Man Faces Life In Prison After Robbery, Fatal Shooting: Prince George's Prosecutor

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — A 24-year-old man has been found guilty in connection to a fatal shooting that happened in Christmas Eve 2021 in Oxon Hill.

Prince George's police officers found John Paul Cruz shot to death in the driver's seat of his vehicle, which was parked at 5521 Livingston Road in Oxon Hill. An investigation later revealed that Josue Cristobal Torres and several others lured Cruz to Marcy Avenue with the intent of smoking marijuana and hanging out. Torres and the others approached Cruz’s car, ordered him out and shot him. His phone also was stolen, police said.

“We are pleased that justice has been served in this case,” said State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy. “This was truly a senseless crime in which the victim loss his life for no reason other than the fact that Mr. Torres and the others wanted to rob him. Our message here is that crime won’t be tolerated and we will vigorously prosecute individuals who commit heinous crimes like this one. I want to thank both Assistant State’s Attorney’s Jonathan Naylor and Colin Carmello for their hard work on this case.”

Torres also was found guilty of use a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. He now faces life plus 40 years in prison. Co-defendant 21-year-old Angel Amaya pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life suspend all, but 15 years. Two juvenile co-defendants also pleaded guilty in this case.