A 28-year-old Middle River man has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and gun use in a felony crime of violence for fatally shooting a Glen Burnie homeowner during a nighttime robbery more than four years ago. Andre Riggs admitted his role in the August 2022 killing of 27-year-old Matthew Ponder, whose death touched off a lengthy investigation that stretched across county lines before detectives tracked him down.
Anne Arundel County Police officers and paramedics responded to a reported shooting at a home in the 400 block of M Street Northeast in Glen Burnie around 2:25 a.m. on August 31, 2022, according to WBFF. Authorities located Ponder inside the home suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Emergency responders arrived at the residential row-home street and attempted lifesaving measures before pronouncing him dead, per Eye On Annapolis. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore performed Ponder's autopsy and ruled his death a homicide by gunfire.
On the morning of the shooting, Anne Arundel County Police Homicide Unit detectives determined the attack appeared targeted and publicly assured residents there was no ongoing threat to safety, according to CBS News. Investigators identified two potential suspects and reviewed video surveillance from the home and nearby locations, per the station's report. Additional video showed the two suspects approaching the home's rear door wearing hooded sweatshirts, and surveillance footage captured them arriving and parking in a vehicle on a parallel street near the house.
How Detectives Zeroed In On Riggs
The suspects covered the rear camera with a plastic bag before robbing Ponder and an adult woman inside the home, taking numerous items including older and collectible currency, the outlet's report notes. Digital evidence eventually placed Riggs in close proximity to the home at the time of the crime, and investigators found he had searched for Ponder's address before the murder and later searched for the value of a 1950 ten-dollar bill after it. State's Attorney Anne Leitess said digital evidence played a critical role in identifying Riggs, and she said he came to the home armed with a gun to steal valuables in the middle of the night.
Members of the Anne Arundel County Police Fugitive Apprehension Team arrested Riggs in Baltimore County on November 16, 2023, more than 14 months after the fatal shooting, according to a statement from the Anne Arundel County Government. He was initially charged in a multi-count indictment that included first-degree murder, second-degree murder, home invasion, burglary, and first-degree assault. At the time of his arrest, police noted the homicide investigation remained active as detectives worked to identify the second suspect involved in the break-in, whose vehicle the pair reportedly used together to flee the scene.
Prosecution and Upcoming Sentencing
Assistant State's Attorney Kelly Poma prosecuted the case against Riggs on behalf of the citizens of Anne Arundel County, according to the county's State's Attorney's Office. Riggs is scheduled to be sentenced on November 19, 2026, before Circuit Court Judge Robert Thompson, who was appointed to the Anne Arundel County bench by former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.
Under Maryland Criminal Law Code § 2-201, a first-degree murder conviction carries a statutory penalty of life imprisonment, with or without the possibility of parole, according to FrizWoods. Separately, Maryland Criminal Law Article § 4-204 imposes a mandatory minimum of five years in prison without parole for using a firearm in a felony or crime of violence, a sentence that must run consecutive to the underlying felony term.
A Violent Year in Anne Arundel County
Ponder's killing came during a year when gun violence weighed heavily on the county. In 2022, Anne Arundel County recorded 13 gun homicides and more than 650 gun-related crimes, according to data compiled by Cure Violence Global. The identity and prosecution status of the second suspect seen fleeing with Riggs on surveillance footage remains an open question in the case.
