Crime Scene - The Washington Post's Blog About Local, National and International Crime and Criminal Justice - December 20, 2009

A helping hand for fire victims

Firefighters and community groups are helping families who were uprooted after a Christmas Eve fire swept through their Prince George's County apartment building. Residents from 15 apartments were displaced as a result of the Suitland area fire. Firefighters salvaged Christmas...

By Maria Glod | December 25, 2009; 12:05 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Updates
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And to all a safe night...

All through the year, police and fire agencies devote a lot of resources to promoting public awareness campaigns in the hopes of increasing public safety. D.C. Fire and EMS public information officer Pete Piringer has taken the craft to new...

By Clarence Williams | December 24, 2009; 7:22 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)

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Smart anti-crime tips for the holidays

After seeing our story about the Fairfax County man who was wounded by an armed burglar last week, the fine folks at Broadview Security, formerly known as Brink's Home Security, sent us these tips for securing your home when you're not there. The tips go beyond "leave a light on," and provide some good ideas you probably haven't thought of before. So read, memorize and implement. What are you waiting for?

By Tom Jackman | December 24, 2009; 12:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Fairfax , Personal Safety
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Lewes pediatrician accused of mass molestation

In the sleepy beach town of Lewes, Del., just north of Rehoboth Beach and Ocean City, a pediatrician has been accused of molesting more than 100 children, according to a terrible report from The Associated Press.

By Tom Jackman | December 24, 2009; 12:10 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Delaware , Tom Jackman
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Man charged in post office hostage situation

From the Associated Press: A Tennessee man accused of taking three people hostage at a small-town post office in Virginia has been charged with kidnapping. Warren A. “Gator” Taylor of Sullivan County, Tenn., was arraigned Thursday morning in U.S. District...

By Maria Glod | December 24, 2009; 11:01 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Updates , Virginia
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Stores wouldn't sell cigarettes to 14-year-old

Anne Arundel Police had this bit of good news to report. Detectives sent a 14-year-old girl into a dozen gas stations and convenience stores on Tuesday to try and buy cigarettes. Not a single clerk handed over the smokes. Police...

By Maria Glod | December 24, 2009; 10:12 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Anne Arundel
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Obama to nominate Machen to be District's top prosecutor

Update. 9:30 a.m. It's official. The White House said Thursday morning that Machen is President Obama's choice to be the District's next top prosecutor. The word came in a press release announcing the nonmination of seven men and women to...

By Del Wilber | December 24, 2009; 9:37 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Del Quentin Wilber , Keith L. Alexander , The District
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Standoff at Va. post office ends peacefully

A disabled Tennessee man suspected of firing several shots and taking three people hostage for several hours Wednesday under threat that he had a bomb in a southwest Virginia post office surrendered peacefully after 11 p.m., authorities said. Warren "Gator"...

By Aaron C. Davis | December 23, 2009; 11:57 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Mendelson finally gets response on Fenty security detail

When a WTOP radio story revealed that Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) used police escorts on some of his bike rides, D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At large) wrote a letter to D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles wanting to know...

By Theola Labbé-DeBose | December 23, 2009; 6:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: The District , Theola Labbé-DeBose
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Montgomery County crime totals continue to fall

Montgomery County police today announced that crime fell 4.1% in the third quarter compared with the same period a year ago. For the first nine months of 2009, crime is down 4.7%. One particularly large drop has been auto thefts,...

By Dan Morse | December 23, 2009; 5:20 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Dan Morse , Montgomery
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Car searches over, Montgomery police seeking heist suspect

UPDATE: Montgomery police looking for the robbery suspect have called off their car-to-car search. The developing investigation shows the armored truck driver was robbed by a man with a shotgun inside the bank. ORIGINAL POST: Montgomery Police are making car-to-car...

By Dan Morse | December 23, 2009; 4:25 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (24)
Categories: Dan Morse , Montgomery
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Ohio woman calls police on 6-year-old daughter

From the Associated Press; An Ohio woman who asked that police be called after she caught her 6-year-old daughter shoplifting a package of stickers said Wednesday that she was just trying to teach the girl a lesson early in life....

By Washington Post Editors | December 23, 2009; 3:36 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the Nation , Offbeat
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Baltimore rape suspect confessed to others: Police

From the Associated Press: In 24 years as the police chief of tiny Kilmarnock, Va., Michael Bedell had never had to investigate a rape. So when two were reported within a span of four days recently, it sent shock waves...

By Washington Post Editors | December 23, 2009; 1:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Baltimore , Updates , Virginia
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Homes robbed while owners shoveled snow

Fairfax police say anyone who still hasn't finished digging out from the snowstorm should be aware they could be targeted by a thief. That happened Monday to a 56-year-old woman who was busy shoveling snow outside her Belle Haven area...

