By Dan Morse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 10, 2008

The 27-year-old daughter of a Salvadoran shopkeeper slain last month in Silver Spring pleaded yesterday for the public's help solving the case, stressing that potential witnesses shouldn't fear speaking to the police.

Jenny Villatoro, whose father was shot in an attempted robbery, emphasized that Montgomery County police do not ask about the immigration status of witnesses or victims.

She said her father, Jorge Villatoro, 50, befriended the Latino immigrants who shopped at the store, called Variedades Jenny. Many customers used the store's wire transfer service to send cash home, she said.

The two assailants are described as Latino men in their mid-30s.

"There's no words to explain how devastating this has been to all of us," she said, speaking after a news conference in which officials announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Police in Montgomery and elsewhere have expressed concern that cracking down on illegal immigration might lead to a reluctance among potential witnesses to cooperate with police.

After the news conference, Capt. Patricia Walker, director of Montgomery's major crimes division, said, "What's important for us is we build a sense of trust, a sense of communication, so that when something happens to your community or to your family . . . you trust us enough to know that your immigration status isn't going to come into play."

About two years ago, Jenny Villatoro helped her father buy a small store on University Boulevard East near the Prince George's County line. The family members all were legal residents, she said.

Police said one suspect in the May 27 slaying wore an oversize black or brown trench coat and was armed with a shotgun. He is described as 5 feet 8 inches tall and 140 pounds, with medium-length hair and a gold front tooth, according to the police.

The second suspect was about 180 pounds and had bushy black hair, a full mustache and scruffy stubble, police said. He was wearing a black baseball cap with a brim that had a green underside, wraparound sunglasses, a waist-length camouflage jacket, jeans and black Timberland-style boots, police said.

They fled by carjacking a nearby Comcast bucket truck, according to the police.

"We believe that this was an attempted robbery," Walker said. "But for some reason the subjects responsible just decided to shoot."

Police have asked that anyone with information call 866-803-2337.