CINCINNATI – A complaint from Baltimore police outlines their case against the man a Glendale police officer shot on the side of I-75 Tuesday.
Police in Maryland have charged Javier Pablo Aleman with murder in the death of Victor Adolfo Castillo Serrano.
Serrano was Aleman’s landlord for several months, according to the complaint. Serrano rented out several rooms in the home, but Aleman had moved out a few weeks before Serrano’s death March 17.
Just received the Maryland warrant for Javier Aleman. Police are accusing him of stabbing and killing his landlord in Dundalk, MD. @WCPO
— T.J. Parker (@TJParkerWCPO) March 30, 2016
Police responded to a 911 call that afternoon and found Serrano lying on his back at the bottom of a staircase in the home suffering from multiple stab wounds. He was pronounced dead by a medic within minutes of their arrival.
Investigators found that Aleman, also known as “Cubano,” had visited Serrano’s workplace earlier that day, saying he needed to retrieve some of his items from the property.
That visit was caught on surveillance video, according to Detective Donald Anderson. In the complaint, Anderson wrote that investigators found several pieces of clothing at the scene which were “identical” to those Aleman was seen wearing, including a pair of sweatpants found in a trashcan behind the house, a pullover and a puffy black jacket which was under Serrano’s bed and had cuts in it matching the injury placement on Serrano.
Police haven’t yet said what happened to Aleman between then and Tuesday, when Glendale Police Officer Josh Hilling saw him walking illegally along the side of I-75 near Cincinnati and offered him a ride. Officials said that Hilling had no idea Aleman was a suspect in the Maryland case when he stopped.
That offer led to a confrontation. Police Chief Dave Warman said officers need to check any bags before they bring them in a police cruiser.
Police said Aleman had a large knife – whether it’s the same knife used to kill Serrano remains to be seen – and Hilling shot Aleman one time.
Either way, Warman said Hilling went by the book and followed procedure.
Aleman was treated at University of Cincinnati Medical Center while police investigated the scene.
Baltimore police said they were working to extradite Aleman back to Maryland.
Warman said the investigation was ongoing, and Hilling was on leave in the meantime. He said he expected Hilling would be back at work next week.