By Maria Glod | December 23, 2009; 1:15 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (18)
Categories: Fairfax , Maria Glod , Personal Safety
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Judge's error means retrial for man convicted of murder

From the Associated Press: A Charles County man convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend will get a new trial because the judge failed to follow a century-old procedure known as “hearkening” after the verdict was read. Isa Manuel Santiago was convicted...

By Washington Post Editors | December 23, 2009; 12:27 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Charles , From the Courthouse , Homicide
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Man with five-inch knife in his chest calls 911, and then orders coffee

What would you do if you were stabbed in the chest? Right, call 911 and go to the hospital. Well, this Detroit man called 911 and walked a mile to a popular burger joint, ordered a cup of coffee and...

By Washington Post editors | December 23, 2009; 11:13 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Offbeat
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Pit bulls killed after deadly attack on Md. farm animals

So much for the lion -- or, in this case, the pit bull -- lying down with the lamb. On Monday evening, according to Anne Arundel police, the owner of an Annapolis farm called police because several pit bulls were...

By Maria Glod | December 23, 2009; 11:10 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Anne Arundel , Maria Glod , Personal Safety
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Fairfax apartment fire displaces 16

Eleven adults and five children have been displaced from their Kingstowne area apartments after a Tuesday night fire. No one was injured in the blaze, which started in the basement of the Elms at Kingstowne apartment building on Rock Cliff...

By Maria Glod | December 23, 2009; 9:43 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Fairfax , Fires & Fire Safety , Maria Glod
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Pr. George's pond mystery solved

Prince George's County rescuers searched an ice-covered pond on Tuesday morning fearing someone had fallen through. But they didn't find a victim. Turns out a man had broken through the ice hours before, but was able to pull himself free....

By Maria Glod | December 23, 2009; 8:36 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Maria Glod , Pr. George's , Updates
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A meaty incident

A man in China tried to hold up a restaurant with an unusual weapon, according to reports: Mr He, 23, threatened to blow up a restaurant and its customers in Benxi, northern China, unless the staff handed over the contents...

By Washington Post Editors | December 23, 2009; 7:56 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the World , Offbeat
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Montgomery man sentenced to life for killing of 83-year-old

A second handyman who did jobs for a kindly, 83-year Wheaton woman has been sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole. A judge in Montgomery handed down the sentence Tuesday afternoon against Jose Alvarado, who earlier pleaded...

By Dan Morse | December 22, 2009; 4:40 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Dan Morse , From the Courthouse , Montgomery
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Police ID suspect in Alexandria shooting

Alexandria police have identified the suspect in Friday's homicide as Jose Russo, 50, of the city. Russo killed himself hours after he allegedly shot a man and a woman in a popuar Del Ray bakery, police said. The man, Kossi...

By Allison Klein | December 22, 2009; 4:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Alexandria , Allison Klein
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Prince William County father charged with child abuse

Prince William police on Tuesday said a man was charged with child abuse after an investigation launched when his injured 4-month-old was brought to a local hospital. Sonny Mauricio Rivas-Loza also was charged with malicious wounding. Police released few details,...

By Maria Glod | December 22, 2009; 3:35 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Maria Glod , Pr. William
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Montgomery County man sentenced to life for killing of 83-year-old

A second handyman who did jobs for a kindly, 83-year Wheaton woman has been sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole. A judge in Montgomery just handed down the sentence, against Jose Alvarado, who earlier pleaded guilty...

By Dan Morse | December 22, 2009; 3:31 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Salvation Army coats weren't stolen

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports a happy ending. Hundreds of winter coats thought to have been stolen from a Salvation Army distribution center weren't swiped after all. Police said an employee mistakenly thought someone had stolen 300 new donated coats from...

By Maria Glod | December 22, 2009; 2:27 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Updates
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Maryland man sentenced for robbery, kidnapping

A Maryland man who participated in a plot to kidnap a St. Mary's County bank manager and her two young children, and force the woman to get cash from the bank was sentenced Tuesday to 19 years in prison. Franklin...

By Maria Glod | December 22, 2009; 1:04 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: From the Courthouse , Maria Glod , St. Mary's
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D.C. police union blasts Lanier's comments on snowball cop

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier released a statement Monday strongly condemning the actions of Detective Michael Baylor, who pulled his service revolver out Saturday afternoon after his car was hit with snowballs from a mass snowball fight at 14th and...

By Theola Labbé-DeBose | December 22, 2009; 12:53 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: The District , Theola Labbé-DeBose
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Alexandria gives residents more time to shovel sidewalks

Since plenty of Alexandria residents are still working to shovel out after the weekend's historic snowfall, city officials decided to delay enforcement of its sidewalk snow clearance ordinance until noon Wednesday, Dec. 23. The city Web site's snow section explains...

By Maria Glod | December 22, 2009; 11:33 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Alexandria , Maria Glod
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Bomb threat clears Montgomery County courthouse

Update, 12:40 p.m.: We caught Montgomery County Sheriff Raymond Kight coming out of the circuit courthouse. "You've got to take it seriously these days, and we do," he said. Someone called from the nearby Metro train station in Rockville, reporting...

