Crime Scene - The Washington Post's Blog About Local, National and International Crime and Criminal Justice - September 19, 2010

Shootings kill two men in District, one in Prince George's

UPDATE 2:17 p.m.: Another homicide came to light in the District after a car crash in Southeast Washington shortly after 4:30 a.m., police Lt. Nicholas Bruel said. After the car crashed in the 3700 block of First Street SE, he...

By Paul Duggan | September 25, 2010; 1:17 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Homicide, Paul Duggan, Pr. George's, The District
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Army sgt. admits taking bribes

An Army staff sergeant admitted Friday, in federal court in Alexandria, that he accepted $400,000 in bribes while stationed at a fuel distribution outpost in Afghanistan, which allowed $1.5 million in fuel to be stolen in a three-month period. Stevan Nathan Ringo, 26, of Marrero, La., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III to one count of bribery.

By Tom Jackman | September 24, 2010; 6:23 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Alexandria, From the Courthouse, Tom Jackman
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Vienna dance instructor busted for theft

A dance instructor at the Vienna studio "Born to Dance" was arrested Thursday after allegedly taking a woman's wallet while she was dancing and using her credit cards to ring up $3,200 worth of quick purchases, including a large-screen TV and a Yorkshire-poodle puppy. Police searched the man's home Thursday and seized the three-month-old puppy, Vienna Sgt. Bill Murray said. The dog, alleged to be extremely cute, was being kept separate from other seized evidence, Murray said.

By Tom Jackman | September 24, 2010; 5:56 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Fairfax, Tom Jackman
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Heart attack kills Herndon man on I-66

A Herndon man driving on Interstate 66 during the morning rush hour suffered an apparent heart attack Friday morning, collided with other vehicles as he veered out of control near the entrance to the Roosevelt Bridge, and died, Arlington County police said.

By Tom Jackman | September 24, 2010; 5:44 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Arlington, Tom Jackman, Traffic Accidents
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Va. court reconsiders police GPS use

Two weeks after the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled that it was fine for police to use portable global positioning systems to track criminal suspects, the court has now decided to rehear the case, according to an order entered on Thursday. The court ruled in the case of David L. Foltz Jr., a convicted sex offender whom Fairfax County police suspected might be assaulting women. Detectives placed a global positioning system device inside the bumper of his work van, then reviewed his movements and found he had been in the vicinity of a recent assault. Then police followed him and actually arrested him in the process of attacking another woman.

By Tom Jackman | September 24, 2010; 4:53 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Arlington, Fairfax, Falls Church, From the Courthouse, Tom Jackman, Updates
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Slain woman in Landover identified

Police have identified the woman whose remains were found in a trash dumpster in the Landover area in July, and they are investigating the case as a homicide, authorities said. Just before 2 p.m. on July 24, police and fire...

By Matt Zapotosky | September 24, 2010; 3:40 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Homicide, Matt Zapotosky, Pr. George's
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Watching Teresa Lewis die

Veteran Washington Post staff writer Maria Glod was a media witness to the execution of Teresa Lewis on Thursday night. Lewis was the first woman executed by Virginia in nearly 100 years. Here is her account of the event: Three...

By Washington Post editors | September 24, 2010; 12:09 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (61)
Categories: Death Penalty, Maria Glod, Virginia
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Shootout, chase after Md. carjacking

At least three gunmen hijacked a car in Prince George's County early Friday and led police on a chase that resulted in a shootout in the District. authorities said. No one was reported hurt in the shootout. Two suspects were...

By Washington Post Editors | September 24, 2010; 9:04 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Pr. George's, The District
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Arrest, charges in Md. 'preppy' burglary

Howard County police say they have the man they called the "Preppy Burglar." Jeremy M. Hall, 30, of Silver Spring, was arrested Thursday and charged with burglary, theft and destruction of property....

By Washington Post Editors | September 24, 2010; 8:16 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Howard, Updates
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Former Md. priest agrees to plea

A Frederick County prosecutor says a defrocked Roman Catholic priest has agreed to a plea deal to resolve charges he sexually abused an altar boy in 1976. Seventy-four-year-old Thomas Bevan of Cascade has a hearing scheduled for Friday morning in...

