Crime & Safety

Solomatin Acquitted of Attempted Murder

Three-day trial stemmed from argument over a gas pump that ended in gunfire.

A jury found Dmytro Solomatin not guilty of second-degree attempted
murder but guilty of first-degree assault and two misdemeanor weapons offenses.

The jury delivered its verdict in Montgomery County Circuit Court on Thursday. The three-day trial stems from an argument over a gas pump at Freestate gas station in Germantown on Aug. 6, which escalated into a fistfight and ended in gunfire.

According to his own testimony, Solomatin, 26, of Reston, Va., fired a 9 mm gun in the direction of Michael Rickley, the man he fought. No one was shot. The bullet struck the tire of Rickley’s Volkswagen Rabbit.

Judge Ronald Rubin released Solomatin on his own recognizance Thursday pending a sentencing hearing.

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Defense attorney Scott Rolle said he was satisfied with the not guilty verdict and said there wasn’t enough evidence to show Solomatin intended to kill Rickley. Assistant state's attorneys Eric Nee and Douglas Wink maintained Rickley used more force than necessary by firing the shot.

A first-degree assault conviction can carry a sentence of 25 years, according to Maryland law.

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In Solomatin’s case, the conviction of transporting a handgun would carry a mandatory sentence of at least five years. Use of a handgun in a commission of a felony also carries a mandatory sentence of at least five years, the law states.


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