This story, originally published on March 21, 2024 at 7:30 a.m., was updated at 3:30 p.m. to add a comment from Kaleab Berhanu’s attorney, Robert Bonsib.
A Baltimore man was convicted Tuesday night for the fatal shooting of Carlos Rashard Carter, 20, of Silver Spring while he was asleep in his home last year, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.
A Montgomery County Circuit Court jury convicted Kaleab Berhanu, 21, of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, home invasion, conspiracy to commit home invasion, and firearm use in the commission of a felony, according to a statement from the State’s Attorney’s Office.
Berhanu’s attorney, Robert Bonsib, told MoCo360 on Thursday that his client is disappointed with the verdict and plans to appeal.
He faces a possible life sentence, and his sentencing is scheduled for June 18, the State’s Attorney’s Office said.
According to charging documents, Montgomery County police officers responded after 3 a.m. on April 9, 2023, to a home in the 11800 block of Old Columbia Pike for the report of an injured person.
Officers found the victim, later identified as Carter, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, and he was later pronounced dead at a local hospital, charging documents said.
According to charging documents, Berhanu forced his way into Carter’s residence through the back door and then shot him.
“This victim was asleep in his bed when he was attacked. He was shot multiple times as he attempted to escape the defendant and fell at the feet of his mother and siblings,” State’s Attorney John McCarthy in the statement Wednesday. “We express our deepest condolences to the family.”
Charging documents alleged that Berhanu previously had been involved in another shooting. In 2021, Berhanu allegedly shot Malachi Valentin, 20, of Silver Spring, a close friend of Carter’s. The shooting paralyzed Valentin, and after he chose not to participate in that investigation, the case was administratively closed, charging documents indicated.
Carter and Valentin were both in an “ongoing dispute” with Berhanu, charging documents said.
A few weeks before Carter was murdered, he followed Berhanu, Berhanu’s girlfriend and another associate in his car and told Valentin that he was doing so, charging documents stated. Valentin told police that he did not ask Carter to follow Berhanu and that he did not want him “to be involved in this,” according to charging documents.