By Washington Post Editors | September 24, 2010; 7:55 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Frederick, From the Courthouse, Updates
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Care urged for Va. college students

College students across Virginia are being advised to take precautions amid a rash of robberies and assaults both on and off campus. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that three students were assaulted on the University of Richmond campus in one hour...

By Washington Post Editors | September 24, 2010; 7:52 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Schools, Virginia
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Man charged in fight with parrot

A Michigan man has been charged with animal torture following allegations that he got into a fight with his pet parrot, according to reprots: Ann Arbor police say Turpen, who kept the parrot in his backpack, shook it violently as...

By Washington Post Editors | September 24, 2010; 6:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Animal Stories, Around the Nation, Offbeat
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Professor gets 50 months in fraud

A 52-year-old assistant professor at Williams College and former aide to U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) was sentenced Thursday to 50 months in prison and ordered to pay $760,000 in restitution for a lifelong series of student loan, bank and...

By Washington Post Editors | September 24, 2010; 1:48 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Cons & Scams, From the Courthouse, Schools, Spencer S. Hsu, The District
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3 sentenced in mail-fraud scheme

A federal judge sentenced the latest of eight defendants Thursday in a mail and identity theft ring that stole more than $340,000 worth of checks from residential mailboxes in Northwest Washington and two downtown law firms from 2007 until April...

By Washington Post Editors | September 24, 2010; 1:46 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Cons & Scams, From the Courthouse, Spencer S. Hsu, The District
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Lorton fire victims identified

The 24-year-old mother of five children, who died in a fire along with two of her children in their rented Lorton townhouse Wednesday morning, was identified Thursday as Elieen C. "Allie" Langham-Anderson, Fairfax fire officials said. Also killed in the fire were five-year-old Solomon Anderson and three-year-old Alfonso Anderson, Fairfax fire spokesman Dan Schmidt said. Autopsies showed that all three died from smoke inhalation, Schmidt said. No foul play is suspected.

By Tom Jackman | September 23, 2010; 6:27 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Fairfax, Fires & Fire Safety, Tom Jackman, Updates
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Arrest in deadly August D.C. shooting

A Northeast Washington teenager police said is a gang member has been charged as an adult with murder in the Northwest D.C. shooting of a Catholic University student in August. Police said Eric D. Foreman, who turned 17 on Sept....

By Washington Post Editors | September 23, 2010; 5:12 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: Homicide, Juvenile Justice, Paul Duggan, The District, Updates
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7-Eleven clerk shoots at cars: Police

Some convenience store clerks are more rigorous than others about enforcing the No Loitering rules. Fairfax City police said one 7-Eleven clerk took his duties a little too far Thursday morning. Feloniously too far. The police said two cars, with five passengers, pulled into the lot of the 7-Eleven near the intersection of Jermantown Road and Route 50 about 3 a.m. and began doing some minor car repair. While they waited, the clerk came outside and told them to leave, Fairfax City Sgt. Dan Grimm said. An argument followed, and the clerk "told the group that unless they left, he would shoot them," Grimm said. And no Slurpees with that either.

By Tom Jackman | September 23, 2010; 4:13 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Fairfax, Tom Jackman
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Teresa Lewis to be executed tonight

Teresa Lewis, who plotted the killings of her husband and stepson, is scheduled to die by injection in Virginia’s death chamber Thursday night. She would be the first woman the state has executed in nearly 100 years. The U.S. Supreme Court and Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) both have declined to halt the execution, which is set to be carried out at 9 p.m. at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt.

By Washington Post editors | September 23, 2010; 12:38 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (49)
Categories: Death Penalty, Maria Glod, Virginia
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Arrest in string of Va. robberies

An Ashburn man has been charged in connection with a series of armed robberies in Fairfax and Loudoun counties, according to the Loudoun sheriff’s office. Sean A. Mabry, 29, was charged Wednesday with armed robberies that targeted the Chantilly Cash...

By Washington Post Editors | September 23, 2010; 12:20 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Fairfax, Loudoun, Updates
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Md. man, 43, slain in Southeast D.C.

A 43-year-old Maryland man was found shot to death Tuesday night in Southeast Washington near the Prince George's County line, D.C. police said. Officers responding to a report of gunfire in the 900 block of Southern Avenue SE found the...

