Man Arrested In Connection With 2023 Homicide In Montgomery County

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — Authorities have arrested a man in connection with a 2023 homicide in Montgomery County.

Franklin Villalobos Gomez was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree murder in the death of 45-year-old Jose Israel Centeno Velasquez of Gaithersburg, Montgomery County police said in a statement.

On July 9, 2023, Montgomery County officers and Maryland Natural Resources Police responded to an area near Black Rock Road and Seneca Creek Trail for a report of a body in the creek.

The body, later identified as Centeno Velasquez, was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, where it was determined that he died of multiple injuries. The manner of death was ruled a homicide.

Detectives conducted an investigation and eventually identified Villalobos Gomez as a suspect. He is being held at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit pending a bond hearing scheduled for Tuesday.