Crime Scene - The Washington Post's Blog About Local, National and International Crime and Criminal Justice - February 13, 2011

Priest sentenced for molesting girl, 11

A Catholic priest who pleaded guilty to inappropriately touching an 11-year-old Fairfax County girl last year was sentenced Friday to nine months in jail. Felix Owino, 45, was arrested in July after visiting a family in Herndon and watching a movie with them. The girl complained that Owino touched her over her clothes, and in September he pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual battery.

By Tom Jackman | February 18, 2011; 6:26 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Fairfax, From the Courthouse, Sex Crimes, Tom Jackman, Updates
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Used-car dealership pleads guilty in money case

Manassas-based Univision Auto, a used-car dealership that traded as Auto Trademark, pleaded guilty Friday in a money structuring case worth more than $1.78 million....

By Dana Hedgpeth | February 18, 2011; 5:19 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Dana Hedgpeth, From the Courthouse
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Ex-D.C. Council aide pleads guilty

A former top aide to D.C. Council member Jim Graham pleaded guilty Friday to two felony counts, bringing an 18-month-old prosecution to a close.

By Mike DeBonis | February 18, 2011; 4:48 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: From the Courthouse
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Pr. George's judge throws the book at library thief

During a span of three days in December, 2008,

By Ruben Castaneda | February 18, 2011; 2:29 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Tags: Prince George's County crime
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D.C. police celebrate annual awards

It's award season for filmmakers, actors, musicians and... police officers. D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier played emcee Thursday night as she doled out dozens of awards to officers, civilians and partners, during the Metropolitan Police Department's 11th Annual Awards...

By Clarence Williams | February 18, 2011; 2:18 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Cathy L. Lanier, Chandra Levy, Clarence Williams, Heroes, Narcotics, The District
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Grandmother in mall fall sent to grand jury

Update, 3 p.m. A Fairfax County juvenile and domestic relations judge found probable cause to believe Carmela Dela Rosa murdered her two-year-old granddaughter at a preliminary hearing in the Fairfax courthouse Friday afternoon. Dela Rosa remains in the Fairfax jail...

By Tom Jackman | February 18, 2011; 10:40 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Fairfax, Homicide, Tom Jackman
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Drunk driver in Davies case in court

Driver allegedly drinks alcohol

By Dana Hedgpeth | February 18, 2011; 10:10 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Dana Hedgpeth, From the Courthouse
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Hearing scheduled in D.C. bribery case

A plea hearing has been scheduled for Friday afternoon in the corruption case against Ted G. Loza, a former top D.C. Council staffer accused of accepting bribes, according to court officials. Loza was indicted in 2009 on charges of accepting...

By Del Quentin Wilber | February 18, 2011; 9:39 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Del Quentin Wilber
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Witnesses: Cop shot unresisting man

The account of the fatal encounter

By Ruben Castaneda | February 17, 2011; 6:45 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (47)
Categories: Police Shootings, Pr. George's, Ruben Castaneda | Tags: Prince George's County police, police misconduct
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Students arrested after fight at Ballou

A D.C. Schools spokesman said the school system had increased security at Ballou High School this week after a male student was injured Tuesday in an assault by a group of boys. Schools spokesman Fred Lewis did not give details...

By Theola Labbé-DeBose | February 17, 2011; 6:13 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (18)
Categories: The District, Theola Labbé-DeBose
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Jury starts capital murder deliberations

A Fairfax County jury began its deliberations Thursday afternoon after hearing closing arguments in the capital murder trial of Mark E. Lawlor, accused of killing Genevieve Orange in her Falls Church area apartment in September 2008. The jury deliberated for a little more than two hours, then decided to go home for the day. Since the trial has been taking Fridays off, to allow both the jurors and Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Jonathan C. Thacher to attend to other business, the jury will now take a four-day break, with the President's Day holiday on Monday postponing the case until Tuesday.