By Paul Duggan | September 23, 2010; 11:21 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Homicide, Paul Duggan, The District
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'Preppy' suspect sought in Howard

Howard County police are looking for what they call a "preppy burglar" they say robbed a Highland house on Sept. 14. The man, described as a white male between 20 and 30 years old, had wavy brown hair and an...

By Washington Post Editors | September 23, 2010; 8:55 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Crime, Seen, David P. Marino-Nachison, Howard
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Trial for Md. motorcycle club leader

The leader of a motorcycle club is heading to trial in Hagerstown on charges he possessed bomb-making materials at his home near the western Maryland city.Thirty-seven-year-old Bryan M. Piper is charged with five counts of manufacturing or possessing a destructive...

By Washington Post Editors | September 23, 2010; 7:47 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Maryland
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ODU gets help patrolling campus

Officials at Old Dominion University are enlisting the Norfolk Sheriff's Department to help patrol the campus after a recent string of crimes.President John Broderick said in a letter to the university community that campus police also will increase patrols. He...

By Washington Post Editors | September 23, 2010; 7:45 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Schools, Virginia
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Burning pot wafts across school grounds

Cops burning marijuana to dispose of it caused a stir when the wind blew puffs of it across a New Zealand school grounds, according to this report: St Joseph's School principal Peter Knowles noticed smoke coming from the Picton police...

By Washington Post Editors | September 23, 2010; 7:10 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the World, Offbeat
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AU employee sentenced for theft

A longtime American University employee was sentenced Wednesday to a year and a day in prison for stealing $400,000 from the school's law review and other journals over nearly seven years, U.S. Attorney for the District Ronald C. Machen Jr....

By Washington Post editors | September 22, 2010; 4:34 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Spencer S. Hsu, The District
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Judge approves protest settlement

A federal judge gave final approval Wednesday to a settlement in which the D.C. government will pay $8.25 million to almost 400 protesters and bystanders swept up in a mass arrest at Pershing Park during a September 2002 demonstration against...

By Washington Post Editors | September 22, 2010; 4:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Spencer S. Hsu, The District
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Man held in Md. trooper slaying

A man charged with fatally shooting an off-duty Maryland State trooper outside a restaurant in Forestville in June was ordered held without bond Wednesday by a Prince George’s County judge following a preliminary hearing. There were no substantial revelations during...

By Washington Post editors | September 22, 2010; 3:42 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Homicide, Pr. George's, Ruben Castaneda
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3 dead, 4 hurt in morning Lorton fire

A Fairfax County mother lowered three of her children out of a burning townhouse to safety Wednesday morning, but she and her other two children were then killed by the blaze, Fairfax fire officials said. Seven people -- a woman,...

By Washington Post Editors | September 22, 2010; 3:34 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Fairfax, Fires & Fire Safety
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Charges after Va. school bus crash

A Prince William County Schools bus driver has been charged with following too closely after the bus he was driving crashed into another school bus on Tuesday afternoon. Prince William police said that two county buses were driving northbound on...

By Josh White | September 22, 2010; 2:22 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Josh White, Pr. William, Schools, Traffic Accidents
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Video: Va. woman to be executed

A Virginia woman convicted of two hired killings is scheduled to die by injection Thursday and become the first woman put to death in Virginia in nearly a century, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block her execution....

By Washington Post Editors | September 22, 2010; 12:04 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Death Penalty, Updates, Virginia
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Woman slain in Greenbelt identified

Prince George’s County police have identified the woman slain Tuesday in a Greenbelt apartment building as 49-year-old Jacklyn Ann Bass. Lt. Tammy Sparkman, a police department spokesman, said Bass was shot to death, but investigators do not yet have any...

By Matt Zapotosky | September 22, 2010; 11:50 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Homicide, Matt Zapotosky, Pr. George's, Updates
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Sex predators seen straining Va. facility

The number of Virginia criminals labeled "sexually violent predators" is growing at such a rate that it’s straining the capacity of a two-year-old facility built to hold them after they finish serving their sentences. State officials told the House Appropriations...

