LANHAM, Md. — Charging documents released Thursday are offering more details about how three people are connected to the death of a 16-year-old student outside DuVal High School in September. The death of Jayda Medrano-Moore rocked the Prince George's County community, where she was remembered as a hero.
According to investigators, Medrano-Moore was walking home from school on Sept. 11 when a fight broke out between two groups of students. Medrano-Moore tried to break up the fight, and was shot and killed.
Now, five months after the deadly shooting, police have taken three more people into custody. Ramon Richardson and Cameron Anderson — both 18-year-old men from Lanham — have been charged with first- and second-degree murder and related charges. A 17-year-old boy, who has not been identified by police, has also been charged with first-degree murder, police said.
Charging documents show investigators were pointed in the direction of the trio thanks to cell phone data. The documents say the three people were part of a group chat in which the group planned out the fight, and planned to bring guns and ammo to the school in the days before Medrano-Moore was killed.
Richardson was interviewed by police days after the homicide, and he consented to allow detectives to download all the data stored on his cellphone. That included numerous group chats between the 17-year-old boy previously arrested, Richardson, Anderson and the other teen boy. The chats are date stamped September 4, 2023 and continue through when Medrano-Moore was killed.
The documents point to Anderson, known in group chats as "Cam" as the source of the handguns and ammunition used in the shooting. Detectives were not able to properly identify the "Cam" in the group chats as Anderson until Feb. 19, 2024. It was confirmed through school security and staff at his high school.
The other 17-year-old boy arrested Wednesday, known as "Henry" in group chats, was positively identified on Feb. 21.
Medrano-Moore's father, Glen Reid said he was surprised to learn of the new arrests in his daughter's murder.
"It was a shock, but it was a good shock," he said.
Reid credits police work and the community.
"I just want to thank those people that stood up and, and gave those officers their statements. And, you know, it helped to lead to the arrest of these individuals," he said. "We definitely miss her. Because, you know, she could have been someone, you know, very special."
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