EXCLUSIVE: Alleged illegal immigrant charged in Md. murder denied bond

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The man charged with a murder in Germantown was denied bond in Montgomery County on Thursday.

The judge decided Miguel Angel Rodriguez-Gaona is a flight risk because he is believed to be an illegal immigrant from Mexico.

Police say on Tuesday night, Miguel Angel Rodriguez-Gaona fatally stabbed William Palacios and then ran to Baltimore where they arrested him.

There was one witness in the crime, Rodriguez-Gaona's estranged girlfriend, who was with Palacios in a parking lot of a neighborhood.

At the hearing, Rodriguez-Gaona did not speak, but listened through a Spanish interpreter.

His lawyer asked for her client to get some kind of bond. She said he has no history of violence and has a job in construction.

The state asked that Rodriguez-Gaona be held without bond. They called him a huge flight risk because of his fake legal documents and various names.

"The police have done a really thorough job in this," said Ramon Korionoff, spokesperson for the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office. "Upon apprehension, they found a fake green card, a counterfeit social security card and also a Mexican passport.

The prosecutor told the judge that Rodriguez-Gaona is a threat to his live-in girlfriend of eleven years, who is their only witness. They also said he already planned his getaway.

"His estranged girlfriend and the mother of his children had said that he had threatened her and said he would flee to Mexico or to his family members in California or North Carolina should he ever have to take those steps," said Korionoff.

The prosecutor told the judge that the suspect has no verified address. An apartment in Gaithersburg is the last place that police believe Rodriguez-Gaona has lived.

"At this point, we're not sure about his citizenship," Korionoff said. "One way or the other, we just know he's a danger to the community and a flight risk and no bond is appropriate."

For now, Rodriguez-Gaona is at county detention where he will stay until his preliminary hearing in September. He faces life in prison without parole.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said they are monitoring the case.