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Dario C. Villard

Age : 53

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 08/29/2024

Location : Avery Road and Norbeck Road

City : Laurel

County : Montgomery

State : Maryland

Agency : Montgomery County Department of Police; Laurel Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Suicide

Event : Suicide under police duress

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/29/2024, Dario C. Villard, 53, of Laurel died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a Montgomery County police officer located and stopped his vehicle near Avery and Norbeck roads in Rockville. Police were searching for Villard and his gray Toyota Tacoma in connection with a fatal shooting that had occurred minutes earlier in Rockville.
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At approximately 7:50 a.m., Montgomery County police responded to the 14900 block of Southlawn Lane after a shooting was reported. Officers found 60-year-old Civil Jean Calixte of Gaithersburg suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. A witness reported that the person who shot Calixte had left in a gray Toyota Tacoma. Calixte was transported to a hospital, where he died. Police issued a lookout for the Tacoma.
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A responding Montgomery County officer spotted the Tacoma near Avery and Norbeck roads and conducted a felony traffic stop. According to police, the officer heard a gunshot while conducting the stop. Police subsequently found Villard inside the truck suffering from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Officers and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue personnel provided medical aid, and Villard was transported to a hospital, where he died. Investigators recovered a handgun from the truck.
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Investigators then connected Villard to another shooting the previous night in Laurel. At approximately 10:11 p.m. on 08/28/2024, Laurel police responded to the 14200 block of Westmeath Drive for a reported domestic shooting. Officers found a woman suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. She was hospitalized in critical but stable condition. Police alleged Villard had left the residence in his vehicle before officers arrived.
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By the time Montgomery County police stopped Villard the following morning, Laurel police had obtained an active warrant for him for attempted first-degree murder in connection with the Westmeath Drive shooting. Montgomery County detectives contacted Laurel investigators after Villard's death and connected his Tacoma to that investigation.
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The Montgomery County Department of Police Major Crimes Division investigated the Rockville shooting and Villard's death as a murder-suicide. Villard and Calixte were transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for autopsies.
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An obituary record gives Villard's full name as Dario C. Villard. His services were private.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND
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The Montgomery County Department of Police did not publicly identify the officer who conducted the felony traffic stop immediately before Villard's suicide.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.cityoflaurel.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=362
https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail_Pol.aspx?Item_ID=45758
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/08/29/rockville-fatal-shooting/
https://www.wmar2news.com/local/man-connected-to-domestic-shooting-in-laurel-kills-1-then-takes-his-own-life
https://mocoshow.com/2024/08/30/major-crimes-detectives-investigating-rockville-murder-suicide-identities-of-victim-and-suspect-released/
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/dario-villard-obituary?id=56342231