Gory Prince George's: Killer sentenced in death of Cherrese Richardson

Man Gets 25 Years For Killing Student.
Post, 31 Jan 2009 (Castaneda, long).

A Lanham man was sentenced to 25 years in prison yesterday in the slaying of an 18-year-old woman who was struck by a bullet last year as she walked home from a Prince George's County high school.

Prosecutors said that the shooting stemmed from a feud between two groups of teenagers and that the victim, Cherrese Richardson [Photo], was not involved with either group.

"I didn't think none of this would happen," defendant Terrance R. Martin said in court. "I'm sorry for what happened."

As she imposed the sentence, Circuit Court Judge Sheila R. Tillerson Adams said, "There are consequences for our choices in life."
* * *
In September, a jury convicted Martin of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and other offenses. He was acquitted of first-degree murder.

Richardson was shot in the head Jan. 8, 2008, as she was walking home from Charles H. Flowers High School in Springdale. She fell and died in front of her younger sister.
* * *
Martin's co-defendant, Jeffrey D. Boddie, 18, is scheduled to go trial on Monday on charges of first-degree murder and other offenses. [Followup on Boddie]
[Full story]

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(Updated 3 Feb 2009)

Gory Prince George's: Lofton, Karen & Karissa (Services today)

Karen Lofton, 45, and Karissa Lofton, 16, murdered 26 Jan 2009.

KAREN SHERILL-LOFTON KARISSA OLIVIA LOFTON On Monday, January 26, 2009; mother and daughter of Largo, MD. Mother and sister of Kirkland S. Lofton, Jr and Keon T. Lofton; beloved daughter and granddaughter of Jacqueline Robinson and Warren Sherill; beloved daughter of Kirkland S. Lofton, Sr. Karen is survived by her sister Sandra and brother Kevin Sherill and a host of other relatives. Karissa is survived by her father, brothers, and a host of other relatives. Viewing will be held at Riverdale Baptist Church, 1177 Largo Road, Upper Marlboro, MD. on Saturday, January 31 from 10:30 a.m. until service at 12 noon. Pastor Steven Weaver officiating. Interment Fort Lincoln Cemetery. Services entrusted to LATIMORE FUNERAL SERVICES, 301 404-2207.

Published in The Washington Post on 1/30/2009

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(Posted 31 Jan 2009)

Gory Prince George's: Man Sentenced to 36 Years in Drug-Related Killing

Man Sentenced to 36 Years in Drug-Related Killing
Post, 30 Jan 2009 (Castaneda, long).

A D.C. man who killed a teenager whom he was trying to strong-arm for $130 worth of marijuana in a Hyattsville high-rise apartment building last year was sentenced yesterday in Prince George's County to 36 years in prison.

Circuit Court Judge Crystal D. Mittelstaedt imposed the sentence on Marshalleck Ellis, 19, of the 700 block of Harvard Street NW. Ellis pleaded guilty in September to first-degree murder and a firearms violation in the shooting death of Donald J. Smalls Jr., 19.

Ellis's co-defendant, Arlen C. Garrett, 23, pleaded guilty to attempted armed robbery and a handgun violation. Under the terms of Garrett's plea agreement with prosecutors, Mittelstaedt yesterday sentenced Garrett -- who at the time of the murder was a Howard University student -- to eight years in prison.
* * *
Smalls, known as "D.J.," was fatally shot about 2 p.m. Feb. 29 inside a 10th-floor apartment at the Towers at University Town Center, an apartment complex in the 6500 block of Belcrest Road populated primarily by area college students.
[More]

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(Posted 30 Jan 2009, Map)

Prince George's Nannies: Legislators out to control our lives

(Posted 29 Jan 2009)

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HB 238

PG Sponsors: Delegates Holmes, Ross, Valderrama, and Walker

Entitled: Cigars - Sales of Less Than Four Per Package - Prohibited

Synopsis:

Prohibiting specified retailers from purchasing from manufacturers or wholesalers, or selling, reselling, distributing, dispensing, or giving away to a person, a package of cigars containing less than four cigars; prohibiting specified wholesalers from selling, reselling, distributing, dispensing, or giving away to a person a package of cigars containing less than four cigars; etc.

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HB 248
PG Sponsors: Delegates Niemann and Frush.

Entitled: Task Force to Study Required Deposits on Returnable Beverage Containers

Synopsis:

Establishing the Task Force to Study Required Deposits on Returnable Beverage Containers in the State; providing for the membership of the Task Force; requiring the Task Force to study specified issues relevant to requiring deposits on returnable beverage containers in the State; requiring the Task Force to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly on or before December 31, 2009; providing for the staff of the Task Force; providing for the termination of the Act; etc.

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SB 344

Sponsored By: Senator Exum

Entitled: Prince George's County - Alcoholic Beverages - Drive-Through Purchase Facilities

Synopsis:

Prohibiting the Board of License Commissioners in Prince George's County from issuing a new alcoholic beverages license on or after July 1, 2009, for use in a drive-through purchase facility in which alcoholic beverages are sold at retail and dispensed through a door or window to purchasers in or on a motor vehicle; applying the Act prospectively; etc.

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SB 353

PG Sponsors: Senators Currie and Peters

Entitled: Task Force on Public Health Risks Linked to Bullying

Synopsis:

Creating the Task Force on Public Health Risks Linked to Bullying; providing for the composition, chair and subcommittee chairs, and staffing of the Task Force; providing that a member of the Task Force may not receive compensation but may be reimbursed for specified expenses; requiring the Task Force to conduct specified hearings, review specified data and studies, and develop specified guidelines or make specified recommendations; etc.

2010 Candidates: County Executive

(Posted 29 Jan 2009)

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Donations Pour In For Baker's Next Try.
Post, 29 Jan 2010 (Wiggins & Hernandez).

Rushern L. Baker III, who is planning a third run for county executive next year, raised more than $210,000 last year, the most of any of the candidates vying for Prince George's County's top job.
* * *
Baker's likely opponent, State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey (D), raised about $56,000 last year and has $114,000 cash on hand. Included in Ivey's list of contributors was President Obama's nominee for attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr., who donated $4,000 in November. Ivey served a year under Holder as an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia from 1990 to 1994.

Another probable candidate for county executive, Sheriff Michael Jackson (D) [Comment], raised less than $2,000 last year, but he has the most cash on hand, $231,000.

A financial report for County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) was not available from the Maryland State Board of Elections on Tuesday.
[More]

WSSC problems/failures/dysfunction in the news

(Posted 28 Jan 2009)

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Council head: WSSC "no longer works" Montgomery lawmakers angry over failure to discuss main breaks.
Gazette, 28 Jan 2009 (Hyslop).

The head of the Montgomery Council this week called the bicounty Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission a six-member authority that "no longer works."

Council President Philip M. Andrews joined with five others on the nine-member council Tuesday in expressing their disgust that the WSSC never talked about a manager's report on troubling water main breaks during its nearly 12-hour meeting last week.

