Police: Attempted killer freed from Montgomery jail amid COVID, breaks into victim's home

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (WJLA) - An 85-year-old man who tried to smother his wife with a pillow — and months later received a compassionate release from jail due to COVID-19 — now stands accused of violating a protective order by breaking into his wife's home, police say.

Allen Yao, 85, of Potomac, is at least the second Montgomery County inmate to allegedly re-offend after being shown mercy by the court system.

On April 25, Yao's wife awoke to her longtime husband, pointing a small handgun at her stomach, blaming her for infidelity. It was 3 a.m.

"I'm going to kill you," Yao reportedly declared before claiming he would place his wife's body in a bathtub and "use chemicals to make her disappear," court records state.

Following an hourlong interrogation, Yao — who is 5-foot-5 and 145 pounds — forgave his wife and returned to his separate bedroom.

Four nights later, on April 29, Yao's wife awoke at 4 a.m. to her husband, straddling her in the bed.

"Tonight I am going to kill you," Yao is quoted in court documents as saying before taking a pillow and putting it over his wife's face.

"The victim also stated that Yao placed a hand on her neck and began to strangle her," court documents add. "A struggle ensued as [the victim] attempted to escape, and the two tumbled on the floor beside the bed."

Yao's wife ultimately broke free and ran to a neighbor's home for help. The following day, Montgomery County Police confiscated a loaded Smith & Wesson 38 Special handgun, plus a Colt pistol, during a search of the Yao residence along the 10100 block of New London Drive in Potomac.

Authorities arrested Yao and charged him with attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, false imprisonment, and reckless endangerment. Due to the severity of the case, a Montgomery County District Court judge ordered Yao to be held without bond while awaiting trial.

Around one month later, on June 2, a district court judge okayed Yao's release from jail due to his "advanced age" and "COVID-19 related concerns," Assistant State's Attorney Gabriel Carrera wrote in a letter to the court, which was later obtained by 7 On Your Side.

The judge did, however, attach several conditions to Yao's bond. They included GPS monitoring, plus strict orders to stay away from his wife and the couple's home.

RELATED: Germantown homicide suspect released from Montgomery County jail in April due to COVID-19

'HE'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THERE.'

On the afternoon of July 31, Yao allegedly drove to his wife's home and hired a locksmith to gain entry. Yao's pretrial officer received an alert that the 85-year-old had entered the "exclusion zone" and immediately contacted Yao's wife, plus 911.

"GPS showing him at the location," a female dispatcher stated over Montgomery County's second district police radio. "He's not supposed to be there. It looks like it's unknown what his intentions are or why he's outside the home."

Officers responded to the upscale, tree-lined neighborhood with their lights and sirens on.

"Also, be advised there is a locksmith on site trying to get in the house for the subject," the dispatcher further relayed to units en route to the priority call. "The locksmith opened the garage door. The husband is now inside, trying to get into the house from the garage."

The first officer to pull up to the wooded lot spotted a white Mercedes-Benz parked in the driveway and Yao standing in the open garage. Police arrested him for violating a protective order. They also noted a Paypal notification on Yao's cell phone screen that confirmed he paid $200 for the locksmith's services.

In court the following week, a judge revoked Yao's bond, in turn, granting the prosecutor's plea for no more mercy. The 85-year-old accused felon will undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial.

"The defendant was given an extraordinary opportunity when he was released on PTSU in June," Assistant State's Attorney Carrera's letter to the court commissioner explained. "Today, he violated the most important and serious pretrial conditions that required of him. The State believes that he is an extreme danger to the victim and has shown that he does not appreciative or respect [the] conditions the court has placed on him."

COVID RELEASE LEADS TO MURDER

Yao is at least the second Montgomery County inmate released from custody in recent months due to COVID-19 health concerns, only to be later re-arrested on new criminal charges.

On Saturday, 7 On Your Side first reported that Justin Wilson, 26, the suspect in a Germantown homicide, was freed only months earlier because he is asthmatic.

"As I documented in my motion, he does have asthma and requires a nebulizer," Assistant Public Defender Elizabeth Zoulias said during Wilson's April 30, emergency motions hearing, which was conducted by telephone. "[I ask that] Mr. Wilson's bond be modified so long as he stays away from all victims."

