Transgender Woman's Germantown Killer Convicted At Second Trial

GAITHERSBURG, MD — Jurors in the second murder trial of a Germantown man charged in the October 2015 homicide of a transgender female in Montgomery County have convicted the suspect. The trial began July 17 after a jury in an earlier trial failed to reach a verdict in the case of Rico Hector Leblond, now 22, of Germantown.

A jury found Leblond guilty Tuesday of first-degree murder; he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Prosecutors said that while Leblond and his victim, Zella Ziona, 21, of Montgomery Village, had been friends since high school, Leblond was upset at Ziona's behavoir and organized members of his gang to retaliate for her public flirtation with him.

Ziona was shot to death Oct. 15, 2015, in a service alley behind a Montgomery Village shopping center at 18312 Contour Road. Ziona was found and taken to an area hospital, where she died from multiple gunshot wounds, the medical examiner said.

Leblond and Ziona were friends, prosecutors said, but Leblond reportedly shot Ziona when she flirted with him in front of male friends, WTOP reports. Ziona was born DeAndre Smith and Leblond was embarrassed by the flirtation, prosecutors said at the trial. But defense attorneys argued that witness accounts varied considerably with other suspects suggested as the possible gunman.

State’s Attorney John McCarthy said LeBlond was one of six or seven people “laying in wait” for Ziona, and shot her several times.

“How difficult is it to get six or seven other people to conspire and work with you to … carry out an execution murder? Well, if you’re a gang member, and you’re a member of Hit Squad, you can get six or seven other guys to help you do the job,” McCarthy said, according to WTOP.

»Photo of Rico Leblond courtesy of Montgomery County Police