Suspect in Md. woman’s slaying previously charged with fraud
By Freeman Klopott
Examiner Staff Writer 12/3/08
On Nov. 26, Jose Alvarado, his wife, Ana Lilian Rodas, and his cousin Ramon Alvarado allegedly beat Lila Meizell to death in her home, then spread gasoline on her body and lighted a match, Montgomery County police said in court documents.
Jose Alvarado, 37, had done yard work for Meizell, and she paid him for the labor with a $75 check on Nov. 19. But before cashing it, authorities said, Alvarado added two zeroes and withdrew the $7,500 from his account as soon as the check cleared.
This isn’t the first time Alvarado has been accused of using checks to steal.
Last year, he was charged with passing a bad check valued at more than $500 to a Montgomery County business. But those charges were dropped in March after Alvarado paid the business back, said Montgomery County state’s attorney spokesman Seth Zucker.
After defrauding Meizell, police said in court documents, Alvarado met with Rodas, 32, and Ramon Alvarado, 32, and told them what he’d done. Ramon Alvarado responded with an offer to kill Meizell for $1,200, and Rodas suggested they burn down Meizell’s house, on the 10500 block of Inwood Avenue, to hide the evidence, prosecutors said.
On Thanksgiving Eve, the three drove a Dodge minivan to Wheaton and parked it down the street from Meizell’s house. Meizell was on the phone with a friend when Jose Alvarado knocked on the door and asked for $43 that Meizell owed him from another landscaping job.
After she handed him a check, Ramon Alvarado grabbed her throat and, he later admitted to police, “slammed Meizell’s head into various pieces of furniture,” court records said. When Ramon Alvarado lighted the match, he also ignited his own legs and arms.
Meizell asked her friend to stay on the phone while she wrote the check, telling him she was concerned about her landscaper. When he lost the connection, the friend had his son call police.
Prosecutors said Rodas and the Alvarados confessed. All three are being held without bail.
4 Comments
Reader Comments:
POSTED Dec 3, 2008
Mark D. Fennel: "I read that all 3 were illegal aliens, and day-laborers. Tragic, indeed. We have a bunch of folks to thank for this one. 1.) Ike Leggett for pandering to socio-ethnic interests in Politically Correct monkey county; 2.) Casa of Maryland and the $1.5 million they took from Venezuala who just had military maneuvers with Russia, often threatens to cut off our oil & recently expelled our Ambassador. 3.) Chief of Police Manager who feels Illegal Aliens should be called undocumented workers, similar to calling a crack cocaine dealer an undocumented pharmacist. 4.) President Bush for keeping open borders to put in place his father's "New World Order." When the last American leaves the People's Republic of Monkey County, don't forget to take the flag! Mark D. Fennel was the Republican Nominee in the recent May 13 special election for county council"POSTED Dec 3, 2008
Mark D. Fennel: "Did I mention that not 1 member of the Montomgery County Council favors 287 (g) training for police so they can apprehend illegal aliens. Sickening. They are all scared to death of socio-ethnic interests in the county, it's a wonder they're not cowering under their covers."POSTED Dec 3, 2008
Thomas Hardman: "I have read that these alleged conspirators to first-degree murder were Illegal Aliens, but I cannot find a reputable source to cite. I should mention that I have run for State Delegate (district 19) and for Council District 4, and always was straightforward in my position of "no sanctuary policy" for illegal aliens. I ran for the State position including a policy of "no driver permits for illegal aliens" and as a candidate for County Council, I said that I wouldn't vote to spend a cent for CASA de Maryland, a notoriously anti-law-enforcement and pro-illegal-alien special-interest group and political action committee. I have been saying for years that this would be the end result of this liberal policy of sanctuary for illegal aliens: a crime wave of criminal aliens seriously harming an increasing number of citizens. But not even I thought they'd stoop to burning little old ladies alive."POSTED Dec 3, 2008
Mark D. Fennel: "On the heels of a Blair High School honor student gunned down by an illegal alien MS-13 member, this is almost to much to bear. Hardman, I've met you. . .you're a good man, and patriot. Hardman -- I'll vote for you every time. Mark D. Fennel"