How police tracked down 14-year-old and 18-year-old suspects in Canton T-Mobile murder
BALTIMORE -- The teenager and young man charged in the murder of 23-year-old Fabian Sanchez Gonzalez remain in police custody on Friday.
Police released a booking photo of 18-year-old Arthur McCaden. The other suspect is a 14-year-old boy who has not been publicly identified due to his age. He has a court appearance scheduled for early June.
WJZ obtained McCaden's charging documents. It contains a lengthy list of charges that could put him behind bars for life. It also explained how authorities tracked him down.
NEW from Charging docs: Police made still photos of suspects using the T-Mobile surveillance video & sent to multiple police agencies. One day after the shooting, a Baltimore Co robbery detective identified 18yo Arthur McCaden. Additional witness identified the 18yo on Wed. @wjz
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) May 5, 2023
Police said they made still photos from surveillance video inside the Canton T-Mobile store where the shooting happened and sent them to other law enforcement agencies.
Ahead on @wjz at 5 and 6: What we’re learning about the 14yo and 18yo suspects in the Canton T-Mobile homicide—and the latest tributes to the victim pic.twitter.com/fLmeRXEm1t
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) May 5, 2023
From those pictures, a Baltimore County robbery detective identified McCaden on Monday—the day after the shooting. Then, on Wednesday, a second person who was familiar with McCaden also identified him as the person in the store.
Those who knew Gonzalez are still struggling to understand why he was killed.
"We're devastated again because it's the same type of crime, same type of family grieving again," family friend Blanca Tapahuasco said.
Tapahuasco plans to take part in a walk that honors the memory of Gonzalez starting at the Sacred Heart Church at 600 S. Conkling to the T-Mobile store on Boston Street at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
According to court documents, Sanchez Gonzalez—who worked at T-Mobile—was shot one time in what investigators described as a "robbery gone bad."
Police recovered a single 9-millimeter shell casing.
They have not said anything about how they believe the teens obtained the weapon.
They said it was a semiautomatic handgun.
At a vigil shortly after the arrests were announced, the victim's heartbroken brother spoke about his pain "that can't be described." He said he is trying to stay positive in his brother's memory.
Family members of the teenagers charged in the case have not commented.
The public defender's office declined to comment on the case.
CBS News Philadelphia reports that Arthur McCaden was charged with first-degree robbery and other offenses in New Jersey. The 14-year-old is facing juvenile charges in New Jersey, too, according to CBS News Philadelphia.
The dramatic surveillance video shows one suspect wearing a blue jumpsuit appearing to point a gun at workers in Mount Laurel. Officials later identified McCaden as the suspect wearing the blue jumpsuit, which helped solve the case.
Police say the suspects left New Jersey and traveled to the Baltimore area. From there, police say they shot and killed a worker at a T-Mobile store during a robbery Monday.