Crime Scene - The Washington Post's Blog About Local, National and International Crime and Criminal Justice - December 26, 2010

Fatal fire in Temple Hills

A man has died as a result of a fire Saturday morning in Temple Hills. Officials from the Prince George's County Department of Fire and EMS said the fire occurred at about 5:30 a.m. in the 2700 block of Fairlawn...

By Washington Post editors | January 1, 2011; 12:59 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Fires & Fire Safety, Pr. George's
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Homicide at Suburban Hospital

Update, 2:45 p.m.: The lockdown has been lifted, after police said they didn't believe the suspect was inside. Police said the homicide victim is a 40 year old male employee who was slain in an area of the hospital that...

By Ruben Castaneda | January 1, 2011; 12:04 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Montgomery, Ruben Castaneda
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Md. suspect shot dead identified

Anne Arundel police on Thursday identified an alleged robber who was fatally shot Tuesday by the owner of a Dunkin' Donuts and gas station during a reported holdup attempt. The man shot was Josue Alberto Angel, 29, of the 12000...

By Mary Pat Flaherty | December 30, 2010; 5:04 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (19)
Categories: Anne Arundel, Mary Pat Flaherty, Updates
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Police ID Md. homicide suspect

Montgomery County detectives have identified one of two men they say is responsible for the county's most recent homicide. He is Corey Dreshaun Yates, and is known to frequent areas in Gaithersburg and southeast Washington, police said Thursday....

By Dan Morse | December 30, 2010; 4:28 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Dan Morse, Homicide, Montgomery
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Woman struck in hit-and-run

A 22-year-old woman in a crosswalk was struck by a car that immediately left the scene of the accident, Arlington police said. She was crossing Fairfax Drive at 12:20 a.m. Thursday when she was hit by a dark-colored sedan that...

By Allison Klein | December 30, 2010; 11:43 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Allison Klein, Arlington, Traffic Accidents
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Jack Johnson off electronic monitoring

Former Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson has been released from electronic monitoring as he awaits trial on charges of witness tampering and destruction of evidence. Johnson's attorney, Billy Martin, requested the change and said in court records that...

By Maria Glod | December 30, 2010; 10:37 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Maria Glod, Pr. George's, Updates
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D.C. teen sexually assaulted

D.C. police are looking for a man who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in a car near Walter Reed Medical Center in Northwest. The victim and a 17-year-old were sitting in a car in the 6600 block of 13th Street...

By Allison Klein | December 30, 2010; 10:04 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Allison Klein, The District
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Inmate tried poisoning Abuelazam: Official

The Genesee County prosecutor's office says a jail inmate has been charged with trying to poison serial killing suspect Elias Abuelazam. Prosecutor David Leyton tells the Flint Journal an inmate tried to put an oven cleaner in Abuelazam's food....

By The Associated Press | December 30, 2010; 9:29 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Around the Nation, Loudoun, Updates
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Police: Robber shouted 'Merry Christmas'

Police say an arrest has been made in a bank robbery where the suspect shouted "Merry Christmas" before fleeing. Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Lt. Col Michael Timm says 34-year-old Tori Kay Pollard of Spotsylvania County was arrested Tuesday night after a...

By The Associated Press | December 30, 2010; 9:26 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Virginia
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Blow drier causes deadly Va. fire

Fire officials say a blow dryer caused a house fire in Richmond that killed a man and his teenage daughter. Richmond Fire Lt. Shawn L. Jones told The Richmond Times-Dispatch that the blow dryer ignited the man's mattress....

By The Associated Press | December 30, 2010; 9:24 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Fires & Fire Safety, Virginia
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'Big stick' robbery in Manassas

As a Manassas store clerk opened his shop early Tuesday, he was greeted by a hooded man wielding an extremely large stick. How big? Watch the video below. Manassas City police are calling it an armed robbery. The 58-year-old clerk,...

By Elizabeth Flock | December 30, 2010; 8:32 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Crime, Seen, Manassas
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D.C. court to open late after fire

A small fire erupted on the sixth floor of the D.C. Superior Court building around 6:30 this morning. As a result, the court building will not open until 10 a.m., says court spokeswoman Leah Gurowitz....

By Keith L. Alexander | December 30, 2010; 8:06 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Keith L. Alexander, The District
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Texas pastor accused in burglary

A Dallas pastor has been accused of robbing a parishioner's home on Christmas Eve, according to reports: Police accuse Sandra McGriff of stealing more than $10,000 worth of clothing, purses and electronics from a home in the 2200 block of...

