Crime Scene: December 6, 2009 - December 12, 2009
Police identify man found dead in Fairfax lake
The man whose body was found in Lake Barcroft in late November was a 24-year-old Falls Church man, Fairfax County police said today. Police named the man as Mario Enrique Sandoval Soto, of the 6000 block of Knollwood Dr., according...
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December 11, 2009; 4:50 PM ET |
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Mother to face sentencing in daughter's death
A Prince William County judge Friday ruled that a woman who left her adopted 13-year-old daughter for dead in a frigid creek is not mentally incompetent and can be sentenced for the crime. Alfreedia L. Gregg-Glover, 45, has pleaded guilty...
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Maria Glod
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December 11, 2009; 4:25 PM ET |
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Hit and run, stolen car feature in Loudoun chases, police say
A police chase that started in Clarke County ended in Loudoun on Thursday afternoon with a Gainesville man accused of felony hit and run, among other charges. Michael J. Star, 51, is being held without bond at the Loudoun County...
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December 11, 2009; 11:11 AM ET |
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Double murder suspect testifies as trial nears end
In a surprise move, the man accused of fatally stabbing two men and wounding a young woman in an upper-middle class neighborhood near Upper Marlboro testified on his own behalf Thursday. He denied committing the crimes. The prosecution has no...
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Ruben Castaneda
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December 11, 2009; 8:30 AM ET |
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Crime hits area Goodwill store, Habitat for Humanity office
Some bad things appear to have happened to some people doing good things in Maryland, where police have recently reported robberies at a Goodwill store in Gaithersburg and a burglary at the Habitat for Humanity in Lexington Park....
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Washington Post Editors
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December 11, 2009; 7:10 AM ET |
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Sex offender, 100, prepares for freedom in New York
From the Associated Press: Everything that pedophile Theodore Sypnier has to show for his 100 years on Earth is packed in a single duffel bag as he prepares to begin a new chapter in life: freedom. It's a chapter that...
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December 10, 2009; 4:04 PM ET |
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Pr. George's firefighters recognized for service
Prince George's County Fire Chief Eugene A. Jones presented Emergency Services Awards to 49 volunteer and professional firefighters Wednesday night, recognizing their service in three incidents from 2009....
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December 10, 2009; 3:04 PM ET |
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Md. state trooper convicted of theft, misconduct
From the Associated Press: A Maryland state trooper who had been had been assigned to the Forestville barrack has been convicted of double-dipping by working private security jobs while on the clock. Attorney General Douglas Gansler announced Thursday that 36-year-old...
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December 10, 2009; 2:48 PM ET |
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Washington women to toast D.C. Chief Lanier tonight
In December 2008, a group of well-connected Washington businesswomen held a reception for the city's first female police chief, Cathy L. Lanier, who had been in the job for nearly a year. Lanier shared her ideas with the all-female crowd...
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Theola Labbé-DeBose
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December 10, 2009; 1:47 PM ET |
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Teen girl repels man with punch, police say
A 15-year-old Montgomery County girl touched by a man inappropriately as she was walking two dogs Wednesday evening chased him off with a punch and a shout, authorities said Thursday. The suspect was last seen in a dark-colored compact car...
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December 10, 2009; 1:22 PM ET |
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Raw video: Fatal Mo. shoot-out caught on dash cam
From the Associated Press: A dashboard camera recorded a shoot-out between a suspect and two police officers in Kansas City, Missouri, in which the suspect was killed in September. On Wednesday, the officers were cleared of any wrongdoing....
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December 10, 2009; 1:20 PM ET |
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A detective's fruitless investigation of Salahi theft claim
The more we learn about Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the couple whose appearance at President Obama's first state dinner turned into a national news event, the more we hear about people who've had contact with them -- and the results....
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December 10, 2009; 11:12 AM ET |
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Police investigating armed robberies at Pr. George's ATMs
Police in Prince George’s County are searching for a group of suspects they say are staking out drive-through ATMs and robbing the people who withdraw money from them. Investigators are exploring several such incidents over the last few months, many...
