ROCKVILLE, Md. — Police in Rockville are continuing to search for a man they believe intentionally used his black pickup truck to run down three people near the Montgomery County Circuit Courthouse Thursday afternoon.
The alleged hit-and-run happened on the same day a hearing was held for the accused killer of the alleged hit-and-run driver's son.
The suspected driver has been identified as 44-year-old Walter Giovanni Marquez-Aviles of Gaithersburg. He's accused of three counts of attempted murder after he allegedly ran down a 79-year-old woman, a 22-year-old man, and an 18-year-old man.
The 18-year-old has been released from a hospital, but the other victims were seriously injured according to police.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, responding police were alerted that the incident stemmed from a court case that had occurred and that the suspect was known to at least one of the victims.
According to court records, a pre-trial conference and hearing had just been held in the nearby courthouse related to the murder of the alleged hit-and-run driver's son.
Jose Manuel Zavala Marquez, 20, was stabbed to death on September 10. Police charged the victim's girlfriend, 21-year-old Jennifer Abigail Espinoza Orellana, of Gaithersburg, with second-degree murder.
Rockville City Police would not comment on any suspected motive for the hit-and-run attack or the court case that occurred before the incident.
Court authorities in Montgomery County declined to provide any information on the conference and hearing that was held.
The hit-and-run suspect, Marquez-Aviles, was also accused of assaulting his ex-wife in September 2021 after allegedly forcing her to perform sexual acts with other men for money, while he watched.
That case was never prosecuted and is not linked to the hearing about his son’s murder.
Rockville City Police say they do not believe Marquez-Aviles is a threat to the public as the search for him continues.