Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says flags in the state will be flown at half staff until a slain parole officer is laid to rest.
On Friday, the agent, 33-year-old Davis Martinez, went to check on a registered sex offender who had been released from prison in 2021. But after Martinez didn't return to work, Montgomery County officers went to the offender's apartment. There, they found the body of the missing parole agent.
Martinez was pronounced dead at the apartment in the 2800 block of Terrace Drive in Chevy Chase, police said.
Sex offender arrested in West Virginia in the death of Officer Davis Martinez
The man Martinez had gone to see, 54-year-old Emanuel Edward Sewell, was not in the apartment, prompting police to launch a manhunt for just over 24 hours.
On Saturday evening, U.S. Marshals task force officers found Sewell on Interstate 64 near Hurricane, West Virginia, about a six-hour drive from his Chevy Chase, Maryland, apartment.
They arrested him on a warrant for second-degree murder.
'Agent Martinez served with distinction and our state is safer because of him'
Martinez was a six-year employee of the Maryland Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services (DPSCS) and worked in the Silver Spring field office.
“Agent Martinez served with distinction and our state is safer because of him—our entire state grieves his loss along with those he held dear," Gov. Wes Moore said in a statement Saturday night. "I would like to thank our dedicated law enforcement community for their relentless and successful efforts in apprehending the suspect and for their unwavering pursuit of justice for Agent Martinez, his family, his friends and colleagues.”
According to the Maryland DPSCS, Martinez had been Sewell’s parole officer for awhile, and Sewell had not posed a risk prior.
"He was alone in the home visit, and it is typical that they go alone on those visits," Maryland Secretary of Public Safety and Correctional Services Carolyn Scruggs said. "The suspect has done 25 out of 29 years, and he had mandatory release."
The medical examiner determined Martinez's manner of death was homicide, Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said. While the cause is not yet known, Jones said Martinez suffered multiple injuries.
Martinez was the first Maryland Division of Parole and Probation agent in the state to be killed by a client while on duty, the Maryland DPSCS said.
His death is a stark reminder of the dangers these agents face.
"These are the unsung heroes that you often do not hear about, but they are part of law enforcement and they do a great job," Scruggs said.