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Matt Zapotosky
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December 10, 2009; 11:01 AM ET |
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One man suspected in eight Potomac burglaries
In one heist, he made off with more than $100,000 in jewelry from a home. He strikes during weekdays, and appears to avoid confrontation. Montgomery County detectives said as many as eight recent home burglaries in the Potomac area may...
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Dan Morse
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December 10, 2009; 10:44 AM ET |
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Fla. woman assails boyfriend with raw meat, police say
In the latest news out of Florida, a woman has been charged with abuse of a disabled adult because she allegedly hit her boyfriend repeatedly with an uncooked piece of meat: The unnamed victim told police Egan repeatedly hit him...
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December 10, 2009; 8:27 AM ET |
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An invitation to make cookies for cops
If you make mouthwatering chocolate chip cookies or oatmeal crisps, the Maryland chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving wants your help. As part of its annual "Cookies for Cops" campaign, MADD delivers tins of homemade treats to police officers around...
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Maria Glod
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December 10, 2009; 8:05 AM ET |
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Man accused of killing Md. inmate pleads guilty to lesser charges
From the Associated Press: The last of three men charged with murdering a fellow state prison inmate from Prince George's County has pleaded guilty to reduced charges in Hagerstown. Thirty-year-old Chad Cirigliano pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to commit second-degree...
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December 9, 2009; 5:12 PM ET |
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Md. man wanted in burning attack caught in Arkansas
A Frederick man wanted for allegedly dousing a man with gasoline and setting him on fire was caught by police on Wednesday in Little Rock, Ark., authorities said. Joshua J. Mashburn, 26, was wanted by the Frederick County Bureau of...
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December 9, 2009; 4:39 PM ET |
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Gun jammed in Virginia college shooting
The high-powered hunting rifle used Tuesday in the shooting at Northern Virginia Community College jammed when the gunman tried to fire a third shot, said Maj. Ray Colgan, assistant police chief for criminal investigations in Prince Wiliam County. Police allege...
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Mary Pat Flaherty
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December 9, 2009; 3:58 PM ET |
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In Green vs. Green battle, the bats win
In a court fight that pitted wind energy against endangered bats, the bats won. A federal judge in Maryland has halted expansion of the Beech Ridge Wind Farm in West Virginia, ruling the massive turbines are likely to kill endangered...
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Maria Glod
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December 9, 2009; 12:25 PM ET |
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Facing investigation, head of FBI's D.C. office to retire
The head of the FBI's Washington field office is retiring amid an investigation into whether he violated rules while taking an examination earlier this year, according to an article by The Post's Carrie Johnson. According to sources: Persichini had been...
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December 9, 2009; 11:26 AM ET |
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Jailhouse Rock contest winners selected
You can lock it up -- the winner of The Crime Scene's first-ever contest, in which we asked readers to create a five-song playlist of tunes an FBI agent might put on an inmate's iPhod, has been selected. We selected...
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December 9, 2009; 11:22 AM ET |
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Manassas students in school bus accident
Four students were taken to Prince William Hospital on Wednesday morning after a driver hit a Manassas school bus headed to Metz Middle School, authorities said. There were no obvious injuries, according to a press release from the Manassas police....
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Washington Post Editors
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December 9, 2009; 10:49 AM ET |
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Veteran judge cracks Tiger joke at portrait presentation
The District’s federal court was packed Tuesday for the rather quirky judicial tradition of a judge unveiling and presenting his own portrait to his fellow jurists. Those in attendance, including Attorney General Eric Holder, were honoring James Robertson, 71, who...
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Del Wilber
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December 9, 2009; 10:00 AM ET |
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Men who report robbery busted for growing pot
Sometimes, it seems, it doesn't pay to report a crime to the police. Here's one example, out of Florida, where some folks reported a robbery: When deputies arrived, the people inside the house told them they had been robbed —...