Spectacular ruptures in water mains have occurred over the past eight months, including one in late December on River Road in Bethesda that made national news. Motorists had to be rescued from their vehicles. Other water main breaks have forced businesses to shut down and have necessitated thousands of residents to boil water for use. Also, there have been a record number of smaller breaks, including hundreds this month.

The WSSC agenda is set and run by commission chairwoman Joyce Starks, one of three Prince George's County members on the utility's governing board, which also includes three members from Montgomery.

"There is now a real safety threat because of the lack of sufficient infrastructure replacement," said Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg. "It's partly money [but] there also has to be a way to get decisions made by the commission."

Commissioner Gene Counihan of Montgomery, the WSSC vice chairman, was asked what the commission discussed at its Jan. 21 meeting.

"A significant amount of time was spent on the minority business enterprise program," Counihan said, responding to a question from Nancy M. Floreen (D-At large), chairman of the Montgomery County Council committee that oversees the utility.

"Given how commissioners are spending their meetings, how can we have confidence that these inspections, monitoring and maintenance issues are going to get attention?" said Floreen of Garrett Park.

Requests for comment from WSSC commissioners from Prince George's County, County Executive Jack B. Johnson and the Prince George's County Council were not returned by press time.
[More]

Divided WSSC has local leaders steamed.
wtop.com, 28 Jan 2009 (Ryan).

. . . the WSSC needs billions in infrastruture repairs, and it recently had to deal with two massive water main breaks, one that required dramatic helicopter rescues on River Road.

Counihan says the break on Jan. 20 in Temple Hills that left 90,000 people without water was never discussed.

"We did not get to that item on the agenda"

When hearing about this, Floreen was floored.

"You mean you had a whole-day meeting and you didn't talk about this? You have got to be kidding."
[More]

Johnson Appointees Run Amok at WSSC.

Maryland Politics Watch, 22 Jan 2009 (Pagnucco).

Former WSSC Commissioner Responds to MPW.

Maryland Politics Watch, 28 Jan 2009 (Pagnucco).

More Chaos at WSSC.

Maryland Politics Watch, 28 Jan 2009 (Pagnucco).

Ron Miller for State Senate Facebook group

(Posted 28 Jan 2009)

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From Ron Miller:

Ron is asking all my friends who haven't joined the "Ron Miller for State Senate" Facebook group to sign up! http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2208449220. 

Despite huge deficits, Del. Griffith plans handouts to rich filmmakers

(Posted 28 Jan 2009)

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Comment: More wasteful corporate welfare being proposed by a tax and spend Democrat (chair of the county delegation) who apparently does not care that the state is virtually broke.  Why does Del, Griffith think film producers deserve our limited tax money more than schools, public safety, or health care?

Hollywood hypes benefits of taxpayer handouts.
Sun, 28 Jan 2009 (Hancock).

Entertainment moguls don't need to con little old ladies to finance productions any more, as they did in Mel Brooks' The Producers and its spinoffs.

After all, there are state taxpayers to fleece.

Hollywood is getting struggling states to bid higher and higher for the glamour and supposed economic benefits of on-site film production. Maryland is joining the game. Del. Melony Ghee Griffith (D-25), a Prince George's County Democrat, says she'll introduce legislation that would have the state pay 28 percent of film-production costs incurred here.

"Maryland doesn't have anything close to being competitive" with other states, says director Barry Levinson, who was promoting the bill in Annapolis yesterday. "Unless state officials do something in terms of becoming more film-friendly, Maryland will continue to lose out."
* * *
"There's no way you can say these things make money" for the state budget, says Greg Albrecht, chief economist for the Louisiana Legislature. Extra tax revenue generated by films, he adds, "is not going to come close to the direct payment you're going to make. Basically, you're just flowing money out of the public treasury into the private sector."

In fiscal 2007, Louisiana paid $106 million to film producers and got back what Albrecht estimates was $15 million in added tax revenue. Net cost to taxpayers: $91 million that could have been spent on schools, roads and health care.
* * *
To repeat: Under this proposal the state would pay studios directly. Little of the money moviemakers spend would end up with Comptroller Peter Franchot. It's a net cost to the state of potentially tens of millions a year as it faces a budget shortfall of $2 billion.
[More]

PG Nannies: Tyranical legislators out to control our lives

(Posted 28 Jan 2009)

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HB 187 (Bicycle helmets)

PG Sponsors: Delegates Niemann and Valderrama.

Entitled: Vehicle Laws - Bicycles and Motor Scooters - Protective Headgear

Synopsis: [Not online]

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SB 288

PG Sponsors: Senators Harrington and Muse

Entitled: Vehicle Laws - Prohibition Against Smoking in Vehicle Containing Young Child

Synopsis:

Prohibiting a driver of a motor vehicle in which a person who is under the age of 8 is a passenger from smoking a tobacco product or allowing a passenger to smoke in the motor vehicle; establishing a $50 fine for a violation of the Act; etc.

2010 Candidates: Rushern Baker Press Announcement

(Posted 27 Jan 2009)

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rushern Baker <friendsofrushernbaker@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Jan 27, 2009 at 7:45 AM
Subject: Rushern Baker Press Announcement
To: dcrussell@gmail.com

PRESS RELEASE January 27, 2009 For Immediate Release Contact: Alexander Krughoff 202-427-6329 Baker Campaign Committee Raises Over $200,000 The Friends of Rushern L. Baker received $206, 585 in contributions between January 10, 2008 and January 14, 2009. The campaign raised these dollars despite the downturn in the economy and the intense local focus on the 2008 Presidential Election.   The Baker campaign eliminated the majority of its debts, except obligations pending negotiations, and remains prepared for an aggressive run for the office of County Executive in 2010. "We welcome the show of confidence in our campaign from around the county," said Baker, "the willingness of people and businesses to support positive change where they live and work through their financial contributions keeps me humble."  Baker continued, "While the dollars matter, it will be our ideas and the ability to run a campaign that speaks to what people need right now, that will make the difference in 2010." The Baker Campaign plans to multiply its fundraising and outreach efforts for 2009, while also introducing some innovative approaches to interactive campaigning.   "I'm running for the office not against anybody.  I will not expect the pace of our fundraising to matter on Election Day in 2010. Instead, connecting with the people of Prince Georges County by offering clear, practical solutions to the problems we face will drive our efforts.  Having dollars, large and small will help the campaign help people know how, together, we can become a County of the highest rank." said Baker when asked what the fundraising pace means for his upcoming County Executive bid. Baker will be available today from 3 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. to comment on this press release. Join him on a conference chat at (877)643-6951 and enter the access code 64218667#. ### Friends of Rushern Baker, P.O. Box 1331 Greenbelt, Maryland 20768 www.rushernbaker.com, rushern@rushernbaker.com,  240 515 0093 By Authority: Brad Seamon, Treasurer

Prince George's sponsors of bills to limit police spying

(Posted 27 Jan 2009)

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SB 256, HB 182

PG Sponsors::
Senators Harrington,  Muse, Pinsky, and Rosapepe
Delegates Barnes, Benson, Braveboy, Gaines, Healey, Hubbard, Ivey, Pena-Melnyk, Ramirez, and Valderrama

Entitled:
Freedom of Association and Assembly Protection Act of 2009

Synopsis:

Prohibiting a law enforcement agency from using specified covert techniques to investigate or infiltrate a specified entity unless a specified finding is made; requiring the Department of State Police to adopt specified regulations; requiring specified law enforcement agencies to adopt specified policies; prohibiting a law enforcement agency from collecting, disseminating, or maintaining specified information in a criminal intelligence database unless the information is directly related to specified activity; etc.