By Washington Post editors | December 22, 2009; 11:20 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Dan Morse , From the Courthouse
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Prince George's rescuers say no victim found in pond

Prince George's County rescuers called to a Largo pond because of concerns someone may have fallen through the ice said a search has not turned up a victim. Rescuers were called to the pond, near a Metro garage at the...

By Maria Glod | December 22, 2009; 10:36 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Prince George's rescuers search for possible victim in pond

Prince George's County rescuers say they will search a Largo pond after a report that someone may have broken through the ice. A call came in about 9:30 a.m. from someone who spotted a hole in the ice on pond...

By Maria Glod | December 22, 2009; 10:13 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Coats stolen from Salvation Army

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the Grinch has visited Richmond. The Salvation Army says 300 new winter coats were stolen from its Chesterfield distribution center. The coats were to be given to needy children and adults. Authorities think the coats...

By Maria Glod | December 22, 2009; 9:38 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Virginia
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Woman killed in fire in vacant DC rowhouse

A woman who had apparently huddled in the basement of a vacant rowhouse to take shelter from the cold died Monday night after the building burned, DC fire officials said. The woman, who has not been identified, was found by...

By Maria Glod | December 22, 2009; 8:37 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)

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Lawsuit against Pr. George's sheriff can proceed, judge rules

Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo's lawsuit against Prince George's County's sheriff, in which he accuses county sheriff's officers of storming into his home without a proper warrant, can proceed without waiting for federal review, a judge ruled Monday. A Circuit...

By Ruben Castaneda | December 22, 2009; 6:34 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Pr. George's , Ruben Castaneda
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Army private fatally shot in Baltimore

The Associated Press is reporting that an Army private was fatally shot in Baltimore while he was on the way home from grocery shopping with his wife. Pfc. Clifford J. Williams, 22, who was from Baltimore, was on leave from...

By Terri Rupar | December 21, 2009; 10:54 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)

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D.C. paramedics retreat from house after learning of gun

D.C. paramedics who went to treat an ill man in Northeast Washington this afternoon retreated from the scene after learning that the man had a firearm in his house. The gun was not pointed at anyone and police arrested the...

By Washington Post Editors | December 21, 2009; 6:18 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: The District , Theola Labbé-DeBose
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New pretrial detention commissioner in Md.

From the Associated Press: The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services has named Wendell “Pete” France the commissioner of the Division of Pretrial Detention and Services. France is currently assistant commissioner in the central region of the Division...

By Washington Post Editors | December 21, 2009; 5:36 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Maryland
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Officer who pulled gun at snowball fight a veteran detective: Sources

The D.C. police officer who pulled out his weapon during a Saturday snowball fight at 14th and U streets NW is a veteran detective with more than two decades on the force, police sources said. Detective Michael Baylor has been...

By Maria Glod | December 21, 2009; 2:45 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (87)
Categories: Maria Glod , Matt Zapotosky , The District , Theola Labbé-DeBose , Updates
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D.C. chief's statement on snowball incident

On Sunday, D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier issued a statement in response to the Saturday incident in which a detective pulled out a gun after his Hummer was struck by snowballs.

By Maria Glod | December 21, 2009; 2:42 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: The District
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Woman attacked, raped after hiring man to shovel snow: Police

From the Associated Press: Baltimore police have arrested a man they say forced his way into a home, raped a woman and slashed her throat after he said he would shovel snow at her property. Nineteen-year-old Donald "Doc" Vaughn of...

By Washington Post Editors | December 21, 2009; 2:25 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore
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Md. man charged with stabbing, killing cousin

A Waldorf man was charged with stabbing his cousin to death after the cousin refused to leave his trailer Sunday night, police said. Ronald Xavier Butler, 41, was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault and a weapon violation in connection...

By Matt Zapotosky | December 21, 2009; 2:20 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Charles , Homicide , Matt Zapotosky | Tags: Charles County, Ronald Xavier Butler, William Arthur Chase, stabbing
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In Anacostia, a holiday party hold-up

A D.C. resident has shared a harrowing tale of neighborhood crime -- with a holiday twist -- on a District blog. On Friday night, David Garber wrote on the Anacostia Now blog, Garber was hosting a party at his house...

By Theola Labbé-DeBose | December 21, 2009; 2:02 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Personal Safety , The Criminal Mind , The District , Theola Labbé-DeBose
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Homicide charges in July St. Mary's crash

A Hollywood man was indicted Friday on homicide and drunk driving charges in connection with a head-on crash in July that killed a Tall Timbers man and critically injured his wife, authorities said. George Michael Bowes Jr., 31, was the...

By Matt Zapotosky | December 21, 2009; 12:01 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Homicide , Matt Zapotosky , St. Mary's | Tags: George Michael Bowes Jr., Melissa Anne Wenze, Russell Edward Wenzel, St. Mary's County, drunk driving
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Crime Scene: December 20, 2009 - December 26, 2009