On July 23, Wilson allegedly killed Edigio Ienzi, 63, inside Ienzi's home on Duhart Court. The victim's 16-year-old daughter awoke to the sound of her father screaming. She tiptoed downstairs and witnessed the physical struggle that ultimately led to her father's fatal stabbing.

Wilson had been locked up at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Clarksburg while awaiting sentencing for a series of car break-ins across Aspen Hill, Germantown, North Bethesda, and Rockville. In one case, Wilson stole a purse — containing two credit cards, a work permit, and a social security card — plus a MacBook laptop and Apple tablet. The combined value was $2,800.

The victim used the "find my iPhone" application to locate her MacBook. That led officers to Wilson's Silver Spring home, where they recovered the victim's computer. Investigators also obtained surveillance video of Wilson using the victim's credit card to purchase gift cards at Target.

Wilson broke into a second parked vehicle in North Bethesda and stole a $1,200 JBW wristwatch. Days later, the repeat criminal pawned the watch for $25 at Pawn Express in Wheaton. Wilson used a third victim's credit cards to purchase more than $1,800 in gift cards at Target and CVS.

During the April 30, emergency motions hearing, the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office noted that Wilson was convicted of armed robbery in 2012. The prosecutor handling Wilson's vehicle break-in case, however, did not oppose the defense's push for an immediate release.

"As far as I'm aware, there have been no allegations of violence since then," Assistant State's Attorney Jodie Mount remarked during the five-minute hearing. "Under the circumstances, your honor, the state has no objection to the defendant's release pending sentencing... Considering that the defendant does have a condition that puts him at higher risk if he does contract COVID-19."

IS ANYONE KEEPING TRACK?

For more than six weeks now, 7 On Your Side has worked to obtain the list of Montgomery County inmates given so-called compassionate releases because of the global pandemic. The County's Department of Correction and Rehabilitation now claims it does not have that data. State's Attorney John McCarthy's office is saying the very same.

"That doesn't make sense," Olney resident Louis Wilen stated beside the barbed-wire gates to the Montgomery County Detention Center in Rockville. "Why did it even take them six weeks to determine that they don't have the records? They should have been able to tell in six minutes if they didn't have the records."

Wilen — who has filed dozens of public records requests with county and state agencies over the years — is skeptical of the county's current position. For example, court records indicate that a Pre-Trial Supervision Unit (PTSU) agent was present for Wilson's April 30, COVID-19 telephone hearing. The court docket further notes that PTSU submitted a bond recommendation that same day. PTSU is a division of the County's Department of Corrections.

"It doesn't really stand the test of reasonableness that the county would not keep any record of why people were released," Wilen opined. "It's just hard to believe that someone has not compiled the data that ABC7 is seeking... I think that they have something they don't want the public to know."

Beginning in March, dozens of incarcerated defendants, like Wilson and Yao, began to file emergency motions with the court seeking a prompt release from custody. Ramon Korionoff, a spokesman for the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office, shared that his colleagues were inundated with such filings and worked diligently to address them.

"Following an overall principle of sound public health policy of trying to protect defendants, corrections workers, court personnel, law enforcement and the public at large from COVID-19 infection, contamination and exposure," Korionoff said in a written statement. "'Low-level' and non-violent offenders are sometimes released prior to their trials, sentencing, or other court-sanctioned action depending on their health conditions and level of risk."

Korionoff went on to note that Montgomery County's two jails have had zero new COVID cases in eight of the last ten weeks, thanks in large part, to a reduction in the overall inmate population. A spokeswoman for Montgomery County's Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to an email seeking to confirm Korionoff's statement about the jails' infection rate.

Montgomery County Councilmember Craig Rice (D-District 2) represents more than 200,000 residents across Clarksburg, Damascus, and Germantown. Murder victim Edigio Ienzi was one of his constituents.

"While we have a responsibility to ensure the health of inmates incarcerated in our jail, that does not, nor should not, supersede the concern of risk that released inmates may pose to our community," Rice stated when reached for comment Tuesday. "I hope that our judicial system is taking this into account for what should be very unique and specialized circumstances of COVID-related release."