Currie's Fundraising Slows To a Trickle

(Posted 26 Jan 2009)

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Currie's Fundraising Slows To a Trickle; Gansler, Smith Step Up.
Maryland Moment, 26 Jan 2009 (Wagner).

Among other things, the federal investigation of Sen. Ulysses Currie (D-Prince George's) appears to have taken a significant toll on his campaign fundraising.

Currie, chairman of the powerful Budget and Taxation Committee and one of the Senate's most prolific fundraisers, reported taking in only $17,673 last year -- and all of that was before news broke in late May about an FBI raid of Currie's home and the headquarters of Shoppers Food and Pharmacy, for whom Currie had been doing undisclosed consulting work.

Currie raised nearly $64,000 during the same period a year before and is sitting on a bank account of $345,663. State lawyers advised last year that it was unlikely Currie would be able to use campaign cash to pay his legal defense fees.
* * *
(A report for Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) not available through the Board of Elections as of this morning.)
* * *
In a year in which he reversed a retirement decision, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) reported raising $379,141, with $644,234 in the bank.
[More]

Looking ahead to the 2010 elections

(Posted 24 Jan 2009)

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During the 2006 election season I used my blog and the PG-Politics and PrinceGeorges_Discussion mailing lists to get out information about candidates for many of the elective offices in Prince George's County.  I tried to cover all the candidates for the Prince George's Board of Education and a subset of the candidates for council and legislative seats.

Generally speaking, I focused on non-Democrats and on Democratic challengers to incumbents. I contacted all those candidates for whom I could find addresses and offered to post links to campaign pages, press releases, and notices of campaign events.  I did not attempt to gather information from incumbents, but posted anything they sent me that was timely.

Looking ahead to 2010, I'll probably try to do something similar (at least on my blog and the PG-Politics list), but not in exactly the same way.  I expect to actively seek out Republican, Libertarian, and other non-Democratic candidates, as well as Democrats planning to mount primary challenges to incumbents or running in contests without an incumbent.  My reach may be somewhat less than it was in 2006 since I can no longer post directly to the PrinceGeorges_Discussion list.  On the other hand, I expect to be home in 2010 and able to attend at least some campaign events, unlike 2006 when a family emergency kept me away from home from mid-June on.

I am interested in any information from or about the plans of potential Prince George's County candidates, and encourage readers to pass this information or my e-mail address on to those potential candidates.

Links:
PG-Politics blog: http://pg-politics.blogspot.com/
Gory Prince George's blog (homicides): http://gorypg.blogspot.com/
PG-Politics mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PG-Politics/
PrinceGeorge's_Discussion mailing list (Jacob Andoh): http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PrinceGeorges_Discussion/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1388018245

Man Awarded Millions in Police Shooting Sees Fortunes Fade

(Posted 24 Jan 2009)

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Man Awarded Millions in Police Shooting Sees Fortunes Fade.
Post, 24 Jan 2009 (Castaneda).

Nearly a year after a Prince George's County man who was shot and wounded by a police officer was awarded more than $2.4 million in a civil suit, a second jury yesterday determined that the man was entitled to no award because the officer did nothing wrong.

The case brought by Darron M. Shaw, 33, was retried after a judge agreed with the county's attorneys that irrelevant evidence had been allowed in the first trial.

The shooting occurred about 4 a.m. New Year's Day 2006 as Shaw, his girlfriend and two friends left a club in District Heights.

Shaw's girlfriend, LaToya Dunn, and the friends got into a car while Shaw walked. The car stopped, and Dunn and Shaw argued, according to court filings and testimony.

County police Officer David Coleman arrived and ordered Shaw to put his hands up, according to court papers. Moments later, Coleman fired five times, hitting Shaw once in the right bicep and once in the right side of his chest.

Shaw testified that he was unarmed. Associate County Attorney Peggie McWhorter, who defended the county and the police officer, argued during this week's trial that physical evidence proved that Shaw was carrying a gun and that the officer was justified in firing.

"The jury determined the actions of Officer Coleman were justified," said James Keary, a county spokesman.

Shaw's attorney, Walter L. Blair, did not return a phone call yesterday.

Gory Prince George's: Man Gets Life Term, But Acquittal in Other Md. Death Is Disputed

(Posted 24 Jan 2009)

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Man Gets Life Term, But Acquittal in Other Md. Death Is Disputed.
Post, 24 Jan 2009 (Castaneda).

A Prince George's County man was sentenced to life in prison yesterday for one slaying, but prosecutors believe he escaped punishment in another after concocting a false alibi.

Authorities said Donnell L. Hunter admitted in a secretly recorded jail conversation that he was the gunman in a 2006 slaying in Temple Hills and boasted that relatives helped him with a bogus alibi. By then, he had been acquitted by a jury. He cannot be retried.

But Hunter, 38, was subsequently convicted of murder in a 2005 killing at a Suitland nightclub and was sentenced yesterday to life without the possibility of parole.

"This man is a stone-cold killer," State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said, "and he's 'gamed' the system for the last time."

Late in 2007, a jury took 40 minutes to acquit Hunter in the fatal shooting of Andre White, 28, and the wounding of Dennis Poe outside a Temple Hills apartment complex.

Three months later, Hunter was in the county jail awaiting trial in the 2005 slaying of Shawn Hodges, 33. As prosecutors secretly recorded the conversation, Hunter described the Temple Hills shootings.

"My intention was to kill him," Hunter, known as "Fat Rat," says of Poe, "but I killed his friend because he intervened."

Circuit Court Judge Ronald D. Schiff yesterday described Hunter's remarks about the Temple Hills shootings as "absolutely chilling."

According to prosecutors, Hunter's niece was involved in a dispute with Poe on Aug. 13, 2006. Hunter and Poe argued, prosecutors alleged. White, a friend of Poe's, tried to defuse the argument. Hunter pulled a handgun from his waistband and fired, striking White in the chest and Poe in the leg.

"Boom, just like that, walked straight to them," Hunter says in a transcript of the conversations. "Hit him right in the chest. His head hang just like this."

Prosecutors said Hunter was seen fleeing the scene in his mother-in-law's silver Hyundai. At the trial, his sister Paulette Hunter testified that her boyfriend was driving the car that night.

In the jail transcript, Hunter says his sister testified for him that a fictitious boyfriend drove the Hyundai. "My sister got up there and told on her boyfriend that never exists. That my sister's made-up boyfriend," Hunter said.

Paulette Hunter has not been charged with a crime. She did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Ramon Korionoff, a spokesman for Ivey, said prosecutors are reviewing the testimony in the first trial and might consider filing charges. Donnell Hunter also testified at the trial, telling jurors that he was not present when the killing occurred.

