A Washington, D.C., man was sentenced Friday to 40 years in prison by a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge after he was convicted of first-degree murder in a 2013 incident at a Rockville home.
Bryan Bird, 31, was ordered by Judge John Maloney to serve 40 years in prison and five years of supervised probation for the murder of Alexander Buie, according to a news release from the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office.
According to the state’s attorney’s office, both Bird and Vaughn Darvel Bellamy, 32, of Hagerstown were convicted of first-degree murder in September for their involvement in a shooting that took place at a then-recovery house in Rockville in November 2013. Bellamy is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 13.
Authorities said Bird, Bellamy and another defendant forced their way into the recovery house and were looking for another target, unaware that the person had moved from the home, according to the news release. They confronted three men in the home, including Buie.
After a brief struggle, Buie was shot and fatally wounded, the release stated. Bird and Bellamy then fled the home.
Local law enforcement were able to file charges against the two when they found the handgun used in the homicide about seven months later. Authorities were investigating an unrelated homicide in Prince George’s County when they found Bellamy had the gun, according to the state attorney’s office.