Police Need Help Finding Witnesses To Fatal Garage Shooting

SILVER SPRING, MD — More than two years have passed since Charles Joseph Reynolds was shot to death in the stairwell of the Wayne Avenue Garage in downtown Silver Spring and no suspects have been named, no arrests made.

Montgomery County Police on Tuesday renewed their request that the public share any tips that can lead to an arrest in the case. The department shared images of two men investigators believe may have witnessed the crime, and are asking for help identifying the duo who might have been in or around the Wayne Avenue Garage on Dec. 21, 2022.

Reynolds had been out to dinner with his family after they finished Christmas shopping and gathered to celebrate the birthday of a family member. His sister-in-law found Reynolds in a second-floor stairwell, surrounded by a great deal of blood.

The two possible witnesses are shown below in surveillance images:

The first man was described as a Black man, about 50 to 70 years old with gray facial hair. The man was wearing a multi-colored hat, a hooded sweatshirt, a dark-colored jacket, dark pants and black-and-red sneakers. He was pushing the wheelchair of the second potential witness who was described by police as a Black man about 50 to 70 years old with an amputated right leg.

The second man was wearing a dark-colored jacket over a white plaid shirt, jeans and one black shoe.

Anyone with tips in the case is asked to call 240-773-5070 or Crime Solvers of Montgomery County at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). A $10,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the homicide suspect.

At a May 2023 police press conference, Reynolds' wife, Karis Hastings, said most of the family went for ice cream after dinner, while Reynolds went to the parking garage to drop off leftovers in their car.

"It was literally six minutes between when we left the restaurant and when she called 911," Hastings said. "The rest of us had had gotten ice cream, came back and there's a helicopter overhead. We got to the garage. It was surrounded by police tape, and I was told that it was my husband who was the victim.

"So we, literally, in a six-minute timeframe, went from celebrating and being together, getting ready for Christmas, to then just the unimaginable. That he had been shot, that they were trying to revive him and then they were unable to. Instead of getting ready for Christmas, we were talking to the police and calling funeral homes."

Police have asked that anyone who may have been near the Wayne Avenue Garage and the downtown area of Georgia Avenue and Ellsworth Street on Dec. 21, between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., to contact the department.

During the pandemic, Reynolds used his computer skills to help their church conduct Zoom worship services, his wife recalled. He also helped maintain the neighborhood pool and volunteered with CHEER, a community organization assisting children at risk.

"His death is a loss," Hastings said in 2023. "Not just for my family, my extended family, but for the larger community. We'd really like to see someone come forward and resolve this. Obviously, nothing's gonna bring him back, but we're hoping that getting the person who did it or persons would at least make the community feel a little bit safer again."