In the transcript of the jail conversations, Hunter says he believes the acquittals resulted from the bogus alibi and the racial composition of a jury he helped select.

"All black," Hunter, who is black, says of the jury. "I crossed every white off. I picked my own jury, man, every one of them."

Hunter's defense attorney in both cases, Harry Tun, said in an interview that he was unaware of his client engineering a false alibi.

"Certainly, I didn't know anything about it," Tun said.

After the acquittal in the 2006 shootings, Hunter remained in jail, held in the killing of Hodges. Prosecutors placed a recording device inside Hunter's cell after receiving a tip from another inmate that Hunter was speaking freely of the slaying of Hodges and other crimes, according to court records.

Starting in December 2007, authorities recorded nearly 26 hours of conversations between Hunter and his cellmate.

Portions that involved the killing of Hodges were presented at Hunter's trial. Prosecutors in the Hodges case also submitted transcripts of the portions involving the Temple Hills shootings, announcing their desire to present them to the jury if Hunter used an alibi defense.

According to police charging documents, Hunter confronted Hodges at the nightclub Classics after Hodges danced with Hunter's wife. Hodges apologized but then danced with Hunter's wife a second time. Hunter and Hodges fought and were expelled from the club.

Outside, the two men again fought, the charging documents say. Then, as Hodges was walking away with two friends, Hunter approached from behind and shot Hodges in the head, the documents say.

At trial, Hunter initially planned on calling alibi witnesses in the Hodges case, prosecutors said. The defense abandoned that plan after prosecutors said they would introduce the transcripts.

In court yesterday, Hunter said he did not kill Hodges. Hunter did not say anything about the Temple Hills shootings. At one point, he quoted from the Bible and then turned to Hodges's mother, Shiriley Hodges.

"I will be your son, if you want me to be because I know I didn't kill your son," he said.

Tun has filed a motion asking for a new trial in the Hodges case.

Staff researcher Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report.

Gory Prince George's: Man indicted for Forestville homicides in fall 2008

(Posted 23 Jan 2009)

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Man indicted for string of Forestville homicides in fall 2008; Suspect had violated probation at time of Walters Lane deaths.
Gazette, 23 Jan 2009 (Holzheimer ).

A grand jury indicted a Washington, D.C., man Thursday for the deaths of three people in less than two weeks in 2008 on the same block in Forestville.

According to the 18-count indictment, Sylvester Charles Mitchell, 21, of 87 Galveston St. S.E., fatally shot 29-year-old Forestville resident Maurice Stanley on Oct. 28 in the 3300 block of Walters Lane, an area that consists of a church, an apartment complex and a strip mall. Five days later, he shot Huntingtown resident Levar Jones and St. Leonard resident Larry Johnson, 28, on the same block, according to the indictment.

Mitchell was arrested Nov. 20 in the District.

At the time of the shootings, Mitchell was serving probation for allegedly committing theft, assault and robbery with a deadly weapon Dec. 18, 2007, according to online court records. The court dropped all the charges in September, except for one count of robbery with a deadly weapon, and Mitchell was released under supervised probation.

On Oct. 15, a warrant was issued for Mitchell's arrest, according to the records. Ramon Korionoff, a spokesman for the Prince George's County State's Attorney's Office, confirmed Mitchell violated his probation.

The indictment also accuses Mitchell of assault, stealing Stanley's wallet and keys, stealing handguns from Johnson and Jones and illegally possessing a firearm after being convicted of a violent crime.

A trial date has not been set, but the trial should begin within the next six months, Korionoff said.

Efforts to contact Mitchell's family, victims' relatives or the Office of the Public Defender for the State of Maryland, which is representing Mitchell, were not successful by press time.
The deaths brought the number of murders on Walters Lane to four between Nov. 4, 2007 and Nov. 4, 2008, up from zero the year before, according to police records. The increase in violence came as murders declined countywide.

Police responded to the shootings by increasing their patrols and community outreach efforts tenfold, according to Maj. Joseph McCann, commander of the county's Police District 3, which patrols the area.

Lt. Michael Straughn, commander of the county's homicide unit, has said critical information in the case came from residents who responded to police outreach efforts.

Question: Why, did our so-called justice system allow this person, with a record of robbery with a deadly weapon less than a year earlier, out on the street to prey on us some more?  Why?  And who was responsible for dropping all the other charges?

Gang Law Gets Use in Pr. George's Death

(Posted 23 Jan 2009)

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Gang Law Gets Use in Pr. George's Death; Prosecutors, Slow to Invoke 2007 Md. Statute, Urge That It Be Strengthened.
Post, 22 Jan 2009 (Castaneda ).

When a Prince George's County teenager pleaded guilty last week to second-degree murder and participating in a gang crime that led to a death, it marked the first time prosecutors in the county, and perhaps the state, had used an anti-gang statute enacted in 2007.
Under the terms of a plea deal, Circuit Court Judge Larnzell Martin Jr. sentenced Rony Izaguirre-Henriquez, 18, to 30 years in prison, the maximum for second-degree murder. For the gang offense, Martin gave Izaguirre-Henriquez 20 years, which, under the plea agreement, will be served concurrently.
* * *
The law allows judges to impose a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The law does not require that sentences for violations of the anti-gang statute be imposed consecutively, which some state prosecutors say would have made the law stronger.

At least three state's attorney's offices in the Washington suburbs have yet to prosecute anyone under the anti-gang statute.
* * *
Prince George's State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said he, too, wished the law required consecutive sentences for crimes such as murder or attempted murder -- an issue he said he hopes state lawmakers will address during the current session. 

"The region is facing major problems with violent street gangs," Ivey said. "The anti-gang legislation that was enacted [in 2007] provides for some additional tools for prosecutors to combat these gangs. We look forward to working with legislative leaders to improve the statute."
* * *
[Full story]

Comment: What I don't understand.  If Glenn Ivey thinks the gang sentences should run consecutively with the sentences for other crimes, why did he let his staff make a deal for killer Izaguirre-Henriquez to serve his sentences concurrently?

Earlier: 

• Gory Prince George's: Killer gang member gets 30 years , 14 Jan 2009
  
• Maryland Gang Act called ‘useless,’ changes proposed , 10 Jan 2008
  

'Glutton for Punishment' Set to Run (for State's Attorney)

(Posted 23 Jan 2009)

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'Glutton for Punishment' Set to Run.
Post, 22 Jan 2009 (Wiggins & Hernandez ).

There has been much speculation about who might run for the top job in Prince George's County next year: former delegate Rushern L. Baker III, State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey and state Sen. C. Anthony Muse, all Democrats, always seem to cross most people's lips.
Less chatter has been made about the top law enforcement position. But last week, Mark K. Spencer, inspector general for Prince George's police, offered a clue about his intentions.
Just before Spencer sat down for lunch last week at Franklin's in Hyattsville, he was asked whether he plans to run for public office next year.
"Probably state's attorney again," he said. "What can I say? I'm a glutton for punishment."
Spencer, a former deputy state's attorney, lost to Ivey in 2003. After the campaign, he was hired as counsel to Patrick Murphy, the former New York police commissioner whom County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) hired to evaluate the county police force. Later, Spencer got the inspector general job.

