Police Make Arrest In December Hit-and-Run Death in Gaithersburg

Montgomery County police have made an arrest in connection to a Dec. 5 vehicle-related homicide in Gaithersburg, according to a news release.

Fernando Josue Valenzuela, 20, of the unit block of Valley Park Court in Damascus, was arrested and charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder, police said.

Valenzuela is suspected of killing Billie Jay Genies, 34, of the 12600 block of Tobytown Drive in Potomac, after Valenzuela ran the victim down with his car near 211 W. Diamond Avenue, police said. Valenzuela also targeted Genies' brother, now 35-year-old James R. Genies, also of the 12600 block of Tobytown Drive, police said.

James Genies reported to officers that he and his brother were given a ride by subjects in a black Honda Civic earlier in the morning, police said. They exited the vehicle near the Gaitherstowne Plaza at Frederick Avenue (MD 355) and Odendhal Avenue. As the two victims were walking west on W. Diamond Avenue, they were struck by a black Honda Civic. James Genies told police that he believed it was the same vehicle that he had been riding in a few minutes earlier.

Police said they believe a dispute occurred between the brothers and the driver as the Genies were exiting the vehicle. Following the dispute, police said, the driver drove around Gaithersburg looking for the brothers, and upon finding them, intentionally struck them before fleeing the scene and abandoning the car.

Valenzuela is currently being held without bond in Montgomery County jail. He is awaiting a 1 p.m. bond review today.