By Tom Jackman | February 17, 2011; 5:50 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Fairfax, From the Courthouse, Homicide, Tom Jackman, Updates
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Guilty plea in Arlington voter fraud case

Christy Goodman reports in the Virginia Politics blog that William Cockerham pleaded guilty to voter fraud Wednesday in Arlington Circuit court.

By Washington Post Editors | February 17, 2011; 5:32 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Arlington, Cons & Scams, Politics
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Probation for DC tax office employee

A former investigator for the D.C. tax office was sentenced Thursday to probation for participating in a scheme that allowed businesses to avoid paying more than $100,000 in taxes.Shelly-Ann Wicker pleaded guilty in November to accepting $1,800 in bribes in...

By Del Quentin Wilber | February 17, 2011; 5:07 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Del Quentin Wilber, The District
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Body found in Prince George's

UPDATE: Prince George's County police detectives have launched an investigation into the Thursday discovery of skeletal remains in a wooded area in Morningside. Cpl. Henry Tippett, a Prince George's County police spokesman, said the remains were discovered just after noon...

By Matt Zapotosky | February 17, 2011; 4:43 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Matt Zapotosky, Pr. George's
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Police seek alleged Loudoun home invaders

Two of the four people believed to be connected to a botched robbery in Sterling last Thursday remain at large and are thought to be in the area, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. Police are asking for the...

By Caitlin Gibson | February 17, 2011; 4:27 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Homicide, Loudoun
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Cop not guilty in hotel assault

A U.S. Capitol Police officer who was charged with pointing his gun at two members of a Michigan family after he and the tourists had mistakenly been given the same hotel room at National Harbor was found not guilty of...

By Ruben Castaneda | February 17, 2011; 2:08 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Pr. George's, Ruben Castaneda
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Slaying in Northeast DC

D.C. homicide detectives are investigating a body that was found at the intersection of 14th and Downing Streets NE this afternoon. The victim is a male, police said, but no other information was immediately available. The location is near Brentwood...

By Theola Labbé-DeBose | February 17, 2011; 12:50 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Homicide, The District, Theola Labbé-DeBose
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Woman killed in Woodbridge

Update, 3:20 p.m.: Prince William County police have identified the victim of Thursday morning's shooting outside of a Woodbridge Chick-Fil-A as 48-year-old Alice Jenkins Everette of the 17900 block of Swans Creek Lane in Dumfries. Police have charged her husband,...

By Allison Klein and Jennifer Buske | February 17, 2011; 10:25 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Homicide
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2 men accused in campaign donor scheme

Two Virginia businessmen were indicted in federal court Wednesday on charges of conspiring to illegally reimburse nearly $200,000 to donors of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign and her 2006 Senate campaign....

By Dana Hedgpeth and Julie Tate | February 16, 2011; 6:37 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Dana Hedgpeth | Tags: Hillary Clinton, conspiracy, fundraising, scheme
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Power outage shuts courthouse for day

The decision to close the courthouse for the entire day was made by Circuit Court Judge Sheilar R. Tillerson-Adams

By Ruben Castaneda | February 16, 2011; 4:51 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Tags: Prince George's County courthouse
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Trio charged in armored car heist try

Three men have been indicted on federal charges of trying to rob an armored car in Northeast Washington over the weekend -- a heist that was foiled just seconds before it took place, authorities said.In court papers, the FBI disclosed...

By Del Quentin Wilber | February 16, 2011; 3:31 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: Del Quentin Wilber, The District
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Va. court upholds Rae Carruth conviction

A federal appeals court upheld former NFL player Rae Carruth's conviction for plotting to kill his pregnant girlfriend, rejecting his claim that the jury was improperly swayed by statements made by the victim before she slipped into a coma and...

By Associated Press | February 16, 2011; 8:01 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Around the Nation, Celebrities, From the Courthouse, Updates
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Tips continue in 2002 Va. slayings

Henry County, Va., Sheriff Lane Perry says authorities continue to receive tips concerning the 2002 slayings of the Short family and he expects most of a $100,000 reward will continue. The reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction...

