Crime Scene - The Washington Post's Blog About Local, National and International Crime and Criminal Justice - January 16, 2011

Woman who stole from feds sentenced

An Upper Marlboro woman who stole $1.9 million from the federal government by double-billing for work on the expansion of the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda was sentenced Friday to 20 months in prison on one count of...

By Spencer S. Hsu | January 21, 2011; 8:14 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Spencer S. Hsu, The District
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Mother of slain student camps out

The mother of a University of Maryland student slain as part of a botched robbery earlier this month in College Park set up a lounge chair, pulled up a cooler and camped out in front of Prince George's County police...

By Matt Zapotosky | January 21, 2011; 7:53 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Matt Zapotosky, Pr. George's
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Bond reduced in professor slaying case

Deandrew Hamlin, jailed three months ago after police found him driving a slain professor's Jeep, had his bond reduced from $1 million to $50,000 Friday - an indication, his attorney said, that police efforts to tie him to the killing...

By Dan Morse | January 21, 2011; 7:10 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Dan Morse, Montgomery
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Two D.C. cops charged in scheme

A federal grand jury indicted two Metropolitan Police Department officers on Friday for allegedly accepting at least $10,000 in protection money from a Van Ness liquor store following a November 2006 robbery. Malcolm Rhinehart, 50, and Abraham Evans, 31, were...

By Spencer S. Hsu | January 21, 2011; 6:37 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Spencer S. Hsu, The District
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Plea deal in works in G'town drug case

Two young men are expected to plead guilty to manufacturing a hallucinogenic drug in a Georgetown dorm in October, according to court records and an official with the office of U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. Prosecutors filed new charges...

By Spencer S. Hsu | January 21, 2011; 6:10 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Narcotics, Spencer S. Hsu, The District
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Police seek Old Town bank robber

Alexandria police are looking for a suspect who robbed an Old Town bank this morning. A man walked into a Bank of America in the 600 block of North Washington Street, at 10:41 a.m. The suspect displayed a handgun and...

By Christy Goodman | January 21, 2011; 4:46 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Alexandria
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Fairfax City bar arsonist gets five years

A Fairfax City bar owner was sentenced to five years in prison Friday for torching the bar on Halloween night 2009. Ajmal A. Aman, 29, of Herndon, was a part owner of Bridges Billiards and Grill, on the first floor of the Mosby Tower on Main Street in downtown Fairfax City. After Bridges closed, early on Nov. 1, 2009, a fire erupted. Firefighters and investigators arrived to find Aman, smelling of gasoline. Lab tests later determined that gasoline was used to set the fire, and that gasoline was on Aman's clothes, and Aman was arrested.

By Tom Jackman | January 21, 2011; 1:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Fairfax, Fires & Fire Safety, From the Courthouse, Tom Jackman, Updates
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Yo! Tony Bagels got pinched by the feds!

Okay, so maybe the Mafia -- the old one of Carlo Gambino and Don Corleone -- isn't as powerful or efficient as it once was. Maybe drugs, rats, the RICO statute and the violent rise of other ethnically based...

By Paul Duggan | January 21, 2011; 1:10 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Lost elderly couple died of exposure

An elderly couple found dead in a field in Frederick after getting lost while trying to drive to their Pennsylvania home each died of hypothermia, the Maryland State Medical Examiner has ruled. William Fresch 85, and his wife Betty, 79,...

By Mary Pat Flaherty | January 21, 2011; 12:40 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Frederick, Mary Pat Flaherty, Maryland, Updates
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Fairfax sex fugitive extradited from Poland

A Fairfax County man who fled the country in 2009, shortly before he was scheduled to plead guilty to molesting a 12-year-old boy, has been extradited back to Fairfax after his capture in Poland last August. John E. Hamilton, 39, lived in Centreville but was a longtime baseball coach in the Fort Hunt Youth Athletic Association. A boy who played for him in 1997 came forward in 2009 to say he'd been sexually assaulted years earlier, and Hamilton was arrested. He was scheduled to plead guilty to six felony sex crimes in October 2009 but failed to appear in court.

By Tom Jackman | January 21, 2011; 12:40 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Fairfax, Sex Crimes, Tom Jackman, Updates
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911 tapes released in fatal fire

The parents of a 9-year-old girl killed in a house fire in Hyattsville Wednesday tried frantically to get back into the home and save their daughter, according to a 911 call released by the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department Friday....

By Matt Zapotosky | January 21, 2011; 10:09 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Fires & Fire Safety, Matt Zapotosky, Pr. George's
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Man fatally shot in Severn home

A 23-year-old man was shot to death early Friday morning in an apparent home invasion in the Severn area of Anne Arundel County, authorities said. Officers were called to the home in the 1700 block of Richfield Drive just after...