Prince George's Taxers: Fertilizer tax (Del.Pena-Melnyk)

(Posted 23 Jan 2009)

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HB 136

Sponsored By: Delegate Pena-Melnyk

Entitled: Specialty Fertilizer - Surcharge

Synopsis:

Imposing a surcharge at a rate of $2 on each ton of specialty fertilizer distributed in the State; exempting commercial fertilizer used for research or experimental purposes from the surcharge; requiring specified distributors to pay the surcharge before distributing specialty fertilizer in the State; requiring the Department of Agriculture to distribute the revenue from the surcharge to the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays 2010 Trust Fund; etc.

Prince George's Nannies: Legislators out to control our lives

(Posted 23 Jan  2009)

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HB 129

Sponsored By: Delegates Pena-Melnyk, Griffith, Howard, Ivey, Ramirez, Ross, and Walker

Entitled: Vehicle Laws - Horse Riding - Helmet Requirement for Minors

Synopsis: 

Requiring minors to wear a helmet when riding a horse on a public roadway; establishing fines for violations of the helmet requirement; and requiring that educational materials be provided to minors who violate the helmet requirement.

Legislators again seek to confiscate the value of old gift cards

HB 126, SB 418

PG Sponsors:

• Delegates Pena-Melnyk, Barnes, Benson, Braveboy, Frush, Gaines, Griffith, Healey, Holmes, Howard, Hubbard  Ivey, Niemann, Ross, V. Turner, Valderrama, Vallario, Vaughn , and Walker
  
• Senators Exum, Harrington, Peters, and Rosapepe

Entitled: Commercial Law - Gift Certificates - Balances - Presumption of Abandonment

Synopsis:

Providing that on a specified date the balance remaining on a gift certificate sold in the State shall be presumed to be abandoned; requiring each issuer of gift certificates sold in the State to report to the Comptroller specified information regarding gift certificate transactions in the State and to remit to the Comptroller 70% of the remaining balances on specified gift certificates on or before March 1 of each year; etc.

Earlier:

• Del. Pena-Melnyk will reintroduce bill to confiscate the value of old gift cards, D.C. Russell, 21 Dec 2007
  
• PG Taxers: PG sponsors of special session tax bills, D.C. Russell, 30 Oct 2007
• State To Steal Unused Gift Certificates To Fund Education, Brian Gill, 6 Nov 2007

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(Updated 3 Feb 2009)

Johnson Appointees Run Amok at WSSC

(Posted 22 Jan 2009)

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Johnson Appointees Run Amok at WSSC.
Maryland Politics Watch (Liberal Blog), 22 Jan 2009 (Pagnucco)

The dysfunction of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) continues to be a big story, with pipe breaks sending a 75-foot wide river to engulf residents in Temple Hills and forcing guests at the Gaylord National Resort to avoid tap water. But our informants have tipped us off to one of the biggest reasons for WSSC’s collapse: the abysmal behavior of Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson’s appointed commissioners.

[Full post (long)]

Is the county council preparing for another attempt to raise taxes?

(Posted 22 Jan 2009)

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Consultant says county should raise taxes, Council looks at ways to maintain services during economic recession.
Gazette, 22 Jan 2009 (Valentine ).

Prince George's County should consider raising taxes and imposing new fees in order to maintain services during the current recession, according to a report by a San Francisco, Calif.-based financial consultant.

"To continue levels of service and public safety, the county will have to find new revenue sources," Calvin Grigsby wrote in his report for the county, "Adjusting to the Fiscal Impact of the Economic Downturn."

The council heard the report during its Jan. 5 retreat. The report recommends the council consider "revenue streams" to survive the economic downturn, including raising property and hotel taxes and imposing a commuter tax on visiting federal employees.

Citing declines in home sales, rising foreclosures and other effects of the global economic recession, Grigsby said the county must consider tax and fee increases and lobby the federal government for aid.

"County taxes should be pushed to those areas that are successful," wrote Grigsby, who said the county should ask the state to increase the scope and rates on hotel, admissions and amusement taxes.

It is unclear whether the council plans to follow the consultant's advice. Council members did not return calls for comment. Spokeswoman Karen Campbell was unable to answer questions about the report.
* * *
County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) has hinted at seeking new taxes to balance a $100 million budget deficit. Earlier this month, Johnson said he planned to ask state leaders for "revenue enhancement" soon, though he would provide no other details.

Del. Melony Griffith (D-Dist. 25) of Upper Marlboro said the executive has not provided details about how he will seek more money for the county and could not say what chance any measure would have of passing the state.
* * *
County leaders have tried to circumvent the charter restriction by getting the state legislature to approve new fees and increases. Last year, County Council members raised the state income tax limit for residents to its maximum over protests from anti-tax advocates.
* * *
Campbell was unable to provide information about how much Grigsby's firm was paid for the consultant work.
[Full article]

Prince George's Nannies: Legislators out to control our lives

(Posted 23 Jan 2009)

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SB 143 HB 72

PG Sponsors:

Senators Currie, Harrington, Miller, Muse, Peters, Pinsky, and Rosapepe

Delegates Frush, Holmes, Howard, Hubbard, Pena-Melnyk, Proctor, Ross, V. Turner, Vallario, Vaughn, and Walker

Entitled: Vehicle Laws - Use of Wireless Communication Devices While Driving - Prohibitions

Synopsis:

Prohibiting a driver of a specified school vehicle from using wireless communication devices; prohibiting a holder of a learner's instructional permit or provisional driver's license who is 18 years of age or older from driving a motor vehicle while using wireless communication devices; prohibiting a driver of a motor vehicle that is in motion from using the driver's hands to use wireless communication devices; providing exceptions to the prohibitions; etc.

Prince George's Taxers: Tax and fee increases sponsored by county legislators

(Posted 21 Jan 2009)

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SB 40 Sen. Harrington

Entitled: Sales and Use Tax - Snack Tax

Synopsis:

Providing that a specified exemption under the sales and use tax for specified sales of food does not apply to specified snack food; repealing an exemption under the sales and use tax for specified snack food sold through vending machines; etc.

Del. Frush working to kill the ICC

(Posted 21 Jan 2009)

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HOUSE BILL 27 
File Code: Transportation - HighwaysPrior Year Introduction As: HB 1471/08 - APP

Sponsored By:

Delegate Frush Bio E-mail 

Entitled:

Transportation - Intercounty Connector - Elimination of Funding

Synopsis:

Requiring the Governor to include a specified appropriation to the Transportation Trust Fund under specified circumstances; prohibiting the Department of Transportation and the Maryland Transportation Authority from financing the Intercounty Connector; requiring the Authority to retire specified bonds secured by a pledge of future federal aid in a specified manner; repealing provisions of law concerning the financing of the Intercounty Connector; etc.  

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Frush: Md. shouldn't fund ICC; New session to also consider alcohol, hotel bills.
Gazette, 21 Jan 2009 (Shay)

The proposed Intercounty Connector toll highway linking Montgomery and Prince George's counties has been under construction for more than a year, but opponents continue to try to thwart the progress of the $2.4 billion, 18.8-mile project.

