WASHINGTON — Police in Montgomery County, Maryland have arrested a Germantown man in connection with the Thursday fatal shooting of transgender woman in a service alley in the rear of a shopping center.
In a release Saturday morning, police say they arrested Rico Hector Leblond, 20, of the 12700 block of Wisteria Drive in Germantown, in connection with the murder of Zella Ziona, 21, of an unconfirmed address. Ziona was shot while in a service alley between the Montgomery Village Plaza and the Montgomery Village Crossing shopping centers. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds.
Police say Ziona and Leblond knew each other and “had some degree of friendship prior to Ziona’s murder.”
Leblond has been charged with first degree murder and is being held without bail. A bail review is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m. in Rockville.