By Washington Post Editors | September 22, 2010; 8:36 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Sex Crimes, Virginia
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New Md. forensics center opens

A new forensics center for the Maryland medical examiner’s office has opened in Baltimore. The $54 million facility fills a city block at West Baltimore and Poppleton streets. It was designed to improve working conditions for the pathologists and technicians...

By Washington Post Editors | September 22, 2010; 8:34 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore, Maryland, Technology
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Crack-carrying car explodes: Police

A car exploded in Brazil after a man and woman tried to smuggle crack cocaine in their gas tank, according to this report: Police say that when they stopped to refuel their natural-gas powered car, the cylinder exploded. Read more...

By Washington Post Editors | September 22, 2010; 6:41 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the World, Narcotics, Offbeat
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Woman slain in Greenbelt

Officers were called to the 8500 block of Greenbelt Road about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday for a reported shooting, and found a female lying in the hallway, said Cpl. Mike Rodriguez, a department spokesman. He said the extent of the woman’s wounds are unclear, but homicide detectives had been notified.

By Washington Post Editors | September 21, 2010; 7:05 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Matt Zapotosky, Pr. George's
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High court rejects death-row appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to halt the scheduled execution of a Virginia woman who planned the murders of her husband and stepson, meaning that the state is nearly certain to execute its first woman in nearly a...

By Maria Glod | September 21, 2010; 7:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Maria Glod, Virginia
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Dancer: Strip club didn't pay wages

An exotic dancer has accused the owners of the Louis Rogue’s Gentleman’s Club of violating federal labor laws by not paying wages to dancers, who allegedly must work for tips. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in the...

By Washington Post Editors | September 21, 2010; 6:05 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Spencer S. Hsu, The District
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Second guilty plea in Va. gold heists

The husband in a couple that targeted South Asian families in Northern Virginia for break-ins pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to steal at least $500,000 worth of gold and other valuables in 37 burglaries. Dagoberto Soto-Ramirez, 27, of New York...

By Mary Pat Flaherty | September 21, 2010; 1:06 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Fairfax, From the Courthouse, Loudoun, Mary Pat Flaherty, Updates
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Md. candidate dies from crash injuries

Natasha Pettigrew, a 30-year-old Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate in Maryland, died late Monday night, one day after she was hit by a car while riding her bicycle. Maryland State Police said they learned Pettigrew had died at a...

By Josh White | September 21, 2010; 1:04 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (26)
Categories: Josh White, Pr. George's, Traffic Accidents, Updates
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Man, 18, killed near Nationals Park

An 18-year-old Southeast D.C. man was shot and killed near Nationals Park early Tuesday morning, and police are searching for information about the slaying. District police said they responded to the 1400 block of First Street SW at about 3:30...

By Josh White | September 21, 2010; 9:54 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Homicide, Josh White, The District
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Police seek help in Md. woman's death

Tannessa Taylor had lived a tough life: A mother who died in a car wreck; moving among relatives, from West Virginia to Maryland; mental health struggles; and a turn towards prostitution. On March 6, Taylor’s partially buried body was found...

By Dan Morse | September 21, 2010; 8:49 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Dan Morse, Montgomery, Unsolved
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DNA links N.Y. rape to Va. inmate

Prosecutors say a New York City rape case that lingered unsolved for nearly 17 years has been linked to a Virginia prisoner through DNA. Alberto Barriera pleaded not guilty Monday in a Manhattan court to raping and robbing a 16-year-old...

By Washington Post Editors | September 21, 2010; 7:53 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Sex Crimes, Virginia
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Second arrest in Pr. George's robberies

Prince George's County police have announced a second arrest in an August 8 robbery in College Park, one of a string of recent street robberies near the University of Maryland campus that has led to increased police patrols and calls...

By Washington Post Editors | September 21, 2010; 7:45 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Pr. George's, Schools, Updates
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Loot bag overwhelms robber: Report

A bank robber in Bulgaria was caught after his bag of cash was too heavy for him to handle on his getaway motorcycle, according to this report: The hapless thief was caught when he attempted to make his geaway from...

By Washington Post Editors | September 21, 2010; 6:56 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the World, Offbeat
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Manslaughter in Adams Morgan case

Chamica M. Adams, 23, of Mitchellville, was charged Monday with involuntary manslaughter in the death of one of the two women that police contend Adams hit with her car while driving drunk in Adams Morgan. The U.S. Attorney's Office for...

