Former medical technician found not competent to stand trial for murder of philanthropist in Potomac senior living facility

Neal Augenstein | naugenstein@wtop.com
May 15, 2026, 10:05 AM

The former medical technician charged in the killing of a millionaire philanthropist in his Montgomery County, Maryland, senior living apartment has been found not competent to stand trial during a hearing Friday.

Maurquise James, 22, was indicted in April for first-degree murder in the death of 87-year-old millionaire philanthropist Robert Fuller, Jr., who was found dead in his apartment at the Cogir Potomac Senior Living Facility, with a gunshot wound to the head, on Valentine’s Day.

During a competency hearing Friday, the Montgomery County Circuit Court judge agreed with the doctor from the Maryland Department of Health in concluding that James is not capable of assisting in his own defense.

Court records show that in March, when the case was still in District Court, a judge ruled he was competent to stand trial. The defense then requested another evaluation, where the same doctor who conducted the first exam, Dr. Julie Smith, found James not competent. ... Another competency hearing has been set for six months from now.

{snip}.

WTOP’s Mike Murillo and Jessica Kronzer contributed to this report.

Neal Augenstein
Neal Augenstein has been a general assignment reporter with WTOP since 1997. He says he looks forward to coming to work every day, even though that means waking up at 3:30 a.m.

naugenstein@wtop.com
@AugensteinWTOP