Case Acquitted: Vehicle Found Burned Days After Shooting, Prosecutor Says

By Natalie Tarby [former] - October 27, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

This case was acquitted on Nov. 9, 2022.

The Prince George County Police Department told a lead detective in a murder case that officers found the vehicle from a “be on the lookout” (BOLO) flier burned in an abandoned area. 

Mike Bidgell, 26, is charged with second-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm in connection to the June 6, 2020, shooting of 18-year-old Marquis Harrod on the 1300 block of Brentwood Road, NE. 

The Charles County Sheriff’s Office obtained a signed arrest warrant and Bidgell was arrested on June 17, 2020, in Maryland. 

The prosecution’s first witness on Oct. 26 was Harrod’s mother. She told the jury she was preparing for her birthday party when she received a call from her sister notifying her that her son had been shot. When she arrived at the scene of the shooting, medics were still working on Harrod, she said. 

Surveillance footage of the shooting showed Harrod exited a liquor store. He was approached by a car Bidgell had allegedly gotten into. As people began to flee in various directions, Harrod was observed lying face down on the street after the car had driven away. 

The detective sent out a department-wide BOLO for the defendant. Another officer with the MPD recognized Bidgell from his old patrol in the Clay Terrace area. He said he had multiple interactions with the defendant. 

The officer gave the detective Bidgell’s Instagram handle to compare the photos from the BOLO to those on the account. Bidgell was seen wearing some of the same clothing and accessories on his Instagram posts as he was in the surveillance footage from the convenience store. 

The detective also issued a second BOLO for the black two-door Honda Accord Bidgell was allegedly seen driving in the surveillance video. The car was found burned on June 8, 2020, in an abandoned area in Maryland. According to the detective, the fire started just hours after the shooting. 

The owner of the black two-door Honda Accord had Bidgell in her phone listed as ‘’Fav. cuz’’. They excluded the owner of the vehicle as a possible suspect because she was out of town at the time the shooting took place. Her phone was confiscated by the police. 

The prosecution also showed the jury records of deleted messages and emails between Bidgell and the owner of the car that were unrecoverable. 

DC Superior Court Judge Milton Lee scheduled the trial to continue on Oct. 27.