Teen Charged in 2024 Hotel Killing Transferred to Juvenile Court, Agrees to Plea

PIKSEVILLE--A teen who was charged as an adult with murder in the 2024 fatal shooting of another teenager has had his case transferred to the juvenile court system and agreed to a plea, according to court records.

The teen, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 16-year-old Nelson Dariel Pena Martinez at the now-closed Ramada Inn on the 1700 block of Reisterstown Road on Oct. 27, 2024.

Because the case has been transferred to the juvenile justice system, the Baltimore County Courtroom Observer is not identifying the teen. He is currently 17 years old.

According to court information obtained by the Baltimore County Courtroom Observer, investigators believe the teen was likely a member of the MS-13 gang, as were several others who were gathered in a hotel room around 2 p.m. on the day of the shooting.

Court sources said seven or eight people, some as young as 14, were inside the room. A witness initially told police the shooting may have occurred during a robbery. After learning Martinez had died, however, the witness gave a different account, according to court sources.

The witness told investigators the teen had been handling a handgun and pointing it at people in the room. After Martinez told him to stop, the teen allegedly racked the slide while holding the gun pointed downward, then raised it and fired a single shot into Martinez's abdomen as he sat on a bed.

Baltimore County police were unable to immediately locate the suspect after the shooting and Metro CrimeStoppers offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. The teen was apprehended in March 2025 in North Carolina. A Baltimore County grand jury indicted him in the following month, according to court sources.

Most of the witnesses were uncooperative and have since either been deported or indicted in unrelated federal cases, according to court sources.

At a July 20 hearing in Baltimore County Circuit Court, Judge James Rhodes granted a joint request by prosecutors and the defense to transfer the case to juvenile court. The parties also reached a binding plea agreement, according to court information, although the terms were not made public.

On Monday, Judge Marc DeSimone held a hearing regarding the teen's placement within the juvenile justice system. Juvenile court proceedings are generally closed to the public. Court records indicate the teen is being held at the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School on a second-degree murder charge.