By WSLS-TV | February 16, 2011; 7:57 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Homicide, Unsolved, Virginia
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Calif. cat goes late-night burgling

A cat in California has stolen hundreds of items from his neighborhood in recent years, according to this report: His owners say in the past three years, they figure he's stolen about 600 items, and he's not choosey. He'll take...

By Washington Post Editors | February 16, 2011; 5:53 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Animal Stories, Around the Nation, Offbeat
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Fire at Alexandria apartment building

A four-alarm fire Tuesday damaged 10 units in an Alexandria apartment complex, city fire officials said. Fire burned through most of a three-story garden style building in the 6000 block of Edsal Road about 1:45 p.m., said Battalion Chief Dwayne...

By Clarence Williams | February 16, 2011; 2:59 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Alexandria, Clarence Williams, Fires & Fire Safety
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Man dead, woman hurt in Gaithersburg

Montgomery County police said a man was found dead inside of a Gaithersburg apartment, and a woman was injured during a domestic incident late Tuesday night, officials said. The injured woman was taken to a hospital, but the man was...

By Clarence Williams | February 16, 2011; 1:50 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Clarence Williams, Montgomery
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Girl charged in Latisha Frazier killing

A sixth person has been arrested in the death of Latisha Frazier, 18, of Southeast Washington, D.C. police said Tuesday. Lanee Bell, 17, also of Southeast, was arrested Saturday on a booking order charging her with felony murder in the...

By Martin Weil | February 16, 2011; 1:06 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Homicide, Martin Weil, The District, Updates
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Man sought in Sterling robbery: Police

Update: One woman has been arrested and another is wanted in connection with a botched robbery in Sterling last Thursday that left one man dead and another wounded. Meanwhile, a third male suspect involved in the incident remains at large...

By Caitlin Gibson | February 15, 2011; 6:48 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Loudoun, Updates
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Cuccinelli asks court to free prisoner

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II on Tuesday asked a judge to issue a rare writ of innocence to a prisoner who has spent 27 years behind bars for crimes prosecutors now agree he did not commit. Thomas Haynesworth, 45,...

By Maria Glod | February 15, 2011; 6:33 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Maria Glod, Updates, Virginia
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Abduction suspect in country illegally: Authorities

The man arrested for briefly abducting a woman whose car he hid inside at a Prince George's County gas station was deported from the U.S. in February 2009 and had apparently made his way back into the country illegally, authorities...

By Matt Zapotosky | February 15, 2011; 6:01 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Matt Zapotosky, Pr. George's, Updates
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Man charged in lover's stabbing death

Police in Prince George's County have arrested a D.C. man in connection with the fatal stabbing of his lover, who was found dead inside his apartment Sunday in Temple Hills, according to police and law enforcement sources. Eldridge Slaughter, 42,...

By Matt Zapotosky | February 15, 2011; 4:32 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Homicide, Matt Zapotosky, Pr. George's
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Police ID Oxon Hill shooting victim

Police have identified the man fatally shot in Oxon Hill Monday night as 27-year-old Darian Michael Hinton of Suitland, authorities said. Police were initially called to the 5100 block of Deal Drive in Oxon Hill at about 11:35 p.m. for...

By Matt Zapotosky | February 15, 2011; 4:23 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Homicide, Matt Zapotosky, Pr. George's, Updates
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Not guilty ruling for Supreme Court case namesake

The Massachusetts man whose cocaine trafficking case led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling, and forced the Virginia General Assembly to hold a special session to amend state law, has been found not guilty by a jury near Boston. Luis Melendez-Diaz was first convicted in 2004 of dealing cocaine, after police apparently found some of the drug in a car in which he was riding. But the proof that the white powder actually was cocaine came into court only through lab reports. The defense demanded the right to cross-examine the people who actually tested the powder, and in 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that defendants should have that right, in the now famous ruling of Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts.