By Matt Zapotosky | January 21, 2011; 9:33 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel, Homicide, Matt Zapotosky
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Person dies after all from building

D.C. Fire and EMS report that a person was found dead Friday morning after apparently jumping or falling from a 10 story building in the 1200 block of M Street NW. Firefighters were called to the scene about 8 a.m....

By Matt Zapotosky | January 21, 2011; 8:56 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Matt Zapotosky
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Three speeding tickets in one hour for woman

An Ohio woman picked up three speeding tickets in one hour, according to reports: Amy Bobkovich, 38, was driving a tan Ford Escort and was first pulled over on East River Road, close to James Day Park, at 11:40 p.m....

By Washington Post Editors | January 21, 2011; 7:24 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Around the Nation, Offbeat
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Elena Kagan not selected for jury duty

UPDATE: Kagan was not selected for a jury, and was released Thursday afternoon. ORIGINAL POST: Even a Supreme has to report to jury duty. Seen waiting in the jury lounge at D.C. Superior Court Thursday was the newest Supreme Court...

By Keith L. Alexander | January 20, 2011; 3:01 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Keith L. Alexander, The District
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10 years for man's Craigslist sex ads

A 52-year-old man who posted advertisements on Craigslist seeking sex with a minor was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland. Richard E. Woodward, of Brunswick, was convicted in federal court in...

By Maria Glod | January 20, 2011; 2:58 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Frederick, From the Courthouse, Maria Glod, Sex Crimes
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Man shot dead in D.C. park

A Northwest D.C. man shot Wednesday night in a Northwest Washington park died from his injuries, D.C. Police said Thursday. Police responded to a small bricked park located at North Capitol St. and Florida Avenue just after 11 p.m., according...

By Clarence Williams and Allison Klein | January 20, 2011; 1:53 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Allison Klein, Clarence Williams, Homicide, Updates
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All Huguely hearings postponed to April

Former University of Virginia lacrosse player George Huguely V, 23, of Chevy Chase, will face an April 11 hearing on the five additional charges recently filed against him in the May 3 death of his former girlfriend and fellow lacrosse...

By Mary Pat Flaherty | January 20, 2011; 12:31 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Mary Pat Flaherty, Updates, Virginia
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Arrest in Md. after chase, collisions

A Harwood man has been charged with attempted murder, attempted manslaughter by motor vehicle, first degree assault, second degree assault, second degree assault of a law enforcement officer and reckless endangerment (four counts of each charge), and related traffic offenses, says Anne Arundel County Police.

By Elizabeth Flock | January 20, 2011; 11:29 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Anne Arundel
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Man killed in Md. accident identified

The man who was killed when a Maryland State Police trooper hit him with an SUV Wednesday nigth has been identified as Buhrman K. Baird, 88, of the 24000 block of Old Hollywood Road. Baird was pushing a lawn mower...

By Allison Klein | January 20, 2011; 9:15 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (19)
Categories: Allison Klein, St. Mary's, Traffic Accidents, Updates
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Murder indictment for Va. inmate

A Virginia inmate who warned officials he would kill again if not given the death penalty for murdering his cellmate has been indicted for killing a second inmate. Robert Gleason Jr. was indicted Tuesday for the July 28 murder of...

By The Associated Press | January 20, 2011; 7:50 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Homicide, Prison Beat, Updates, Virginia
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Md. firefighter dies in blaze

Fire officials say a firefighter has died after a blaze in an apartment complex. Baltimore County Fire Chief John Hohman said late Wednesday that 43-year-old Mark Falkenhan died at a local hospital. Falkenhan was a volunteer firefighter in Lutherville....

By The Associated Press | January 20, 2011; 7:47 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Baltimore, Fires & Fire Safety
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Manslaughter charge in Va. hunter's death

A Clifton Forge man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the Nov. 13 shooting death of a fellow deer hunter in Alleghany County. Forty-seven-year-old Burrell Hall was arrested on Wednesday and charged in connection with the death of Travis...

By The Roanoke Times | January 20, 2011; 7:44 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Virginia
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Prison guards catch drug-laden pigeon

Guards stopped a drug-carrying pigeon from entering a Colombian prison, according to reports: Agents saw the animal attempting to cross the prison wall. When he tried again he discovered that his body was weighed down with 45 grams of marijuana....

By Washington Post Editors | January 20, 2011; 6:54 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the World, Offbeat
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April hearing set in U-Va. slaying

A preliminary hearing on a first-degree murder charge has been set for April 11 in the case of George Huguely V, 23, of Chevy Chase, accused in the May 3 slaying of fellow University of Virginia student and lacrosse player...

By Mary Pat Flaherty | January 19, 2011; 6:10 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Mary Pat Flaherty, Updates, Virginia
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Ex-Howard police chief Walters dies

Former Howard County Police Chief G. Russell Walters died Jan. 13 at the age of 92. Walters served as department chief from 1969 to 1975, after a 23-year career with the Maryland State Police.