By Washington Post Editors | December 30, 2010; 6:57 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the Nation, Offbeat
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2 charged in fatal Md. robberies

Anne Arundel police believe the same two teens were involved in two separate fatal robberies -- one at a pizza restaurant, one at a 7-Eleven store in Glen Burnie. They have charged Vincent Ethan Bunner, 17, and Shawn Anthony Johnson,...

By Allison Klein | December 29, 2010; 4:34 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: Allison Klein, Anne Arundel, Homicide, Updates
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Man robbed Alexandria bank

Alexandria Police are asking for the public's help in identifying the man they say robbed a PNC Bank Monday. It happened about 2:10 p.m. in the 1700 block of Diagonal Road, when he walked in, implied he had a weapon...

By Allison Klein | December 29, 2010; 10:22 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Alexandria, Allison Klein, Crime, Seen
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Md. man arrested in D.C. slaying

D.C. police have arrested a Maryland man in the Nov. 12 killing of Keith Banks in Northeast Washington. Banks, 29, was found unconscious by police in the 1100 block of Galloway Street....

By Allison Klein | December 29, 2010; 10:12 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Allison Klein, Homicide, Maryland, The District
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Woman struck near Chevy Chase Circle

A woman in her 20s was hit by a car as she crossed a street at Western and Connecticut avenues in Northwest Washington, authorities said. She was taken to a hospital about 8:30 a.m. with serious injuries, said Pete Piringer,...

By Allison Klein | December 29, 2010; 10:05 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Allison Klein, The District, Traffic Accidents
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Copper wire theft in Charles Co.

Charles County officials say thieves climbed an electrical pole to steal some 4,000 feet of copper wire from a utility company. Police say the wire stolen Tuesday morning belonged to the Southern Maryland Electric Company....

By The Associated Press | December 29, 2010; 7:33 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Charles
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Guilty plea in Pr. William triple murder

A former Prince William County park ranger has pleaded guilty to fatally shooting his wife and her two teenage children in a domestic dispute. Forty-five-year-old Carrillo Dean pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of capital murder....

By The Associated Press | December 29, 2010; 7:28 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Pr. William
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Jewelry salesman robbed in Wheaton

Montgomery County police are asking for the public's help tracking down the man who stole a suitcase carrying jewelry from a salesman's car while he sat in the driver's seat. The 65-year-old jewelry salesman parked in the 1700 block of...

By The Associated Press | December 29, 2010; 7:23 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Montgomery
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Woman faked kidnapping to test husband: Report

A woman in Spain faked her own kidnapping to test her husband, according to this report: The man received the photo on his mobile phone from someone claiming to be one of the kidnappers along with a text message demanding...

By Washington Post Editors | December 29, 2010; 6:39 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the World, Offbeat
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Man ordered held in son's death

A Baltimore man Tuesday was ordered held in D.C. jail on first-degree murder charges related to the 2009 beating death of his seven-week old son. Magistrate Judge Kimberley S. Knowles ordered Hiawatha A. Henry, 18, held in jail until his...

By Keith L. Alexander | December 28, 2010; 5:21 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Keith L. Alexander, The District, Updates
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Police: Man kills would-be robber

A man who tried to rob a Laurel Dunkin' Donuts was shot dead by the shop owner Tuesday morning, authorities said. Officers responded to the Dunkin' Donuts in the 3400 block of Laurel Fort Meade Road in response to a...

By David P. Marino-Nachison | December 28, 2010; 4:50 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (67)
Categories: Anne Arundel, David P. Marino-Nachison
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Inmate suit can proceed: Judge

A lawsuit claiming a Kansas-based inmate health care provider failed to provide adequate treatment to a mentally ill Virginia jail inmate who died of dehydration can move forward, a judge has ruled. Farah Saleh Farah, 24, died Jan. 23, 2008,...

By The Associated Press | December 28, 2010; 3:20 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Alexandria, From the Courthouse
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Inmate sues Va. prison system

A Virginia inmate who was born a male but surgically altered to be a female because of severe birth defects claims in a lawsuit against state officials that she should be held in a women's prison. Deena Kaye Myers was...

By the Richmond Times-Dispatch | December 28, 2010; 3:14 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Prison Beat, Virginia
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Officer line of duty deaths up in 2010

A total of 160 officers from the federal and local levels died in the line of duty as of mid-day Dec. 27, an increase over the 117 killed in 2009 when those deaths reached a 50-year low, according to the...

By Mary Pat Flaherty | December 28, 2010; 1:11 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Around the Nation, Crime Statistics, Mary Pat Flaherty
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Postal worker robbed in Va.

A postal delivery man was robbed at gunpoint in Virginia's hunt country Monday and locked inside the rear of his truck for about 15 minutes before a passerby heard him yelling and freed him, Loudoun County sheriff's officials said. The...