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December 9, 2009; 8:25 AM ET |
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Maryland gets new chief public defender
Four months after controversy led to the ouster of its chief, the Maryland government agency that provides legal defense to poor people has a new leader. He is Paul DeWolfe, who has held a similar, albeit smaller, position in Montgomery...
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Dan Morse
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December 9, 2009; 8:17 AM ET |
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British offer civilians chance to investigate crimes
On television and in novels, amateur detectives solve lots of murders. Now, it seems, the British appear to be offering so-called "civilians" a chance to do it in real life.
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Martin Weil
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December 9, 2009; 8:08 AM ET |
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Video coverage: Student opens fire at Northern Va. Community College, police say
From the Associated Press: A 20-year-old student opened fire in a community college classroom in Woodbridge, Va., but did not hit anyone and was arrested in a hallway, police said Tuesday....
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December 9, 2009; 8:01 AM ET |
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Video coverage: Woman tried to cut out unborn baby, police say
From the Associated Press: A pregnant woman held for five days at an apartment in Suitland, Md., by a woman she met at a homeless shelter escaped after her captor tried to cut the unborn baby from her womb, according...
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December 9, 2009; 8:00 AM ET |
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Shots fired; man with gun arrested at NVCC's Woodbridge campus
Update, 6:50 p.m.: Police identify the alleged gunman as Jason Michael Hamilton, 20, of Baneberry Circle in the Manassas area. He is charged with attempted murder and is being held without bond. The intended target was his math teacher, police...
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December 8, 2009; 4:23 PM ET |
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Where to send donations for mother, newborn injured in attack
Several readers have written to ask where to send donations to help mother and child from this chilling story in Tuesday's paper. Here's what I have found out: Donations of money, clothing or other items can be mailed to or...
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Matt Zapotosky
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December 8, 2009; 1:33 PM ET |
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D.C. seafood wholesaler charged in rockfish scheme
The federal crackdown against the black market fish trade continues. Federal authorities announced Tuesday that Ocean Pro Ltd., a D.C. fish wholesaler, and two of its employees were charged with buying illegally harvested rockfish. The company, along with fish buyers...
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Maria Glod
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December 8, 2009; 1:27 PM ET |
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Man first in U.S. to get single-drug lethal injection
From the Associated Press: Ohio has executed a convicted killer through the first U.S. lethal injection using a single drug, a longer but supposedly less painful method than previous executions with three drugs. Kenneth Biros was pronounced dead at 11:47...
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December 8, 2009; 12:10 PM ET |
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Man called in hit on ex-girlfriend: Police
A Maryland man has been charged with attempted first-degree murder after St. Mary's County police accused him of entering into discussions to have his ex-girlfriend killed. Investigators recorded telephone conversations indicating that Oliver G. Malone, 32, of Hollywood, was "in...
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December 8, 2009; 11:47 AM ET |
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Does crime follow the weather report?
Maybe people steal what they need. Two days before Washington's first snowfall -- when the media were going nuts about the impending flakes -- the weekly crime report told of the theft of this item from a house on West...
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Martin Weil
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December 8, 2009; 10:35 AM ET |
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Gun found in D.C. jail may be part of 2003 scheme
Authorities recovered a handgun in the D.C. jail that may have been in the facility since at least 2003, officials said Tuesday. The gun was recovered Monday night "in a channel within a component of the inmate telephone units" during...
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Del Wilber
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December 8, 2009; 10:20 AM ET |
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Millions in reward money for hijacking
As much as $20 million was offered as a reward last week by the federal government for four men charged in the District of Columbia in connection with a 1986 hijacking in which two Americans were killed, the FBI said....
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Martin Weil
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December 8, 2009; 9:30 AM ET |
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Murder defendant's lengthy testimony frustrates his attorneys
From the moment he called 911 to report that his girlfriend was lying on the floor inside his Forestville condominium, beaten and unresponsive, Joseph N. Coleman wanted to explain himself to Prince George's County homicide detectives. That got him arrested...
