Man Sentenced to 55 Years for Drug Deal That Ended in Murder

A Silver Spring man was sentenced today for a murder that occurred in February 2022 in Rockville.

According to the Maryland State’s Attorney’s Office, “Today in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, the Honorable Harry Storm sentenced defendant, Malik Jefferson, 25, of Silver Spring, to 55 years in prison. On January 26, 2024, a jury convicted Jefferson on charges of Second-Degree Murder, Use of a Firearm in Commission of Crime of Violence, and Robbery for the death of 22-year-old Jose Osvaldo Genao Romero. Judge Storm sentenced him to 50 years stemming from that conviction. Jefferson was also found in violation of probation for a First-Degree Child Abuse (134256-C) case where he was sentenced to the additional five years of incarceration.

On March 21, 2024, Judge Storm sentenced co-defendant, Jackson Garcia, 20, of Silver Spring to life in prison suspend all but 60 years to serve and five years of supervised probation upon release. Garcia was convicted by a jury in July of 2023 on charges of First-Degree Murder, Use of a Firearm in Commission of Crime of Violence, Armed Robbery and Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery.

This stems from an incident on February 17^th, 2022, at the intersection of Bradley Avenue and Fletcher Place in Rockville, where officers with Montgomery County Police and Rockville City Police found 22-year-old Jose Osvaldo Genao Romero, suffering from a gunshot wound. He later died at an area hospital.

The defendants had picked up the victim outside of his home and drove him to the location of the murder. A nearby surveillance camera captured the attack on video. An ensuing police investigation led to the arrests of the accused shooter, Malik Jefferson, and his co-defendant, Jackson Garcia.

We thank Judge Storm for imposing lengthy sentences that will protect the community from defendants who would so needlessly take a life,” said State’s Attorney John McCarthy. Following Jefferson’s conviction, the State’s Attorney said in a statement, “This is yet another case of a marijuana deal gone bad in Montgomery County resulting in murder. The purchasing of marijuana within the black-market, which continues to exist despite legal changes that have taken place in the state of Maryland, remains extremely dangerous.”

Assistant State’s Attorneys Peter Larson and Lauren Turner handled prosecution of this matter.”