A bill to prohibit the state Department of Transportation from financing the ICC was among the business-related bills filed last week in the first few days of the 2009 session of the Maryland Legislature. The bill was filed by Del. Barbara A. Frush (D-Dist. 21) of Beltsville, a longtime opponent of the ICC.

The ICC, which has strong support from many business executives and leaders as a way to ease traffic congestion, is expected to be completed in five phases by late 2011.

The project has made "enormous progress" in the past year, said Fran Counihan, a spokeswoman for the ICC. The first phase is already one-third completed and others are in various stages, she said.

"We are on target to be completed on schedule," Counihan said.

Frush's bill had not attracted any co-sponsors or been scheduled for a hearing as of Thursday afternoon, according to the state's Internet site.

[More ]

PG Porkers (Sen. Harrington)

Maryland has a fiscal crisis with a huge deficit looming.  But Sen. David Harrington (D-47) wants to spend even more of the money we don't have on non-essential, non-state government frills.  This is the same Sen. Harrington who has been investigated for using county credit cards for his own personal expenses while a member of the county council.

• SB 141, Creation of a State Debt - Prince George's County - Elizabeth Seton High School Sports Facilities ($100,000)
  

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(Updated 3 Feb 2009)

Gory Prince George's: PG Killer Escapes

(Posted 18 Jan 2009)

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Inmate Escapes From State Prison in Hagerstown; Man Jailed in '07 Pr. George's Slaying.
Post, 18 Jan 2008 (Weil & Zapotosky ).

A convict serving a 40-year sentence for killing a store employee during a robbery in Prince George's County escaped yesterday from a Maryland prison, officials said.

Kandelario Garcia-Ramos, 24, apparently climbed a fence to flee from the Maryland Correctional Institution in Hagerstown, a state corrections spokesman said.

"It's a dangerous situation when a violent criminal like this escapes his confinement," said a spokesman for the prosecutor's office in Prince George's.

The perimeter fence at the medium-security institution is 18 feet tall and topped with razor wire, corrections spokesman Rick Binetti said.

Escapes are "extremely rare," Binetti said.

According to court records, Garcia-Ramos entered an Alford plea last year to a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Fernando Monge, an employee of the Two Brothers Tire City store in the Brentwood area.

In an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit to commission of a crime but acknowledges that sufficient evidence exists to support a finding of guilt.

Monge was fatally stabbed Dec. 6, 2007, during what appeared to be a robbery of the store.

Ramon Korionoff, the spokesman for Prince George's state's attorney Glenn F. Ivey, said the stabbing was recorded by a surveillance camera.

A witness told police that he had seen someone rummaging through the store cash register.

Relatives described Monge as an industrious father of three children who often worked six days a week at the store, in the 4300 block of Bladensburg Road.

"He was always working very hard," a relative told a reporter at the time of the killing.

Korionoff said last night that Garcia-Ramos had been fired from his job at the store a few weeks before the killing.

He said police were providing special protection last night for the witnesses who cooperated in the case.

Although no specific threats had been made against witnesses, Korionoff said, authorities intended to take every precaution.

Corrections officials said they think Garcia-Ramos escaped while residents of his housing unit were going to or from breakfast. He might have used clothing to protect himself from the razor wire, they said.

A piece of clothing was found on the fence, officials said.

Garcia-Ramos was described by authorities as Hispanic, 5-foot-4 and 165 pounds with brown eyes, dark hair and a light complexion.

They said he was wearing prison bluejeans and other prison clothing of an unknown nature.

They said he might have been cut when going over or through the wire.

Authorities said the Maryland State Police apprehension team, with special expertise in tracking fugitives, was leading the search, which was continuing last night.

The state police said troopers and sheriff's deputies from Washington County, where the prison is located, were contacting residents of the area to notify them.

Anyone who saw the fugitive was asked to call 301-739-2101.

The state police said Garcia-Ramos was not known to be armed but should be considered dangerous.

The prison houses about 2,200 medium- and minimum-security inmates, according to corrections officials.

The escape was under investigation, they said.

Note: Killers who have been executed can't escape and don't get another opportunity to prey on innocent victims or retaliate against witnesses.

Police sweep gang from streets

(Posted 17 Jan 2009)

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Police sweep gang from streets; Members of Tully Station Crew apprehended in connection with string of armed robberies, assaults.
Gazette, 16 Jan 2009 (McKeever).

Police have arrested 12 gang members during the last several weeks and are searching for another individual allegedly involved in more than a dozen armed robberies in Suitland throughout the past year.

Michael Dwayne Lewis, 20, of Capitol Heights; Keith Lemont Fletcher, 19, of Capitol Heights; Edward Jerome Walker, 27, of Washington, D.C.; and Lonnie Wade IV, 23, of Clinton have been arrested along with eight juveniles in connection with 13 robberies from September 2008 to October 2008, said Cpl. Clinton Copeland, a Prince George's County Police Department spokesman.

The apprehended men, part of a gang known as the Tully Station Crew, allegedly stole victims' money, wallets, cell phones and other items and were known to target Hispanics. They will be charged with robbery and either first- or second-degree assault, said Officer Henry Tippett, a Prince George's County Police Department spokesman.

Police believe that because the gang targeted Hispanics there may have been additional robberies that have gone unreported.

"Sometimes Hispanic and Latino populations may not be here legally," Tippet said, making these residents less likely to report crimes to police. A language barrier may also dissuade victims, he said.

The majority of robberies were strong-arm robberies, which left the victims in need of medical attention. Tippett said it seemed like most of the incidents involved assault through personal force but could not immediately confirm whether weapons were used in the attacks.

Many of the victims were hospitalized, according to a statement from police.

Through this investigation, police believe the 13 men comprise the entire Tully Station Crew.

"As a direct result, there have been no additional robberies in this area in several months," said Maj. Joseph McCann, commander of the District 3 station, in a statement.

Police Close Thirteen Robberies with Twelve Arrests Involving Local Gang .
Police, 16 Jan 2009 (Tippett)

Prince George’s County, Maryland… The Prince George’s County Police Department’s District III Robbery Suppression Team Detectives have closed thirteen robberies that have occurred in the Suitland area over the course of a year spanning from September of 2007 to October of 2008 with twelve arrests.

The arrests, involving three adults and nine juveniles, all part of a gang that was identified as the “Tully Station Crew” are a direct result of persistent investigative work along with the assistance from the community.

The majority of the robberies committed were strong armed robberies where the victims were attacked by between one to six suspects at a time. Many victims were assaulted and robbed of money, wallets, cell phones, and other items. As a result of the assaults, many of the victims had to be hospitalized due to their injuries. Detectives investigating the robberies believe that this gang may be responsible for many other robberies in and around the Suitland area. The gang targeted mostly Hispanic victims which is why detectives believe many other robberies may have not even been reported.

