Montgomery County police arrested 21-year-old Shayan Solimani Damabi in Gaithersburg on Thursday, Sept. 17, four days after Nicholas Njuki, 33, was fatally shot following an altercation at a Rockville sports bar.
ROCKVILLE, MD — A 21-year-old Gaithersburg man wanted on a first-degree murder charge in the fatal shooting of 33-year-old Nicholas Njuki was taken into custody Thursday after officers intercepted him as he left a Gaithersburg motel, Montgomery County police said.
Shayan Solimani Damabi was arrested Sept. 17 by Montgomery County Department of Police officers assigned to the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force. Police said he was taken into custody without incident.
The arrest came four days after Njuki was shot and killed following an altercation that investigators said began inside a Rockville sports bar, Quincy’s Potomac Bar & Grille during a UFC viewing event.
Altercation at Rockville bar preceded fatal shooting
According to the Montgomery County Department of Police, Njuki and Solimani Damabi were involved in an altercation inside the restaurant on Sept. 13.
After leaving the business, Njuki and another person encountered Solimani Damabi, who was sitting in a separate vehicle, police said. Njuki got out of the vehicle in which he had been riding and approached Solimani Damabi’s car.
Police allege Solimani Damabi then shot Njuki.
Njuki was pronounced dead at the scene.
The killing became the focus of a Montgomery County Major Crimes Division homicide investigation as detectives began reviewing surveillance footage from the area.
Investigators subsequently identified Solimani Damabi as the alleged shooter and obtained an arrest warrant charging him with first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime, according to the Montgomery County Department of Police.
Fugitive officers locate suspect in Gaithersburg
Police did not disclose how investigators located Solimani Damabi at the motel or identify the motel where the arrest occurred.
Officers assigned to the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force moved in after Solimani Damabi left the property Thursday, police said. He was arrested without incident and transported to the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit.
The arrest ended a four-day search stemming from the Rockville homicide and moved the case into the county court system.
Solimani Damabi remained at the processing unit awaiting a bond hearing as of the department’s Thursday announcement.
Murder charge carries potential life sentence
Under Maryland law, first-degree murder includes a deliberate, premeditated and willful killing. A conviction carries a sentence of life imprisonment or, when statutory requirements are met, life without the possibility of parole, according to Maryland Criminal Law §2-201.
The separate firearm charge also carries significant potential prison time. Maryland law provides a sentence of five to 20 years for using a firearm in the commission of a felony or crime of violence, in addition to the punishment imposed for the underlying offense.
The allegations remain accusations, and Solimani Damabi has not been convicted of the charges.
The case adds to ongoing crime and homicide investigations handled by Montgomery County’s Major Crimes Division, which investigates fatal shootings and other suspicious deaths across the county.