fisher also ordered that Hooks complete three years of supervised probation and 100 hours of community service following his release.

On September 6, 2020, Frederick County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a walking path behind the Waterside Community in Frederick for the report of a person suffering from head trauma. Passersby discovered the victim and called 911. The victim, Jaemari Anderson, was transported to Baltimore’s R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center by Maryland State Police helicopter. A short time later, Anderson was pronounced dead. Investigators determined that the victim was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head.

After extensive investigation, detectives learned that Jordan Hooks and his co-defendants Brian Braheem Henry and Daniel Alonzo Flythe were gathered at the Hooks residence in Waterside on the night of September 6th. After a verbal dispute between Hooks and Anderson, Anderson, Hooks, Flythe, and Henry left the residence and walked down to the walking path. According to testimony, believing he was about to get into a fight, Anderson turned to hand Flythe his eyeglasses, but instead was shot once in the head at close range by Flythe.

On January 10, 2022, Flythe reached a plea agreement and was sentenced to life suspend all but forty (40) years active in the Division of Corrections for first-degree murder. Brian Henry plead guilty to accessory after-the-fact to first-degree murder and was sentenced February 10, 2022 to ten (10) years in the Division of Corrections.

“We are immensely grateful to our prosecution team and the FCSO investigators who poured countless hours into seeking justice for Jaemari and his family. While this third and final sentencing cannot bring back this beloved young man in the Waterside community, we hope that his family can finally feel some closure,” said State’s Attorney’s Office spokesperson Will Cockey.

The State was represented by Assistant State’s Attorneys Jason Shoemaker and Timothy Gilbert.

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