3 Charged In Deadly Towson Armed Carjacking Attempt: Police

TOWSON, MD — A third person was arrested this week after what police said was a deadly carjacking attempt in Towson earlier this year.

The arrests stem from the death of Quenten Branch, 35, who was found deceased on Colbury Road next to a Mercedes C230 on Sunday, Jan. 9, according to charging documents. The car belonged to his stepfather, charging documents say.

Officers found Branch when they were called to the intersection of Colbury Road and Goucher Boulevard for a report of a shooting before 4:30 a.m. He had been shot and was unresponsive outside the car, which was in neutral and had the door open, investigators said, noting the key to the manual-transmission car was missing.

"The murder appears to be related to an attempted carjacking," according to charging documents.

More than five months later, police reported three people have been charged in Branch's death.

Video surveillance showed a white Toyota Prius near the intersection around the time of Branch's murder, which police determined was between 4:16 and 4:18 a.m. After checking police databases, authorities said the Prius had been stolen in an armed carjacking in Prince George's County and had been used at 3:21 a.m. in an armed commercial robbery in Baltimore City.

The investigator was granted a tower dump and found a cell phone pinging in the area around the time of the fatal shooting that belonged to Stephen A. Parker. During a search of his home in Greenbelt, officials said they found a black semiautomatic gun and clothing that matched surveillance footage from the armed robbery in Baltimore.

Parker, 20, of the 7800 block of Hanover Parkway in Greenbelt, was indicted May 9 on 18 charges, including first-degree murder, first-degree assault, attempted armed carjacking and others, court records show. A scheduling conference in his case is set for July 25.

Police said they "developed Steven Santiago as the second armed robber" from the Baltimore holdup.

Santiago, 19, of the 7800 block of Hanover Parkway in Greenbelt, was charged on June 2 with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, court records show. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and it was served on June 20, according to records.

On Santiago's iCloud account, police said they found a video taken at 3:59 a.m. on Jan. 9 inside a car showing a cash register till and view of the driver, later identified as Kaleb C. Jackson.

Jackson, 20, of the 6200 block of Fortview Way in Baltimore, was indicted on June 13 on 19 charges, including first-degree murder,-first-degree assault, attempted armed carjacking and other offenses in connection with Branch's death, court records show. Police said the Baltimore County Carjacking Unit had investigated him in connection with carjackings in the Towson area.

Parker, Jackson and Santiago are all being held without bail.

More News from Towson

• Free COVID-19 Tests Available For Every MD Home Marylanders can get four more free COVID-19 tests per household. Here’s how to claim yours.
• Man Opens Plane Door, Climbs On Wing Before Flight To BWI Airport A man opened a plane's emergency exit and climbed on the wing before a Baltimore-bound flight, authorities said. He was hospitalized after the mental health emergency.