Man charged with murdering grandparents in Howard County, police say
A 33-year-old man was arrested for the murders of his grandparents Monday morning in Howard County, according to police.
DiAngelo Smith has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder after 78-year-old Jack Dee Stokes and 65-year-old Barbara Stokes were found shot and killed inside a home on Red Haven Road in Columbia.
Smith, who police say was living with his grandparents, was located with a gun in a parked vehicle outside the home.
He is being held without bail at the Howard County Detention Center.
"Tragically, we have seen a significant increase in domestic violence deaths in our communities," Howard County Executive Howard Ball said. "More than half of the homicide victims during the last year were killed by a family member."
Double shooting at Columbia mall
Police said two teenagers were shot Saturday evening at The Mall in Columbia near the bus loop and Lidl grocery store.
Michael Robertson, 16, a sophomore at Wilde Lake High School, died at the scene and a ninth-grader at Oakland Mills High School was critically injured.
Police arrested 18-year-old Emmetson Zeah and charged him with first-degree murder.
Court documents said Zeah was out on bail from a home invasion and attempted stabbing last November, and he admitted to firing shots in Columbia on Feb. 14.
"Gun crimes committed by young people are plaguing many communities across our nation and Howard County is not immune," Ball said. "This type of violence is unacceptable and should not be tolerated."
Howard County youth violence
In July 2024, 17-year-old Angelo Little was gunned down in the food court at The Mall in Columbia.
Howard County police are still searching for the suspect, William Thomas Marshall, who escaped. A $30,000 reward is offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
On August 18, the Howard County Police Department released a picture of the 17-year-old suspect.
Students arrested at schools
In October 2024, A Howard High School student was arrested at the school for the murder of a 26-year-old who was found shot to death in a vehicle behind a Columbia office building.
A 14-year-old from Anne Arundel County was also arrested at his school.
Kendrick McLellan was found dead days after he was reported missing from Baltimore. He was located in a vehicle in a parking lot in the 8800 block of Centre Park Drive in Columbia.
That same weekend, two teenagers -- ages 16 and 17 -- were shot in the parking lot of nearby Giant Food.
"This is a time when community support is more meaningful than ever," Ball said. "Everyone should be safe and feel safe. Working closely with our Howard County Police Department, and other stakeholders, we remain committed to taking strong measures to ensure public safety is a priority."
