Garrett Alexander McClees was 22 when he was shot and killed at Edgewood Neighborhood Park in the Briggs Chaney area of Burtonsville, Maryland. The shooting happened around 4:43 p.m. on October 8, 2015, and multiple 911 callers reported hearing gunfire. Police arrived to find McClees with a gunshot wound to the torso; he died at the scene and his backpack had been stolen. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore ruled the death a homicide.

Montgomery County detectives identified two suspects, 24-year-old Earl Junius Bennette and 22-year-old Shante Gladden, and determined the men knew McClees and that the killing was likely drug-related. Phone records indicated Bennette had been in contact with McClees on the day of the shooting. Arrest warrants were issued October 22, 2015; both men were arrested the next day, Gladden in Washington, D.C., and Bennette in Silver Spring. Both were charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery.

At trial a Montgomery County jury acquitted Shante Gladden of all charges in June 2017 after a six-day trial and about a day and a half of deliberations. Does anyone have information about Bennette’s case or other details that could help fill gaps in this investigation?