The prosecution now includes a firearm count as court proceedings continue in the September death of 63-year-old Michael Roy Bushnell.
FREDERICK, Md. — A grand jury has moved the prosecution of an 87-year-old Frederick man into Circuit Court, indicting Irwin Joseph Dickstein on first-degree murder and a firearm charge in the death of his roommate, Michael Roy Bushnell, after a case that police say first came to their attention through an alleged confession to a pastor.
The indictment, reported in early October, is the most significant publicly verified development since Dickstein’s arrest following the Sept. 20 killing. He had initially been charged with first- and second-degree murder after officers found Bushnell, 63, dead inside the men’s home on Franklin Street. The grand jury later accused Dickstein of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony or crime of violence. Those allegations remain unproven, and Dickstein is entitled to the presumption of innocence throughout the case.
Before the indictment, the criminal case had already raised a separate question about whether Dickstein was competent to participate in court proceedings. Reports said he was ordered to undergo an inpatient competency examination and that a hearing was scheduled for Oct. 13. Competency concerns a defendant’s present ability to understand the court process and assist counsel, rather than whether the person committed the charged offense. No reliable public report located for this article confirms the result of that scheduled hearing, making it inappropriate to state that Dickstein was either found competent or incompetent.
The grand jury action grew out of an investigation that began several weeks earlier with information passed from the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office to Frederick police. According to the police department, deputies notified city officers that Dickstein had reportedly told a witness that he shot his roommate. Police said he also provided the location where the alleged shooting had occurred. Officers went to the unit block of Franklin Street to check on the resident there, found the home unsecured and entered. Bushnell was found dead inside and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Publicly reported charging documents add a striking detail to the investigation: The witness who prompted law enforcement involvement was a church pastor. Dickstein allegedly went to Frederick Christian Fellowship later on the morning of Sept. 20 and said that he had killed someone. The pastor contacted authorities. Rather than remaining a private disclosure within the church, the statement quickly became the starting point for a police response that led officers to Bushnell’s home and eventually to Dickstein, who was arrested at another location without incident.
A second witness helped investigators trace what Dickstein allegedly did after leaving the Franklin Street residence. The man who drove him to the church told authorities that Dickstein said he needed to speak with a pastor, according to reports based on the charging papers. The driver also said Dickstein had placed a case in his vehicle. Investigators obtained a search warrant and recovered a Beretta handgun from the case. Publicly available reporting does not establish that forensic testing has conclusively identified that handgun as the weapon that caused Bushnell’s death, so the recovery should not be treated as a proven ballistic match.
The events before the alleged confession were reconstructed in part through a neighbor. Court records described by local outlets say Bushnell had been trying to repair an electrical outlet at the house and had shut off the power. The neighbor said that action upset Dickstein and that the roommates argued. Several loud bangs were then heard from the home at about 5:30 a.m., according to the account given to investigators. Police have not publicly released a complete minute-by-minute chronology of the shooting, and the reported argument remains an allegation in the prosecution’s narrative rather than a judicial finding.
Reports based on charging documents say Bushnell was found in an upstairs bathroom. WBAL-TV reported that investigators alleged he had been shot multiple times. That detail provides context for why prosecutors are pursuing a homicide case involving a firearm, but authorities have released only limited forensic information publicly. There is no publicly verified autopsy report in the source material reviewed for this article, and police have not released a full description of the physical evidence recovered inside the residence.
Dickstein allegedly made additional statements after his arrest. According to reports describing the probable cause affidavit, he told investigators that Bushnell was the person he had killed and confirmed that Bushnell was inside the Franklin Street residence. He then stopped the interview and requested a lawyer. That request ended the reported questioning. The fact that a defendant invokes the right to counsel cannot properly be treated as evidence of guilt, and prosecutors would still need to establish the admissibility and weight of any earlier statements if the case proceeds toward trial.
First-degree murder is the most serious homicide allegation in the case, but the grand jury’s decision does not amount to a conviction. An indictment is a formal accusation that allows prosecutors to move forward with a felony case. The newly reported firearm count also does not establish that the recovered weapon was used in the killing; prosecutors bear the burden of proving each element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. The charging shift is nevertheless important because it defines the accusations Dickstein now faces in the Circuit Court process.
Bushnell’s death was initially described by Frederick police as part of an isolated incident, and the department said there was no ongoing danger to the surrounding community. Police identified Bushnell as a 63-year-old Frederick resident and Dickstein as his 87-year-old roommate. The department asked anyone with information to contact investigators and said it was withholding further details to protect the integrity of the continuing investigation. That limited disclosure left many of the specifics to emerge later through charging papers and local court reporting.
The electrical repair has attracted attention because it appears, from the neighbor’s account, to have been the immediate subject of friction inside the home. But investigators and prosecutors have not publicly established that the outlet dispute was the sole motive for the killing or explained whether there had been other conflicts between the men. Treating the repair disagreement as a proven motive would go beyond the available evidence. At this stage, it is more accurately described as part of the sequence a witness reported to police before the fatal shooting.
The alleged church confession also has unusual evidentiary significance, although the available public record does not resolve every question about how statements made at the church may be handled in court. What is clear from police and court reporting is that the pastor’s report led authorities to act, while the driver’s account supplied additional information about Dickstein’s statements and the location of the handgun. Prosecutors may ultimately rely on some, all or none of those statements depending on later rulings and the evidence presented in court.
The grand jury indictment leaves prosecutors with two formal accusations to prove: first-degree murder and use of a firearm in a felony or crime of violence. What remains less clear publicly is the procedural timetable ahead. Reliable reports reviewed through Nov. 8 do not identify a final competency ruling, a trial date or another confirmed hearing, leaving the case pending without a publicly verified next courtroom milestone.
Author note: Last updated November 8, 2026.