By Maria Glod | December 28, 2010; 12:38 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Loudoun, Maria Glod
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Pr. William names interim fire chief

A former Prince William County fire official will lead the Manassas Fire and Rescue Department until Manassas officials can find a permanent replacement for the city's first fire chief, Michael L. Wood, who recently resigned amid turmoil in the department.

By Jennifer Buske | December 28, 2010; 12:36 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Manassas, Pr. William, Virginia
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Alleged D.C. burglars also wanted in Md.

Montgomery County police plan to charge four District men with a series of burglaries in Chevy Chase. The men are currently in the District jail after D.C. police arrested them breaking into a home in Northwest last week, officials said....

By Allison Klein | December 28, 2010; 11:30 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Allison Klein, Montgomery, The District, Updates
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20 yrs. in Va. boy's methadone death

A Pulaski woman has begun serving a 20-year prison sentence after her 3-year-old son died from drinking a cup of methadone that she left unattended. Thirty-nine-year-old Lisa Michelle Hylton was sentenced Dec. 20 to 10 years each for second-degree murder...

By The Roanoke Times | December 28, 2010; 7:40 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Virginia
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Hunters rescued after stuck on island

Maryland Natural Resources Police say they broke through ice and faced rough seas to rescue two duck hunters that became stuck on an island in the Chesapeake Bay during severe weather. Natural Resources Police say the two hunters became stranded...

By The Associated Press | December 28, 2010; 7:37 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Emergencies & Rescues, Maryland
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Armored truck worker robbed in Md.

Police in Howard County in Maryland are a looking for a suspect who robbed an armored truck employee picking up a deposit in Ellicott City. Police say a robber with a gun approached a Dunbar Armored employee at just before...

By The Associated Press | December 28, 2010; 7:36 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Howard
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No new sentence in Md. man's Alaska death

The Alaska Court of Appeals has rejected an Alaska man's request for a new sentence on a manslaughter conviction in the traffic death of a world-renowned physicist. Byron F. Geisinger was sentenced to more than 18 years in prison in...

By the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner | December 28, 2010; 7:30 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the Nation, From the Courthouse, Montgomery, Updates
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Cab passenger carried $450K in drugs: Report

An Illinois cabdriver's fare who was taken to a police station because he was passed out turned out to have nearly $450,000 in drugs on him, according to this report: The cabdriver said he tried to rouse the man for...

By Washington Post Editors | December 28, 2010; 6:46 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Around the Nation, Offbeat
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Man dead after Loudoun crash

A 76-year-old man from Tennessee died after a three-vehicle crash in Loudoun County on Friday afternoon, authorities said Monday. David Doane was a passenger in a 2010 Toyota Prius that was headed west on Route 9 near Creamer Lane when...

By David P. Marino-Nachison | December 27, 2010; 6:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: David P. Marino-Nachison, Loudoun, Traffic Accidents
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Lorton man charged with 2009 killing

A Lorton man has been charged with murder in the 2009 death of a man from Northwest D.C. Police responded to the 1300 block of Fort Stevens Drive NW on Feb. 6, 2009, at around 12:30 p.m. after a report...

By David P. Marino-Nachison | December 27, 2010; 5:54 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: David P. Marino-Nachison, The District, Updates
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D.C. man, 18, charged in son's death

D.C. police have charged an 18-year-old man with first-degree murder in the death of his 7-week-old son. On Monday, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Hiawatha Henry, charging him in the Aug. 29, 2009, death of...

By David P. Marino-Nachison | December 27, 2010; 5:46 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: David P. Marino-Nachison, Homicide, The District
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Man critical after I-66 ramp incident

Police are seeking the public's help as they investigate an incident that left a man in a hospital with life-threatening injuries after he was found on an I-66 on-ramp early Monday. Police were notified of a man on the Nutley...

By David P. Marino-Nachison | December 27, 2010; 4:36 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: David P. Marino-Nachison, Fairfax
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Small Va. police dept. starting over

It's been a tough year for the Brookneal, Va., police department. Both the chief and acting chief resigned earlier this year after criminal charges in unrelated cases were filed against them. The town of about 1,200 in Campbell County lost...

By The News & Advance | December 27, 2010; 10:53 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Virginia
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Don't put gift boxes on curb: Police

D.C. Police e-mail listservs have been active recently with residents welcoming back Assistant Chief Diane Groomes, who came back to work last week after she was cleared in an alleged cheating scandal. Police officials also are telling residents how to...

By Allison Klein | December 27, 2010; 9:33 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Allison Klein, The District, Updates
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Crime Scene: December 26, 2010 - January 1, 2011