UPDATED, Tuesday afternoon, July 28

Leonardtown, MD – Alan Rangel (pictured at top) has been described by his mother and sister as being “homeless” and “unemployed.” Rangel, 21, has been charged with first-degree murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of Cody Lacey, 21, at a party in Mechanicsville early Saturday morning. Rangel was on the lam for more than two days before being arrested Monday, July 27 in Jessup by officers with the United States Marshal’s Service Task Force Fugitive Unit.

Also arrested with Rangel was Amanda Hartmann, 24 of Waldorf (pictured above). She was charged with being an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. Demetrius Burks-Jeffrey, 22, and Wade Braithwaite, 21, had earlier also been charged with being an accessory.

Charging documents filed by St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Department Detective Cpl. Melissa Hulse at the time of Rangel’s return to St. Mary’s County provide additional information about what is alleged to have happened at the party. It was while Rangel was being sought that his mother and sister made the description of him as being homeless and unemployed. They said they didn’t know where he was.

The charges indicate that Rangel admitted to one witness that “he fired off some shots in the air and some shots that went somewhere else at the residence.” The charges allege that Rangel shot into a crowd striking Lacey.

According to the police report, heroic efforts to revive Lacey were made by responding police officers, to no avail. He died at the scene.

The charging documents also quote a witness who allegedly fled the scene with Rangel who said that the accused “admitted to discharging the firearm while at the residence.” A search and seizure warrant issued for a residence in Lexington Park at which Braithwaite and Burks-Jeffrey were arrested may have uncovered the weapon used in the shooting.

The charging documents filed in the case against Hartmann allege that she “transported the suspect in a 1993 Toyota Camry. Images of the vehicle were captured in various locations throughout Maryland. At no time did the defendant (Hartmann) attempt to contact law enforcement officers to provide the whereabouts of the suspect.”

Hartmann and the other two co-defendants charged with conspiracy after the fact are being held on $500,000 bond. At her bond hearing, public defender Ryan Posey told District Court Judge Christy Holt Chesser that Hartmann’s only involvement in the case was that she has a relationship with him. “That is the extent of the involvement,” he said.

Rangel is a convicted felon from a 2012 second-degree assault case in which a juvenile was stabbed in Lexington Park. The incident was so serious that the juvenile was transported by helicopter with life-threatening injuries. Rangel entered an Alford Plea in the case which meant he did not admit involvement but conceded that the state could prove its case. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

Braithwaite was also arrested in connection with the same incident but charges were dropped against him.

According to prosecutor Laura Caspar, Hartmann has a record that includes five failure-to-appears.

Rangel is being held without bond. Preliminary hearings are scheduled for all four defendants for late August. Rangel faces life in prison, while the other three defendants face a maximum of ten years. The cases likely will be transferred to circuit court.

Update Cody Lacey Homicide:

On July 27, 2015, suspect Alan Michael Rangel was located in Jessup, Maryland, and taken into custody without incident by officers with the United States Marshals Service Task Force Fugitive Unit.

Amanda Raye Hartmann age 24, who was with Rangel at the time of his arrest, was also arrested and charged with Accessory After the Fact – First Degree Murder.

Rangel and Hartmann were transported to the St. Mary’s County Detention Center and incarcerated.

Mechanicsville, MD – The man accused of the murder of Cody Lacey, 21, of Mechanicsville at a party early Saturday morning, July 25 in St. Mary’s County, reportedly shot into a crowd that included Lacey, police stated.

Alan Rangel, 21, of Lexington Park has been charged with murder and a warrant has been issued for his arrest, but he still has not been located.

The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Department arrested two men on charges of being accessories after the fact to the murder. They were identified as Demetrius Jose Burks-Jeffrey, 22, and Wade Braithwaite, 21, both of whom have an address on Columbus Drive as their place of residence, although court documents also have a Chaptico address for Burks-Jeffrey.

According to charging documents filed by Det. Cpl. Mellissa Hulse at the time of the arrest of Burks-Jeffrey and Braithwaite, numerous witnesses at the party on Locks Hill Road in Mechanicsville reported that after a large fight had occurred, Rangel fired into the air and then “the same black male was also observed firing several gunshots into a crowd, striking the victim.”

According to the charging documents, Rangel, Burks-Jeffrey and Braithwaite were observed fleeing the area together. The documents say that the two accused of being accessories to the crime “made no attempt to turn the identified shooter into law enforcement officers for his actions.”

A search and seizure warrant was issued for the residence that police believed the two were at and evidence was recovered, including a handgun “which could have been used during the crime and several rounds of loaded ammunition which matched shell casings found at the crime scene.”

The two accused appeared before a court commissioner. Bond was set at $500,000 for Braithwaite and $1 million for Burks-Jeffrey. Maximum penalty for the crime is 10 years in jail, according to court documents.

District Court Judge Christy Holt Chesser during a bond review hearing Monday afternoon reduced Burks-Jeffrey’s bond to $500,000 saying the two charges were similar and should have similar bonds. St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney’s Office District Court Prosecutor Michael Kane had asked the two be held without bond because “a life was involved.” Public Defender Ryan Posey asked that each bond be reduced to $100,000.

Rangel is a convicted felon. He was indicted and convicted in 2012 of second-degree assault after entering an Alford Plea. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail. In that incident a juvenile was allegedly stabbed and had to be flown to Prince George’s Shock Trauma Center with life-threatening injuries.

Braithwaite was a co-defendant in that case but charges were dropped against him. According to state records, Burks-Jeffrey has no adult criminal record.

Contact Dick Myers at news@thebaynet.com

Previous stories

Update, July 26, 5:30 p.m. – St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Department detectives have obtained an arrest warrant for Alan Michael Rangel, 21, of no fixed address for the July 25th shooting on Lavender Lane in Mechanicsville, which resulted in the death of Cody Lacey. 

The warrant charges Rangel with First Degree Murder, Second Degree Murder, First Degree Assault, Reckless Endangerment, and Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony/Crime of Violence.

Rangel is African-American, 5 feet 9 inches in height, and weighs 202 pounds.

This investigation is ongoing. Additional information will continue to be released as it is developed.

Anyone with information regarding Rangel’s whereabouts is asked to call Detective Melissa Hulse at 301.475.4200 x1996 or email at melissa.hulse@stmarysmd.com, or Criminal Investigations Division Supervisor Lieutenant Russ Trow at 301.481.7694.

Callers may also call CRIME SOLVERS at 301.475.3333 or TEXT a TIP to “TIP239” plus your message to “CRIMES” (274637). Calls to CRIME SOLVERS are not recorded and callers can remain anonymous. St. Mary’s County CRIME SOLVERS offers rewards of up to $1,000 for information about a crime that leads to an arrest or indictment.  

If you see Rangel do not approach and call 911 immediately.

See previous story: /articles/0715/update-two-arrested-in-connection-with-homicide.html