Suspect in home invasion to face murder charges

Friday, March 3, 2006

The man who allegedly burglarized an Old Town Takoma Park home and robbed its residents Thursday will face first-degree murder charges because one of his victims died of a heart attack following the incident.

City police charged Daymon Lindsey, 18, of the 600 block of Tewksberry Place NW in Washington, D.C., with felony homicide following the death of James O. Saloma, 62. Lindsey also is charged with three counts of armed robbery and two counts of first-degree burglary stemming from the incident in the 7100 block of Maple Avenue.

The maximum penalty for first-degree murder in Maryland is death, while the lesser charges each carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison. District Court Judge Mary Beth McCormick declined to change Lindsay’s no-bond status during a Friday hearing.

According to court documents, Lindsey admitted entering Saloma’s home in the 7100 block of Maple Avenue twice during the early morning hours Thursday through an unlocked door. During the second entry, Saloma’s wife heard someone in the house and began screaming to wake up her husband and daughter.

The family confronted Lindsey, who allegedly pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the Salomas. A struggle ensued and one of the two women struck Lindsey with a piece of plywood, after which he tried to leave the house, charging documents said.

As the wife called police, Saloma followed the man downstairs. A few moments after he returned upstairs, Saloma collapsed. Court papers stated that medics subsequently transported Saloma to Washington Adventist Hospital, where he died a short time later. Following an autopsy, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Saloma’s cause of death a homicide resulting from a heart attack aggravated by the assault.

Police arrived at the house just after 3 a.m. After getting a description of the suspect from Saloma’s wife and daughter, officers apprehended Lindsey in the 6900 block of Laurel Avenue. He initially told officers he was in the area to sell narcotics on Maple Avenue, and then later said he was attacked by a group of people on Georgia Avenue in the District, according to the charging documents. While in police custody, he admitted to the robbery and to struggling with the Saloma family.

‘‘This case is every homeowner’s nightmare situation,” said Assistant State’s Attorney Alex Foster during Lindsey’s bail hearing Friday. Lindsey participated in the hearing via closed-circuit television from the Montgomery County Detention Center.

Defense attorney Johanna Lishner with the Maryland Public Defender’s Office said her client had no previous convictions, though he did have three prior instances where he failed to appear for a court date.

Lindsey will have a preliminary hearing 10:30 a.m. March 31 at the District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County in Rockville.