“It is gratifying to have these violent criminals off the streets of our neighborhoods. Due to this investigation, the entire “Tully Station Crew” has been arrested and taken off the streets of Prince George's County, and as a direct result, there have been no additional robberies in this area in several months,” said Major Joseph McCann, Commander of the District III station.

Jury: PG Cops used excessive force against reporter

(Updated 17 Jan 2009)

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Jury: Cops used excessive force against reporter.
wtop.com, 19 Jan 2009 (Segraves).

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. - A Prince George's County jury has reached a verdict in the case of a reporter who sued the county.

A jury has found Prince George's County Police used excessive force when they detained Channel 7 investigative reporter Andrea McCarren.

In April 2005, police ordered McCarren and her cameraman, Pete Hakel, out of their car at gunpoint during a traffic stop.

McCarren, an award-winning investigative reporter, was working on a tip that Cpl. Danon Ashton, the county police liaison to the Prince George's County Chief Administrator Jacqueline Brown, was driving Brown on personal trips rather than for business.

When Ashton noticed that he was being followed by McCarren and Hakel, he called for back up.

Video of the incident captured by Hakel's camera shows at least seven police officers surrounded McCarren's car, several with their weapons drawn.

There was no other video of the incident, despite an understanding with the U.S Department of Justice that requires Prince George's County police cars to have dashboard-mounted video cameras operating at all times.

McCarren - who stands 5 feet, 4 inches and weighs about 110 pounds - claimed police dislocated her shoulder and tore her rotator cuff when they pulled her arms behind her back. McCarren had surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff, torn labrum and detached biceps tendon.

Neither she nor her cameraman, Peter Hakel, was ever charged with any violations.

On Friday, a jury awarded McCarren $5,000 -- far less than the $500,000 she was seeking. The two sides had been close to a settlement, but could not come to terms on a confidentiality agreement.

The jury did not find that the officers violated McCarren's rights as a journalist.

Prince George's County spokesman Jim Keary tells WTOP the verdict is a vindication for the county.

"Sadly, Ms. McCarren was trying to grandstand and grab headlines by accusing the county of interfering with her pursuit of a story," Keary says. "The jury solidly said, 'no.'"

The jury "found the stop was proper and did not violate her rights," Keary tells WTOP.

In an email to WTOP, McCarren's attorney Steven Pavsner writes, "The verdict was anything but a vindication. The jury found that the officers who stopped Andrea used excessive force, injured her, and violated her constitutional rights. It's a sad day when the county considers such a stinging rebuke a ''vindication.'''

(Copyright 2009 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

Police Used Excessive Force, Civil Jury Says; TV Reporter Awarded $5,000 in Damages for '05 Traffic Stop.
Post, 17 Jan 2009 (Castaneda)

A Prince George's County civil jury determined yesterday that police officers who stopped a television news reporter and ordered her out of her vehicle at gunpoint nearly four years ago used excessive force and awarded her $5,000 in damages.

But the jury of six men and two women also found that the county officers acted appropriately in conducting a "high-risk" stop of Andrea McCarren, a reporter for WJLA-TV (Channel 7).

In her lawsuit, McCarren alleged that police manhandled her in an attempt to intimidate her into dropping a probe into the possible misuse of county government resources. McCarren and her attorneys said she suffered tendon damage to a shoulder when an officer grabbed her right wrist and yanked it behind her back.

McCarren declined to comment on the verdict. One of her attorneys, Steven M. Pavsner, said, "We're pleased the jury recognized the police used excessive force, which is unacceptable." Pavsner said he was disappointed by the modest amount of damages the jurors awarded.

John Erzen, a county spokesman, said of the verdict: "Sadly, Miss McCarren was trying to make headlines and grandstanding on the issue we violated the freedom of the press. On this issue, the jury has solidly said, no, we did not."

The incident occurred the morning of April 15, 2005, when McCarren and her cameraman, Pete Hakel, were following Cpl. Danon Ashton, the police liaison to the county's chief administrative officer, Jacqueline Brown.
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According to the lawsuit, McCarren was investigating whether Ashton was serving as Brown's "personal chauffeur" by driving her to dinner parties and on shopping trips and washing her vehicle.

McCarren was driving her personal vehicle, a Toyota Highlander SUV, when she and Hakel, who was in the back seat, began to follow Ashton in a residential area of Bowie.

Ashton picked up Brown from her home, noticed he was being followed and called for help.

In the Cheverly area, county and Cheverly police in marked cars conducted a "felony traffic stop" in which McCarren was ordered out of her vehicle by officers who trained their service weapons on her.

Hakel captured part of the encounter with his camera. The video shows McCarren following police orders to get out of her vehicle and put her hands in the air. At the direction of police, McCarren slowly walks backward and is out of camera range after a few steps.

In all, nine police cars from Prince George's and Cheverly responded. Although most of the squad cars were equipped with video cameras, police said none of them were working that day, Pavsner said.

Prince george's council priorities???

The recently approved amendment to the Maryland Constitution does NOT allow slot machines in Prince County.

News reports suggest that the county is facing severe financial difficulties.

Despite some good news on crime, and a relatively insignificant decrease in homicides, Prince George's County remains one of the most murderous jurisdictions in the country. County Executive Johnson is threatening to break his campaign promises and cut back on police hiring (Gazette, 15 Jan 2009).

Despite some minor improvements on the watch of the recently departed schools chief, Prince George's County schools remain one of the two worst performing systems in the state.

So, what is council member Eric Olson's response to these problems--crime and education problems that most rational people would consider high priorities?

Mr. Olson, introducing the very first bill of the new council session, wants the council to spend its time on a totally unnecessary bill to ban slot machines in Prince George's County, even though they are already banned in the county by state law, which takes priority over county laws (Post, 15 Jan 2009).

Is Mr. Olson just trying to distract his colleagues and constituents from the real problems facing the council?  He says "In the future, you never know what might come along."  How true!  You just never know what goofy or unnecessary ideas out politicians manage to dream up.

Scofflaw PG County officials ordered to obey Maryland Public Information Act

County Must Release Crime Information; Ruling Stems From Comment by Johnson.
Post, 15 Jan 2009 (Wiggins).

A state appeals court ruled recently that Prince George's must release information related to County Executive Jack B. Johnson's assertion three years ago that some apartment complexes are "breeding grounds" for crime.

The documents have been sought by an association representing apartment owners who are seeking to refute the statements by Johnson (D).

Late last month, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals affirmed a 2007 decision by Prince George's County Circuit Court Judge Albert W. Northrop. He had ordered county officials to honor the request for information filed by the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington under the Maryland Public Information Act.

The decision by the state's second-highest court comes after years of legal wrangling between the apartment owners and the county over the public-information request.

The battle began in August 2006 after the county did not respond fully to a request filed in July 2005. Under the Maryland Public Information Act, such requests are supposed to be answered within 30 days.

"They stonewalled us," Shaun Pharr, an attorney for the building owners group, said, referring to communication with the county before the lawsuit. "They grudgingly in the fall of 2007 provided us with some information."

But the association was not given all of the information it wanted.

