A Carroll County jury convicted Hanover, Pennsylvania, pool company owner Austin Potocki, 31, of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder on Thursday. The case centered on a Dec. 13, 2024, ambush-style shooting at the intersection of Wesley Road and Patapsco Road near Finksburg that left 33-year-old Benjamin Billings dead and David Anderson wounded. Potocki remains jailed and is set to return to Carroll Circuit Court for sentencing.
Jurors reached their guilty verdicts after a multi-day trial. The judge then ordered a pre-sentence investigation to help shape the punishment that will eventually be handed down, according to The Evening Sun.
Ambush, Evidence and Arrest
Deputies responding around 7:44 a.m. on Dec. 13 found a white Chevrolet Silverado stopped at Wesley Road and Patapsco Road, with Billings pronounced dead at the scene and Anderson taken to Sinai Hospital with a gunshot wound to his left arm, according to the Carroll County Sheriff's Office. Investigators said multiple rounds were fired from an AR-style rifle and that no shell casings were recovered at the intersection, leading them to conclude a device had been used to catch the casings.
Searches of Potocki's residence in Hanover and associated storage units later turned up .223-caliber ammunition and discarded casings, authorities said. Investigators also reported recovering AR-style rifles before Potocki was arrested in Pennsylvania later that month.
Charges, Motive and Court Records
Potocki was indicted in January 2025 on counts that included first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, according to Maryland court records. Prosecutors told jurors the ambush grew out of a business dispute involving a loan and an April 2024 contract that assigned pool work and credits between companies. Case filings show those commercial dealings were central to the state's theory at trial, according to Maryland Courts.
Legal Consequences
Under Maryland law, a first-degree murder conviction can carry life imprisonment with or without the possibility of parole, and the court may hold a separate proceeding to decide whether life without parole is appropriate, per Maryland law. The pre-sentence investigation ordered by the judge will factor into that decision and guide the court's ultimate sentence.
No sentencing date has been set. The court plans to schedule sentencing after the pre-sentence report is complete, and Carroll County authorities say the investigation remains active as prosecutors prepare for the next steps in the case.
