CHESTERTOWN, Md.- Maryland State Police have identified the man killed after exchanging gunfire with a Queen Anne's County sheriff's deputy who was also shot at a home near Chestertown.
Police spokesman Greg Shipley identified the suspect as James L. Rich II, 52, of the 200-block of Edmore Road, Chestertown. He was pronounced dead at the Chester River Hospital early Thursday morning.
The deputy was identified as Deputy First Class Warren S. Hogan, 32, a four-year-veteran of the Queen Anne's County Sheriff's Office. He is currently undergoing treatment for a gunshot wound at the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, where he is listed in critical condition.
Police said the preliminary investigation revealed that at around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Rich's girlfriend, who had been staying with him at his home, sent a text message to her father stating she and Rich had been in a physical altercation and requested he call police. Authorities said her father called 911 and Hogan and another deputy responded to the home, but both the suspect and victim had left. It was later learned the victim’s father had picked her up and transported her to the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators said Hogan returned to the Sheriff's Office and took a report from the victim concerning the domestic violence incident with the suspect earlier in the evening. The victim requested to return to the home to obtain some belongings and asked the deputy to accompany her there.
Police said the investigation indicates that shortly after midnight, Hogan returned to the home with the victim and her parents. The suspect and his teenage son were already at the home, according to investigators.
Police said Hogan and the victim went into the one-story, single-family home and she began to retrieve her things. The victim and Rich became involved in another argument upon her entry to the home, according to police.
Police said the preliminary investigation indicates the suspect went into a room in the back of the home and obtained a shotgun. He then came out of the room and fired one round, according to investigators. Police said Rich then continued walking toward the deputy and was in close proximity when Rich and deputy exchanged gunfire. Both were struck by the other’s gunfire, police said. The deputy was armed with his department-issued Smith and Wesson .45 caliber pistol, according to investigators.
EMS personnel were summoned to the scene and transported both the deputy and the suspect. No one else at the home was struck by gunfire.
Sheriff Gary Hofmann said Hogan was hit below his body armor. He is in critical condition after surgery, but Hofmann said it looks like he is in good spirits.
Shipley said that as Hogan was wearing a body camera at the time of the incident, investigators will be reviewing any camera footage as part of the ongoing criminal probe. At this stage of the investigation, any camera footage is considered investigative information and will not be released, according to Shipley.
The investigation's findings will be submitted to the Queen Anne’s County State’s Attorney’s Office for review, as is procedure, Shipley said.