By Tom Jackman | February 15, 2011; 1:15 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the Nation, From the Courthouse, Tom Jackman, Updates
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More school bus passing seen in Fairfax: Officials

On the same day that the Virginia General Assembly took steps to amend a misworded law regarding passing stopped school buses, Fairfax County police said bus drivers are reporting an alarming increase in the number of people ignoring their flashing...

By Tom Jackman | February 15, 2011; 1:03 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Fairfax, From the Courthouse, Schools, Tom Jackman, Updates, Virginia
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Judge to consider Twitter information request

A U.S. federal judge on Tuesday said she would consider an order that the social networking site Twitter must turn over three clients' personal information as part of the government's criminal investigation into WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Half a dozen...

By Dana Hedgpeth | February 15, 2011; 12:27 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Dana Hedgpeth, From the Courthouse, Technology, Updates
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Firefighter recognized for saving Md. girl

A Prince George's County firefighter and medic who rescued a four-year-old girl from a burning Hyattsville apartment in February 2010 has won the Veterans of Foreign War's "2010 National Emergency Technician of the Year" award. Captain George F. Flanagan III...

By Elizabeth Flock | February 15, 2011; 12:03 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Fires & Fire Safety, Heroes, Pr. George's
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Md. inmate charged for threats

An inmate at the St. Mary's County Detention Center threatened a judge and a state's attorney after breaking a television set, according to the county sheriff's office. Inmate Antonio W. Gantt, 43, of Leonardtown, pulled a television off the wall...

By David P. Marino-Nachison | February 15, 2011; 9:03 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: David P. Marino-Nachison, St. Mary's
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Carjacking, other charges in Anne Arundel

Anne Arundel County Police have charged two people with trying to carjack a neighbor at knifepoint. Forty-seven-year-old Conley Bell and 39-year-old Charity Lowe have been charged with attempted kidnapping, attempted armed carjacking and other offenses....

By The Capital of Annapolis | February 15, 2011; 8:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Anne Arundel
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Man found shot dead in Oxon Hill

A man was found fatally shot late Monday night in the Oxon Hill area of Prince George's County, police said. He was found about 11:20 p.m. in the 5100 block of Deal Drive. The death appeared to be the third...

By Martin Weil | February 15, 2011; 7:04 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Homicide, Martin Weil, Pr. George's
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Motorized cart foils Mich. getaway: Report

A Michigan woman who tried to steal $600 worth of electronics was caught when her motorized cart got stuck, according to this report: Investigators said Perkins was attempting to leave the Rochester Road Meijer with more than $600 worth of...

By Washington Post Editors | February 15, 2011; 6:55 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Around the Nation, Offbeat
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Abduction suspect arrested in Md.

Update, 8 p.m.: Prince George's County police arrested a man who hid in the back seat of a car when the driver went to get gas and then forced her to drive a short distance away, authorities said. The woman...

By Matt Zapotosky | February 14, 2011; 8:05 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Matt Zapotosky, Pr. George's
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Prosthesis use alleged in drug test plan

Shannon L. Wren really didn't want to be drug tested as a condition of his pre-trial release on federal charges of trafficking in counterfeit computer circuits and selling them to the U.S. Navy -- and he concocted an unusual plan...

By Del Quentin Wilber | February 14, 2011; 4:53 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Del Quentin Wilber
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Officer to be tried on assault charges in Md.

A U.S. Capitol Police officer who allegedly pointed a handgun at two members of a Michigan family who had been mistakenly given the same hotel room is scheduled to go on trial Tuesday in Circuit Court in Upper Marlboro. Victor...

By Ruben Castaneda and Magda Jean-Louis | February 14, 2011; 4:35 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Pr. George's, Ruben Castaneda
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Woman charged in Md. shooting death

Charles County police have arrested a woman in the shooting death of a man she had allegedly been arguing with in an apartment. Eric Lamont Washington, 44, of Bryans Road, was killed after being shot at 3:30 a.m. Sunday in...

