Milton shooting case heads to Superior Court

A Milton man is headed to trial in the Nov. 24 shooting in Milton that left one man dead and his teen brother critically injured.

Carlos Juan Feliciano-Concepcion, 22, was arrested Dec. 4 after a police investigation identified him as the lead suspect in the shooting at Park Royal Apartments that killed 20-year-old Rogelio “Chico” Martinez-Hernandez and left his 14-year-old brother Marlon Martinez-Hernandez paralyzed.

Delaware State Police Detective Jonathan King testified during a preliminary hearing Jan. 8 that a Dec. 4 interview with the suspect's brother, Juan Feliciano, revealed that less than two hours before the fatal shooting, the brothers contacted the Milton Police Department to report someone had broken the window of Juan's vehicle. Lt. Derrick Harvey responded about 1 a.m. Nov. 24 and discovered a vehicle window had been broken and a speaker removed, King said.

It was a rainy, windy night, King said, and after Harvey finished up his on-site police work and left the two brothers about 1:40 a.m., Carlos and Juan covered the broken vehicle window and headed out to see if they could find the suspect on their own. During the Dec. 4 interview with state police, Juan said he and his brother drove around town looking for a suspect, but with no luck. They returned to their Betts Street residence – which King said is just a few blocks from the apartment complex on Palmer Street – and minutes later, Carlos left on foot.

King said Juan told police that he tried to contact his brother by text and phone calls, but received no response. A little later, there was a knock on the door, and before Juan could reach the door, Carlos reentered their residence. Juan told police Carlos said it was Chico who had broken the window, so he shot Chico and his little brother and buried the gun, King said in his testimony.

King said the weapon has not been recovered. Police found about four 9mm casings within 10 to 15 feet of the vehicle, he said.

A neighbor's surveillance video captured a vehicle pulling into a parking space in the lot next to the apartments, but a fence blocked the vehicle from view. King said the video shows the vehicle's lights turn off, and about 14 seconds later, a darkly-clothed subject matching Feliciano-Concepcion's build runs by. The time stamp on the video is 2:42 a.m., the same time the report of shots fired was called in to 911, King said – less than two hours after Carlos and Juan reported a broken window. King added that police are working on enhancing the video.

King said Harvey was the first officer at the scene. Harvey found a vehicle parked outside the apartment complex: The driver's side door was completely open, the passenger door was ajar and two victims were inside. Chico, who was sitting in the driver's seat, had a gunshot wound to the head and was unresponsive. Marlon, in the passenger's seat, suffered multiple gunshot wounds, including an injury to his mouth area. It was difficult for Harvey to understand Marlon, King said, but Harvey reported that Marlon was able to say the suspect was masked, sounded like “Macho” and repeated, “It was Macho. It was Macho.”

“Macho” was later identified by the victim's family as Feliciano-Concepcion, King said.

King said cell phone records obtained from phones belonging to Chico and Carlos show the two exchanged text messages between 11:49 p.m. Nov. 23 and 12:46 a.m. Nov. 24, about two hours before police were called to the apartment complex. King said the latest messages seemed more confrontational than their past exchanges. He said Chico asked Carlos to come out of his house and also mentioned a pill and marijuana. Chico texted he would come back later; the messages end with a message from Chico saying, “Lol now I'm scared.”

King said previous messages exchanged by the two were usually more friendly, and many were in Spanish, talking about making plans or going to the gym. He said some previous messages alluded to smoking marijuana, but police found no evidence of any plans to deal drugs. When questioned about the reason for the shooting, aside from the broken window, King testified that third-party witnesses had suggested a quarrel over dealing drugs, but police have found no evidence to support that claim.

Police returned to Carlos and Juan's residence about 6 a.m. that same morning, but Feliciano-Concepcion was not taken into custody, King said, because “we weren't ready to confront a possible suspect at that point.”

Feliciano-Concepcion was contacted by Delaware State Police when he reported to his parole officer Dec. 4. He is charged with first-degree attempted murder, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and wearing a disguise during the commission of a felony. He is on probation for charges stemming from a July 27, 2014, arrest on Cedar Beach Road in Milford. He is charged with reckless driving DUI and carrying a concealed deadly weapon – a knife with a 6.5-inch blade – according to court documents.

During the hearing at the Sussex County Court of Common Pleas Jan. 8, District Attorney Adam Gelof asked the judge for a $5 million cash-only bail and described Feliciano-Concepcion as a flight risk, adding that the suspect has connections in both Texas and Puerto Rico. Gelof added safety concerns for the surviving victim, the victim's family and Juan Feliciano and his wife.

Judge Kenneth Clark set a $300,000 cash-only bail for the murder charge, a $100,000 cash-only bail for the attempted murder charge and a $75,000 secured bail for the other charges. He also issued a no-contact order with Marlon, Marlon's family, Juan Feliciano and his wife.

Chico was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead upon arrival, King said.

Marlon suffered multiple gunshot wounds, one of which lodged in his upper back area and paralyzed him from the neck down. While at the hospital, complications from his injuries resulted in a stroke; he is now conscious, but not communicating.

Before the stroke, Marlon was able to communicate with hospital staff by using an alphabet chart and a yes/no system of shaking his head, King said. Marlon was stabilizing when the hospital decided to remove breathing tubes and perform a tracheotomy; it was during recovery from the procedure that Marlon suffered a stroke, King said.

Due to Marlon's increasing complications with his medical needs, friends are raising donations for the Martinez family. To donate, go to www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/52v6/-supportmarlon or email Pamela Aquilani at pamelaaquilani@live.com.