Arrest in shooting of transgender woman in Gaithersburg

GAITHERSBURG, Md. - On Friday, October 16th, Montgomery County police arrested a 20-year-old male for the shooting of DeAndre Smith, also known as Zella Ziona.

Rico Hector Leblond, was arrested at the Germantown Transit Center located at 19945 Aircraft Drive in Germantown. He was taken into custody without incident.

Investigators learned that Ziona and Leblond knew each other and had some degree of friendship prior to Ziona's murder. .

Rico Leblond has been charged with 1st degree murder.

Ziona was killed Thursday evening after being shot in an alleyway that separates the Montgomery Village Plaza and Montgomery Village Crossing shopping centers.

Anyone with information on this shooting can call the Montgomery County Police Department's Major Crimes Division at 240-773-5070. Anonymous tipsters can contact Crime Solvers of Montgomery County at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). They are offering a reward of up to $10,000 for any information that leads to the arrest of the suspect(s).