By Elizabeth Flock | January 19, 2011; 5:24 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Howard, Maryland
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Memorial for Va. shooting victims

On the one-year anniversary of their deaths, three victims of a shooting spree that left eight dead are being remembered by students and staff at Appomattox County High School. Three of the dead in the Jan. 19, 2010, killings were...

By The News & Advance | January 19, 2011; 4:27 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Updates, Virginia
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Probation after phone threats in Va.

A Baltimore man has been sentenced to five years probation for threatening the wife of a jailed neo-Nazi leader in Roanoke. Defense attorney Jim Crawford said Wednesday that 46-year-old Timothy Bland is bipolar, and that he was intoxicated and delusional...

By The Roanoke Times | January 19, 2011; 4:22 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore, From the Courthouse, Virginia
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Teenager struck by vehicle identified

Police have identified the teenager fatally struck by an SUV Tuesday night as he and two friends were running across the street in the Landover area as Wayne Cuffy, authorities said. Police found Cuffy after they were called to the...

By Matt Zapotosky | January 19, 2011; 4:03 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Matt Zapotosky, Pr. George's
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Home, car break-ins reported in Alexandria

Residential burglaries and larcenies from autos have gone up in Alexandria over the last month, especially in the Del Ray section of the City. Residential burglaries have occurred during the daytime hours, usually between 12:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., with laptops, jewelry, televisions and cash the items most often targeted. The suspect(s) have used force to gain entry into rear or side doors.

By Elizabeth Flock | January 19, 2011; 3:44 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Alexandria, Virginia
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Bank robbery in Mount Vernon

A bank robbery occurred at a Mount Vernon Wachovia Bank Tuesday morning. A man entered the bank at 7706 Richmond Highway in Hybla Valley around 10:50 a.m. and passed a note to a teller. The teller complied with the suspect's demands and the suspect fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash. There were no injuries.

By Elizabeth Flock | January 19, 2011; 2:44 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Fairfax
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Arrest made in Md. acid attack

Police have arrested a 29-year-old woman in connection with an incident in which a woman and her three-year-old daughter were attacked with acid outside an Oxon Hill apartment, authorities said Wednesday. Tikia Shauntice Anderson, of Greenbelt, was charged with first-degree...

By Matt Zapotosky | January 19, 2011; 2:11 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Matt Zapotosky, Pr. George's, Updates
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Md. man charged with extortion

A Frederick man faces extortion, theft and burglary charges for allegedly stealing $2,200 from his former employer and then demanding $5,000 more.Police said Tuesday that 54-year-old Patrick Plunkard threatened to destroy the Cozy Inn in Thurmont unless owner Gerald Freeze paid up.

By Associated Press | January 19, 2011; 11:48 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Maryland
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Pr. William teacher charged in drug ring

Five people, including a Prince William County teacher, have been charged with being part of a ring that sold prescription drugs. Prince WIlliam police executed a search warrant in December on the home of teacher Rachel Byrne Domina, 33, of...

By Allison Klein | January 19, 2011; 11:30 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Allison Klein, Narcotics, Pr. William
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Fatal accident in Howard

A driver was killed in Howard County after a two-car accident on Route 32 at about 10:20 Tuesday night. Anna Artapova, 23, the driver of a 2008 Nissan Versa, was heading east of I-95 when her car left the roadway,...

By Allison Klein | January 19, 2011; 8:25 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Allison Klein, Howard, Traffic Accidents
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Man killed in Suitland shooting

A man was shot to death early Wednesday in Suitland, police said. He is the 14th homicide victim in Prince George's County so far this year....

By Debbi Wilgoren | January 19, 2011; 8:12 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Homicide, Pr. George's
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Md. offender monitoring lacking: Official

Maryland is not quite in full compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Act to better monitor sex offenders, a state official told a panel of lawmakers on Tuesday. Maryland lawmakers approved a variety of legislation last year aimed at cracking...

By The Associated Press | January 19, 2011; 7:43 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Maryland, Sex Crimes
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FBI links three fiery packages

The FBI says initial forensic tests have linked the three fiery packages sent to federal and Maryland government officials. Richard McFeely, special agent in charge of the Baltimore field office, said Tuesday that while investigators believed they were linked before,...

By The Associated Press | January 19, 2011; 7:40 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Maryland, The Region, Updates
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8 yrs. for sexually abusing Md. boy, 4

A man who admitted to sexually abusing a 4-year-old boy has been sentenced to eight years in prison. Forty-four-year-old Timothy Norris of Hagerstown was sentenced Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court....

