Annapolis, Maryland – A Crownsville man was sentenced to 55 years in prison on Tuesday for the fatal and non-fatal shootings of two men following an argument at a construction company’s get-together in 2020, State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess announced.
In total, Wilber Oswaldo Nunez-Menendez, 28, was sentenced to 90 years with all but 55 years suspended, with the first 10 years to be served without the possibility of parole. He was also ordered five years of supervised probation upon release.
“This is yet another example of a verbal dispute escalating to gunfire, which claimed the life of a father and husband and critically injured another father and husband who were both employees of the construction company,” Leitess said. “The defendant fled the country in an effort to elude justice, but thanks to great efforts by law enforcement, and of the surviving victim, the defendant will be held accountable for his crimes.”
On November 14, 2020, Anne Arundel County police were called to a home on Brick Church Road in Edgewater for the report of a shooting. Officers located Ronal Alcidis Maldonado Quijana, 52, deceased from gunshot wounds and a 28-year-old man who had also been shot.
Witnesses told police they were attending their company’s outdoor party with food, drinks, and a bonfire that was hosted by their boss. With co-workers and friends in attendance, one of their former co-workers was also invited and arrived with his nephew. Mr. Quijana was cooking for the group and at one point, the nephew got into a verbal argument with him and the other surviving victim.
During the exchange, witnesses said the nephew suddenly pulled out a handgun and shot the two victims multiple times. The former co-worker and his nephew then fled the scene in a pickup truck. A witness made a phone call to obtain the name and phone number of the nephew and passed it on to police. Law enforcement databases found the number had been provided on several occasions by Wilber Oswaldo Nunez-Menendez.
Police located a photograph of Nunez-Menendez that matched the description of the shooter and he was also identified through a photo lineup. A warrant was issued, but Nunez-Menendez had fled the country.
Authorities in El Salvador arrested Nunez-Menendez for possessing a handgun and these charges served as a detainer. On May 11, 2023, he was extradited from El Salvador to Maryland by U.S. Marshals and turned over to the Anne Arundel County police.
On January 22, 2024, Nunez-Menendez pleaded guilty to Second-Degree Murder, Attempted Second-Degree Murder, and two counts of Use of a Handgun in a Crime of Violence in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court in Annapolis.
Assistant State's Attorneys Nancy Jeffein Olin and Joshua Adrian prosecuted the case on behalf of the citizens of Anne Arundel County, with the Honorable Pamela Alban presiding.