An 18-year-old man was shot and killed in a Gaithersburg residential neighborhood as he sought to sell a jacket, Montgomery County police said in a news release Tuesday.

Taeyon Malachi Prather was found dead on the evening of Jan. 2. On Monday, authorities arrested Wisdom Da-Silva Baptista, 16, of Gaithersburg, and Kevin Jesus Perez Fierro, 20, of Montgomery Village. The pair have been charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery, according to the news release.

Investigators said that Prather was in a parking lot at the 23600 block of Rolling Fork Way to sell a jacket. He was shot while conducting the transaction. The jacket and other personal items were stolen from him.

Authorities on Jan. 5 received a tip that led them to Da-Silva Baptista, and their investigation also linked Perez Fierro to the shooting. Both are being held at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit in Rockville while they await bond hearings.

A GoFundMe page for the Prather family has raised more than $11,000 as of Tuesday morning. Prather is survived by his mother, Ranesha, and younger brother, Julian, according to the fundraiser. He had graduated from high school and was working two jobs, organizers said.

Prather’s killing is the first reported homicide of the new year in Montgomery County. The suburban county saw a 20% rise in homicides in 2025, from 20 to 24. The total number of homicides from last year could still be revised as ongoing investigations evolve.