By Allison Klein | February 14, 2011; 2:16 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Allison Klein, Charles, Homicide
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Girls approached at Pr. William bus stops

Two middle school girls told school officials that a stranger offered them rides as they stood at separate bus stops in the Dumfries area Monday morning, then fled when they declined to get into his van, Prince William County Police...

By Mary Pat Flaherty | February 14, 2011; 2:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Mary Pat Flaherty, Pr. William, Schools
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2 dead after Northeast D.C. shootout

Two men shot by D.C. police during an alleged home invasion on Sunday night in Brookland are dead, police said Monday. Police said Davon Sealy, 19, of Gaithersburg, died Monday morning at an area hospital. Akeem Jamaal Cayo, 21, died...

By Theola Labbé-DeBose and Allison Klein | February 14, 2011; 12:48 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (86)
Categories: Allison Klein, The District, Theola Labbé-DeBose, Updates
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Pr. George's Jack Johnson indicted on corruption charges

Former Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson was indicted on Monday in federal court in Maryland on eight charges, including bribery, witness and evidence tampering and aiding and abetting. Johnson, 61, a former prosecutor who was the county's top...

By Maria Glod and Ovetta Wiggins | February 14, 2011; 12:22 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (19)
Categories: From the Courthouse, Maria Glod, Pr. George's
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Help sought ID'ing man found in woods

The U.S. Park Police hope someone will come forward to help investigators identify the man whose body was found earlier this month in a wooded area in Temple Hills, authorities said. The man, who police believe died from natural causes,...

By Matt Zapotosky | February 14, 2011; 11:47 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Matt Zapotosky, Pr. George's
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Police seek help ID'ing skeleton

Police in Alexandria are seeking the public's help identifying remains found by a dog on Saturday morning. A dog out for a walk with its owner found what appeared to be skeletal remains in a wooded area around Ford's Landing,...

By Allison Klein | February 14, 2011; 11:46 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Alexandria, Allison Klein, Updates
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Teens rob man, witnesses give chase: Police

Two teens who robbed and beat a 59-year-old man and tried to run away were chased and stopped by bystanders who saw the crime, Anne Arundel County police said Monday. The incident happened just after noon on Saturday near Hammonds...

By Allison Klein | February 14, 2011; 11:12 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Allison Klein, Anne Arundel, Robbery
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Dumfries man dies in weekend crash

A Prince William County man crashed his truck into a curb, causing it to flip and partially throw him out of the car and to his death, police said. Nana Kwadwo Nsiah, 24, of Dumfries, was driving a 1996 GMC...

By Allison Klein | February 14, 2011; 9:50 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Allison Klein, Pr. William, Traffic Accidents
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Motorcyclist hits tow truck, dies

A Silver Spring man riding a motorcycle crashed into a parked tow truck in Northwest Washington and died, police said. Rubin Cedillo-Ramos, 37, hit the unoccupied tow truck at 3 a.m Saturday in the 5300 block of 16th Street NW....

By Allison Klein | February 14, 2011; 9:31 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Allison Klein, The District, Traffic Accidents
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Man sets up sting, catches thief: Report

As reported by NBC4, a Fairfax man whose GPS unit was stolen from his car set up his own sting and caught the thief in a doughnut shop. When he knew he had the right man, he gave his wife...

By Allison Klein | February 14, 2011; 9:05 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Allison Klein, Fairfax
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Shooting in Md. road rage incident

A Baltimore police spokesman says a man was shot in the elbow in road-rage incident after leaving a nightclub. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says the shooting occurred early Sunday next to the city's impound lot near Interstate 83....

By The Baltimore Sun | February 14, 2011; 8:07 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Baltimore
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Hearing for Va. death row inmate

A federal appeal hearing is set for a death-row inmate who ordered the murder of his ex-girlfriend because he was angry about child support payments. The Daily News-Record reports arguments are set for Monday in U.S. District Court in Charlottesville...

By Daily News-Record | February 14, 2011; 8:05 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Death Penalty, From the Courthouse, Homicide, Virginia
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Crime Scene: February 13, 2011 - February 19, 2011