Man held in 1975 murder taking police and suspect by surprise

Bobby Coley walked into the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office this week, hoping to clear up what he thought was a minor warrant because he was trying to get a job. The 63-year-old was told to take a seat in the lobby.

In a back office, Sgt. Chris Wade typed Coley’s information into Maryland’s law enforcement database. Nothing there. Wade tried a second source and was stunned by the decades-old information in front of him. “Boys,” he remembers telling colleagues nearby, “I think we might have someone with a murder warrant out front.”

The deputies quickly confirmed that the warrant was valid and took Coley, of the District, into custody — opening up a case that has raised as many questions as answers.

“Quite candidly,” prosecutor Peter Feeney told District Court Judge Eugene Wolfe on Wednesday, “we cannot tell you what the viability of this case is at this point.”

Viable or not, the allegations are startling:

Read the rest here.