Laura Greenback, The Examiner
2006-08-28 09:00:00.0
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Columbia -

Howard County Police said the man who was found dead in front of a Columbia home Sunday morning was shot to death.

Sierra Villas Condominium resident Rene Torregrossa said he found the body right outside his door on Crystal Run at about 7:30 a.m.

“I saw the body. I thought he was drunk. I hollered at him, he didn’t say anything,” Torregrossa said.

Torregrossa said his wife heard noises outside the night before, and another neighbor said she heard five gunshots between 3 and 4 a.m.

“I heard shots last night. I didn’t know if it was a gun or someone’s TV,” said Mary Alice Glass, whose back yard backs up to the block where the body was found.

“It was a series of shots — bum, bum, bum, bum, bum,” Glass said.

Police said they are examining other areas in addition to the spot where the body was found — the 11200 block of Crystal Run, a road in the Sierra Villa community. Police did not release the man’s identity Sunday evening.

“We are making determinations about where he was shot and how he made it to the location where he died,” said Cpl. David Proulx.

Proulx said the department will release more information today.

“We’re trying to find out what took place and who is responsible for this, so we can identify the person and make an arrest,” Proulx said.

One neighbor said that she was surprised to hear about violent crime occurring on her street.

“I was shocked. This is a great neighborhood. It’s very quiet. How in the world did that happen?” said Mary Vanorder, who lives on the block where the body was found.

However, Glass said crime does occur there. Drug dealers sometimes pass through to use their parking lot, and a hate-related message was spray-painted onto the lot earlier this month, she said.

lgreenback@baltimoreexaminer.com