By The Herald-Mail of Hagerstown | January 19, 2011; 7:39 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Maryland
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Funeral for slain Baltimore officer

A Baltimore police officer shot to death by his fellow officers in an apparent case of mistaken identity will be laid to rest. Funeral services for Officer William Torbit Jr. are scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Cathedral of...

By The Associated Press | January 19, 2011; 7:36 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore, Homicide, Updates
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Va. woman faces bigamy charge

A Virginia woman is facing trial on bigamy and other charges. The Daily Press reports that 71-year-old Shirley Smith-Smart's trial is scheduled for Wednesday in Isle of Wight, Va., Circuit Court. Smart, a Gloucester resident, also is charged with forgery...

By The Daily Press | January 18, 2011; 6:10 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Offbeat, Virginia
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Exotic dancer sues Md. club

Claiming she should have been paid a regular wage along with tips, an exotic dancer at the Mile High Club in Prince George's County has filed suit under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, Sabrina Tullos, who has appeared on...

By Maria Glod | January 18, 2011; 5:10 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (28)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Maria Glod, Pr. George's
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$2M Culosi settlement finalized

In an empty federal courtroom in Alexandria Tuesday morning, the family of Salvatore J. Culosi formally settled their lawsuit against Fairfax County in exchange for a payment of $2 million from the county, for the 2006 shooting death of Culosi outside his townhouse in the Fair Oaks area. The case arose after a Fairfax SWAT team descended on Culosi to arrest him on Jan. 24, 2006, after he allegedly had made a series of bets on football games with an undercover detective. Officer Deval V. Bullock leapt out of his sport-utility vehicle, yelled "Police," and then fired one shot from his .45-caliber pistol which entered Culosi's side and pierced his aorta. Culosi, 37, was unarmed. Bullock said his door struck him on his left side, causing him to accidentally fire once with his right hand.

By Tom Jackman | January 18, 2011; 4:59 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Fairfax, From the Courthouse, Police Shootings, Tom Jackman, Updates
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Shot fired during arrest in D.C.

D.C. police said a gunshot was fired during an arrest Tuesday afternoon but that no one was wounded by the bullet. A police spokesman said it was not immediately clear whether the shot came from an officer's gun or...

By Paul Duggan | January 18, 2011; 4:23 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Paul Duggan, The District
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Capital murder trial starts in Fairfax

The trial of a Fairfax County man for the beating death of Genevieve "Gini" Orange, inside her apartment in the Falls Church area in September 2008, began Monday with jury selection, and with prosecutors seeking the death penalty, the selection process is expected to last about two weeks. Orange, 29, was a popular member of McLean Bible Church and worked for the Futures Industry Association in Washington. When she didn't appear for work on Sept. 25, 2008, co-workers notified police, and officers found her lying in her living room. Authorities said she had been beaten with more than 30 blows to the head, and her attacker left semen and saliva on her body.

By Tom Jackman | January 18, 2011; 2:22 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Fairfax, From the Courthouse, Homicide, Tom Jackman, Updates
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Construction site larcenies investigated

A series of recent larcenies at Loudoun County construction sites may be related, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. Between Jan. 13 and Jan. 18, items including copper pipes, air conditioning units, fans and water heaters were stolen from...

By Caitlin Gibson | January 18, 2011; 2:05 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Loudoun
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Arrest made in Pr. George's homicide

Database: Prince George's homicides in 2010 | Map: Locations of the killings in 2011 Police in Prince George's County have made three arrests in the stabbing death of a Chillum man on New Year's Day, bringing the number of criminal...

By Matt Zapotosky | January 18, 2011; 1:41 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Homicide, Matt Zapotosky, Pr. George's, Updates
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Museum theft in Bethesda

Montgomery County Police say the Ratner Museum in Bethesda was robbed of several large bronze sculptures over the weekend, at a value lost or damaged of approximately $90,000.

By Elizabeth Flock | January 18, 2011; 9:22 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Montgomery
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Baker, Magaw to speak on homicides

Prince George's County officials will discuss the progress of their response to a string of 13 homicides in the first 11 days of the year. County Executive Rushern Baker will be joined by acting Police Chief Mark Magaw, Sheriff Melvin...

By The Associated Press | January 18, 2011; 8:57 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Homicide, Pr. George's, Updates
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Murder attempt charge after stabbing

Anne Arundel County Police say a man has been charged with attempted murder after a stabbing. Police say it happened Sunday afternoon in a home in Pasadena....

By The Capital of Annapolis | January 18, 2011; 7:33 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel
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Va. man charged after death of infant

Authorities say a Virginia man has been charged with second-degree murder after shots he fired at a home killed a 7-month-old boy. Pittsylvania County Sheriff Mike Taylor says Nikko Lemar King was arrested Sunday. The 21-year-old is accused of firing...

By The News & Advance | January 18, 2011; 7:31 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Homicide, Virginia
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Crime Scene: January 16, 2011 - January 22, 2011