By Mary Pat Flaherty | September 20, 2010; 6:25 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (19)
Categories: Mary Pat Flaherty, The District, Traffic Accidents, Updates
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FBI: Man has robbed 38 restaurants

Authorities are seeking the public's help in identifying a man they say has robbed 38 restaurants in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Virginia since February 2009. The suspect is described as having a light complexion and being about 6 feet tall,...

By Washington Post Editors | September 20, 2010; 6:20 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Crime, Seen, Fairfax, Frederick, Howard, Maryland, Montgomery, Pr. William, Virginia
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Driver pleads guilty in contentious case

Jean Pierre, 62, of Fort Washington pleaded guilty Monday to speeding in the District and received 18 months unsupervised probation in a case in which he had been held for 15 hours while the D.C. police processed him on the...

By Mary Pat Flaherty | September 20, 2010; 6:13 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Cathy L. Lanier, From the Courthouse, Mary Pat Flaherty, Maryland, Pr. George's, The District, Updates
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Man shot in Pr. George's identified

Police in Prince George’s Coun- ty have identified the man shot and killed in Landover early Sat- urday morning as 22-year-old Donald Reeves.

By Matt Zapotosky | September 20, 2010; 6:03 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Matt Zapotosky, Pr. George's
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Md. candidate struck while on bike

A 30-year-old Maryland Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate was critically injured early Sunday morning after she was hit by an SUV while riding her bike on Route 202 in the Largo area, authorities said. Natasha Pettigrew was training...

By Matt Zapotosky | September 20, 2010; 5:12 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (15)
Categories: Matt Zapotosky, Pr. George's, Traffic Accidents
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Cuccinelli wants new grand jury rules

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says multijurisdictional grand juries would help combat gang violence in Hampton Roads. Cuccinelli said Monday that representatives of his office are discussing the idea with local prosecutors, whose support would be needed for such an...

By Washington Post Editors | September 20, 2010; 3:50 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Gangs, Virginia
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Another attempt to stop Va. execution

Lawyers for a 41-year-old woman set to be executed this week asked Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell on Monday to reconsider his decision Friday not to intervene in her case. Teresa Lewis, who conspired with two men to carry out...

By Washington Post Editors | September 20, 2010; 2:33 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Death Penalty, Updates, Virginia
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Doctor shot in Md. recovering: Family

The family of a Johns Hopkins doctor shot by a patient's son has issued a statement saying the surgeon is in good condition and asking for privacy during his recovery. The family of Dr. David Cohen issued the statement Monday,...

By Washington Post Editors | September 20, 2010; 2:28 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore, Homicide, Updates
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Guilty plea in Va. quadruple killing

An aspiring rapper who embraced horror-themed lyrics has pleaded guilty to killing four people in central Virginia. In a plea agreement, Richard "Sam" McCroskey was sentenced to life in prison Monday....

By Washington Post Editors | September 20, 2010; 2:24 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Homicide, Updates, Virginia
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Probation for ex-Sidwell teacher

A longtime Sidwell Friends School teacher was placed on five years of probation Monday for fondling a 15-year-old student, the result of an earlier plea agreement that spared the victim from having to testify in court. Robert A. "Pete" Peterson,...

By Dan Morse | September 20, 2010; 2:18 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Dan Morse, From the Courthouse, Montgomery, Updates
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Man drowns carrying TV from pier

A Bowie man who had been watching football on a television he and friends had placed on a pier in Edgewater, Md., drowned after he fell into the water while trying to return the television to his friend's boat early...

By Josh White | September 20, 2010; 11:07 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Anne Arundel, Emergencies & Rescues, Josh White
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Ohio drug case dogs in D.C. for rehab

The Washington Animal Rescue League has taken in 10 of approximately 200 pit bulls found on a rural property in southeastern Ohio during a search by local drug investigators. The dogs arrived Saturday. The league, previously helped in the rehabilitation...

By Mary Pat Flaherty | September 20, 2010; 10:47 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Animal Stories, Around the Nation, Mary Pat Flaherty, The District
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Crime Scene: September 19, 2010 - September 25, 2010