This story, originally published at 12:31 p.m. on April 12, 2024, was updated at 12:53 p.m. to add a comment from Montgomery County police spokesperson Shiera Goff.
A Montgomery County police officer will not be prosecuted for fatally shooting a man in Aspen Hill in July, according to a Friday release from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office.
On July 22, Justin Lee fatally shot Franklin Castro Ordonez, 19, of Gaithersburg, who was suspected of being involved in four stabbings in Aspen Hill that day.
On March 7, The Howard County State’s Attorney notified the office informing them that they would not prosecute the case, according to the release..
Montgomery County and Howard County state’s attorneys have an agreement to review officer-involved civilian fatalities in each other’s jurisdictions.
The incident began around 10:36 a.m. on July 22 when police were dispatched for a woman stabbed at the Unique thrift store on Veirs Mill Road near the intersection of Randolph Road.
Another call was received around 10:37 a.m. for two women stabbed nearby at a yard sale on the 4100 block of Colie Drive, Assistant Chief Darren Francke said shortly after the incident. Police also found a man suffering from a superficial stab wound.
Officers located Ordonez at around 10:47 a.m. in the 4300 block of Havard Street, holding a large butcher’s knife, according to the release.
As officers surrounded the woods, Ordonez emerged onto the sidewalk and confronted a police cruiser. When officers approached Ordonez in a residential neighborhood, he did not comply with commands to drop the knife. He then lunged at Lee, and Lee shot him to prevent him from harming anyone else, according to Francke.
Emergency personnel rendered first aid, but Ordonez was declared dead at the scene, Francke said. The two officers on the scene were not injured, Francke said, adding that “they are shaken up” because this is “one of the worst days that an officer can have.”
Both Lee and the officer who witnessed the shooting were placed on administrative leave by the police department, which is standard practice after an incident like this, Francke said.
The Maryland Attorney General’s Office released its investigative report Friday, which includes a variety of findings and information, including the facts of what occurred that day, along with civilian and witness officers’ statements.
In an interview with the office in August, Sgt. John Cameron “stated that he believed Ofc. Lee’s life was in danger at the time of the shooting” and said that “under the circumstances it would have been inappropriate for an officer to deploy anything other than deadly force.”
It also included legal analysis of Lee’s actions and corresponding recommendations. The report said “the available evidence in this case would make it difficult to prove that Ofc. Lee’s use of deadly force was not in complete self-defense or completely within a law-enforcement justification.”
Also, on October 19, Lee was indicted for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
In October, the Montgomery County Police Department announced that Lee will be suspended without pay and that they are taking steps to fire him due to the indictment.
Montgomery County police spokesperson Shiera Goff told MoCo360 on Friday that since Lee’s case is still pending, he is currently employed with the department.