Police release descriptions of 2 men sought in investigation of teen’s death

WINCHESTER — Police have released detailed descriptions of two individuals and their possible getaway car as part of an investigation into the shooting death of a Frederick County teen.

Rhett Goldizen — a 17-year-old James Wood High School student — was killed in the early morning hours of Oct. 18 after an alleged exchange of gunfire between his father, Steve Goldizen, and two unknown men at his home.

According to a Frederick County Sheriff’s Office media release at the time, Goldizen reported having an altercation with two men at his front door just after midnight in the 200 block of Monastery Ridge Road, near Jordan Springs.

Capt. Allen Sibert previously said that Goldizen told police that he heard his doorbell ring, and because of the hour, he went to the door armed.

Goldizen was allegedly met by two men — who he told police he had never seen before — who claimed they had a problem with their car.

It was then that Goldizen allegedly saw that one of the men was armed with a shotgun, and there was an exchange of gunfire.

The homeowner told deputies that the armed subject fired his weapon, and that he fired his as well, according to a previous release.

Goldizen said he then realized that his son had been fatally wounded and called 911.

The teen died at the scene, Sibert said.

On Friday, the Sheriff’s Office released descriptions of the alleged perpetrators, along with a description of their vehicle.

One of the men is described as white, in his early to mid-20s, standing 5 feet 8 inches or shorter with a medium build. He is reported to have a full beard and moustache and was allegedly seen wearing a camouflage baseball hat, a brown camouflage waist-length jacket and dark work boots.

The other man believed to be involved in the crime is described as a white male with a thin nose in his early to mid-20s, standing about 6 feet tall.

His outer garment, which was full or partial camouflage, was open and showed another garment underneath that was dark in color and could have been a sweater. The man allegedly wore jeans and dark Timberland-style work boots.

The man reportedly had brown to black hair that lay over his ears, a sparse beard, and wore a dark toboggan-style hat, according to Friday’s press release.

Goldizen detected no odor of cigarettes or alcohol on either man, nor an accent or speech impediment, according to the release.

The vehicle that the men allegedly fled in is described as an SUV with big “mud-type” tires. The back of the vehicle was more rounded than squared with long, thin taillights, according to Friday’s release.

It still is unclear if Rhett Goldizen was inside or outside the home when he was shot. It also remains unclear who fired the fatal shot.

Sibert stated that investigators previously believed that somebody in the Goldizen family was targeted.

Steve Goldizen was employed as a deputy and later as an investigator for the Warren County Sheriff’s Office from August 1990 to July 2011, when he retired, according to a spokesperson at that office.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Investigator K.C. Bohrer at the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office at 540-662-6168 or Crime Solvers at 540-665-8477.

— Contact Rebecca Layne at rlayne@winchesterstar.com