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Ruben Castaneda
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December 8, 2009; 8:18 AM ET |
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Snow puts early end to weekend traffic enforcement
The Virginia State Police planned two days of inceased traffic enforcement on Interstate 66 for Friday and Saturday, but the snow restricted the effort to the first day. On Friday, troopers cited 149 drivers for speeding, 40 for reckless driving...
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Martin Weil
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December 8, 2009; 8:01 AM ET |
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Man arrested for alleged Christmas tree theft
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas tree theft -- in Indiana, at least. According to a report from last week: A 48-year-old man was arrested early Friday morning for allegedly stealing a Christmas tree while riding his bike...
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December 8, 2009; 7:03 AM ET |
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Pit bull shot by police in D.C. euthanized
A D.C. police sergeant shot a pit bull Sunday after the dog attacked a woman in Northwest Washington, authorities said, and the animal was later euthanized. The incident occurred about 5:30 p.m. in the 3400 block of Quebec Street NW,...
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December 7, 2009; 4:44 PM ET |
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Md. man doused with gas, set on fire: Police
From the Associated Press: Police say a Frederick man is in critical condition at a Washington hospital two days after an acquaintance doused him with gasoline and set him on fire. Investigators are searching for the alleged perpetrator, 26-year-old Joshua...
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December 7, 2009; 3:50 PM ET |
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Search for missing Virginia Tech student continues
The parents of Morgan Harrington, a 20-year-old Virginia Tech student who went missing Oct. 17 are spending the holiday season continuing the search for their daughter, and keeping their appeal for her safe return in the public eye.
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Maria Glod
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December 7, 2009; 2:10 PM ET |
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Rastafarian inmates have spent nearly 10 years in segregation
From the Associated Press: Next week will mark a decade that at least eight Rastafarian inmates have been held in segregation in Virginia prisons for refusing to cut their hair. Virginia Department of Corrections policy requires men to cut their...
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December 7, 2009; 2:10 PM ET |
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Exposed to "The Wire," Londoners confront crime
The Baltimore Sun has an interesting item out of London today.
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December 7, 2009; 1:44 PM ET |
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Pregnant woman's attacker may have wanted baby, police say
Investigators in Prince George's County are exploring whether the Suitland woman who slashed a pregnant woman Sunday morning might have done so in an attempt to take the baby, authorities confirmed Monday. Veronica D. Deramous, 40, was arrested Sunday night...
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Matt Zapotosky
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December 7, 2009; 12:50 PM ET |
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Destroyed or lost? More in the Pershing Park arrests saga
Pershing Park just won't die. Late Friday, the D.C. government released a report by a retired federal judge who investigated allegations that police or other city officials destroyed evidence that may shed light on the controversial 2002 mass arrests in...
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Del Wilber
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December 7, 2009; 9:51 AM ET |
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Police make arrest in stabbing of pregnant woman
Police have arrested a Suitland woman in connection with the cutting of a pregnant woman Sunday morning in Prince George's County, police said. Veronica D. Deramous, 40, of the 3500 block of Silver Park Drive, was arrested Sunday night in...
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December 7, 2009; 9:06 AM ET |
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Flashing hazard lights lead police to burglary suspects
Note to burglars: when fleeing the scene of the crime, turn off your getaway car's hazard lights. Calvert County police said someone entered two homes on Quarles Road in St. Leonard on Nov. 30 and stole prescription medication and about...
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December 7, 2009; 8:24 AM ET |
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Eight firefighters injured in Pr. George's house fire
Eight firefighters suffered minor injuries while battling a blaze that badly damaged a house in Prince George's County late Sunday, officials said. Authorities said the fire started at the two-story house in the 7000 block of Partridge Place in University...
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December 7, 2009; 8:17 AM ET |
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E-mail enables debate between D.C. resident, police commander
A recent e-mail exchange on a public discussion forum between a D.C. resident and a police commander is an interesting example of something I've written on -- how citizens use technology to respond to public safety issues, and how law...
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Theola Labbé-DeBose
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December 7, 2009; 7:00 AM ET |
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