Prosecutors say he waived his right to appeal the sentence.
Frederick, Md (KM). A stiff sentence was handed down on Wednesday to a Frederick man for a homicide. Milton Arnoldo Orellana, 26, was given 70 years for 1st-degree rape, and 30-years for 2nd-degree murder. Both sentences will be served concurrently (at the same time) as a 30-year sentence he’s currently serving for attempted murder.
“We were happy, for the lack of a better way of putting it, that he’s going to be going to jail for 70 years. A substantial amount of time,,” says State’s Attorney Charlie Smith, commenting on the sentence.
Orellana pleaded guilty on May 17th, 2019 to the 2nd-degree murder and 1st-degree rape charges in connection with the death of Gloria Watson in 2015.
Police were called to Watson’s home on June 3rd, 2015, after her son and grandson found her deceased in the apartment on Heather Ridge Drive. . Family members had become concerned because they had not seen for several days. Smith says there were substantial injuries to Watson’s body and some her jewelry and other items were missing.
The State Medical Examiner’s ruled the cause of death a homicide, and there was evidence of sexual assault.
DNA evidence was recovered at the scene, but it did not match any unsolved crime being investigated by the Frederick Police Department. The victim in another case identified her assailant as an Hispanic male, and Watson had a number of Hispanic friends, but their DNA did not match the suspect.
One of the Hispanic friends identified another man who knew Watson and visited her often. That was Milton Orellana. Police interviewed him, and he admitted he visited the victim and last saw her on May 31st, 2015. He claimed they were just friends and there was no sexual contact. Orelllana provided a DNA sample, which matched that the suspect.
During a transcript of his interview with police, the State’s Attorney’s Office says Orellana admitted he argued with Gloria Watson about money. He also said Watson pushed him, and he fell on top of things and into the wall. Orellana says he did not know why he killed her because he lost consciousness, according to prosecutors.
Smith says Orellana gave up his right to appeal his sentence. “One of the big things for us was that’s an agreed sentence. He waived his right to appeal; waived his right to modify his sentence. We know that this sentence is going to the sentence that he serves no matter what, and the family was obviously very pleased with that,” says Smith.
By Kevin McManus