Its request sought all records and documents, including e-mails, pertaining to the county's "apartment action list"; criteria for placing a property on the list; inspections and code enforcement for properties on the list; meetings and agendas in which the list was discussed; calls for police service at apartments on the action list; the outcome of such calls; and the average police response time to the apartments.

The association has sought to disprove a statement Johnson made during a midterm address in January 2005 that 117,000 calls for police had been made in 2004 regarding serious crimes at several county apartment complexes. In his speech, Johnson raised the possibility of shutting down the crime-riddled apartment complexes, which left some of their residents worried about where they would live.

About two months later, Johnson said 19,000 calls to police had been made to help stop homicides, shootings, burglaries and other serious crimes at the 22 complexes. County officials blamed the discrepancy on incorrect figures in a report by then-police chief Melvin C. High.

In the appeals court ruling, the judges rejected the county's assertion that some of the records could not be found and ordered them turned over to the association. The judges agreed with the lower court, which had determined that the county is in possession of documents that it has not given the association.

The owners group had presented a document from the county chief of staff to county employees that reminded them about a meeting to discuss the "initiatives and progress of the apartment task force as it relates to the twenty-two properties covered in the initiative." The association obtained that document through its own channels, but it was never produced by the county.

The court also ruled that the county should pay attorney fees incurred by the owners group.

Although the owners said they were pleased with the overall decision, not every point in the ruling went their way.

The judges ruled that the lower court had overstepped its authority when it imposed a $5,000-a-day fine against the county to be paid to the Apartment and Office Building Association until the documents were provided.

"The statute does not include a provision that permits a court to levy a fine for noncompliance," Judge Albert J. Matricciani Jr. wrote in the opinion.

"We're pleased that the county did not have to pay the $5,000 a day," said John Erzen, a spokesman for the county. "That should not have gone forward."

Matricciani said such a levy would encourage the party receiving the money "to continue to dispute the adequacy of the responses in an attempt to collect more money."

Instead of the fine, the judges suggested that the Circuit Court consider whether a contempt of court charge should be filed against the "responsible" county employee.

Erzen said he could not comment on the appellate judges' recommendation because the matter is pending before the Circuit Court.

Gory Prince George's: Killer gang member gets 30 years

Teen Is Given 30 Years In Gang-Related Killing
Post, 14 Jan 2009 (Castaneda).

An alleged member of a violent street gang pleaded guilty yesterday and was sentenced to 30 years in prison for fatally stabbing a 15-year-old student outside a Prince George's County high school last spring.

Rony Izaguirre-Henriquez, 18, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and participating in a gang crime that lead to death. The gang offense is the first time Prince George's prosecutors have obtained a conviction under an anti-gang law enacted by state legislators last year, a spokesman for State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said.

Guillermo Enrique Medina was killed April 2 as he walked home from Parkdale High School in Riverdale. Izaguirre-Henriquez was sentenced under the terms of a plea agreement, and prosecutors said federal authorities could also seek to deport him.

Given the chance by Circuit Court Judge Larnzell Martin Jr. to speak before the sentence was imposed, Izaguirre-Henriquez, dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit, stood and told Guillermo's parents that their son was not the innocent boy they thought he was.

"There's one way of life at home, and another way of life in the street," Izaguirre-Henriquez, who speaks primarily Spanish, said through an interpreter. "They have to understand, they didn't know he was in a gang, but he was, and that's life, and life has to go on."

Guillermo's parents, who sat in the front row of the courtroom, declined an opportunity to speak in court. They also declined to be interviewed later.

Gulliermo's mother is a hotel maid, and his father supervises delivery trucks for a bakery. They are both from El Salvador, and each has a child in that country. They met in the United States, and Guillermo, the only child they have together, was born in Virginia.

Izaguirre-Henriquez is a member of the MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, street gang, which is composed primarily of Central American immigrants, said police and prosecutors. Investigators think Guillermo was part of a rival group, they said.

Police and prosecutors said Guillermo, known as "Pato," or duck, because he walked like a duck, was trying to avoid a confrontation in the moments before he was killed.

About 2:40 p.m. April 2, Izaguirre-Henriquez jumped out of a gold Honda, approached Guillermo and flashed a gang sign, investigators said. According to witnesses, Guillermo said he didn't want any trouble, said Assistant State's Attorney Wesley Adams. Izaguirre-Henriquez pulled out a knife and stabbed Guillermo in the chest.

Last month, Izaguirre-Henriquez's brother, Walter, pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder and was sentenced to five years in prison. Walter, 19, drove his brother to and from the attack, authorities said.

The brothers are immigrants from El Salvador. Federal immigration officials will be notified of their convictions and could take steps to deport them after their prison terms are over, prosecutors said.

Homicide Detective Christopher Smith, the lead police investigator, said the brazen nature of the attack made it unusually easy to find witnesses.

"He did it right in the open, after school," Smith said outside of court. "A lot of people saw it, and a lot of people knew him."

Note: It appears from court records that Rony Izaguirre-Henriquez was arrested for this April 2 killing, allowed out on bail, and then arrested again within a few days on April 23 and charged with two counts of assault. Although the Post report does not specifically address the immigration status of the two Izaguirre-Henriquez brothers, it seems clear they are not citizens and are probably in the country illegally.

Gory Prince George's: 3 Teens Admit Beating Man to Death

 3 Teens Admit Beating Man to Death
Post, 6 Jan 2008 (Castaneda)

Three of the four teenagers charged with fatally beating a 56-year-old man over a cigarette in Bladensburg last May pleaded guilty yesterday to second-degree murder, State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said.

The three, who were charged as adults, entered their pleas before Circuit Court Judge Beverly Woodard, authorities said.

Marcus L. Williams, Regina R. Young-Bey and Calaisha L. Vaughn, all 15, admitted to fatally beating Aboubacar Camara.

The fourth defendant, Justin E. McBride, also 15, pleaded that he was "involved" -- the juvenile court equivalent of a guilty plea -- to a charge of first-degree murder last month, officials said.

Camara, an immigrant from Guinea, was beaten to death near Bladensburg High School on the afternoon of May 28.

According to police, Camara was walking near the school's playground when Vaughn approached him and asked for a cigarette.

Camara declined the request and was punched and knocked to the ground by Young-Bey, police and prosecutors said.

The four teenagers repeatedly kicked Camara as he lay on the ground, authorities said. The attackers stole cigarettes from Camara and ran.

Camara was taken to Prince George's Hospital Center, where he died from his injuries.

"Four young people beat this man to death for no reason," Ivey said in a statement. "We have held them accountable for that. We have to take a hard look at creating new options for sentencing juveniles. We have to make sure that juveniles are separated from adults in prison because it assures that they will not be exploited in prison."

Williams, Young-Bey and Vaughn are scheduled to be sentenced March 26.

Prosecutors will work with defense attorneys to try to find a safe location for the three attackers, who entered their pleas in adult court, said Ramon Korionoff, an Ivey spokesman.

The juvenile court judge in McBride's case could order that he be held in a juvenile facility until he is 21. The date of McBride's sentencing could not be learned yesterday.

Under the terms of plea agreements for Williams, Young-Bey and Vaughn, prosecutors will ask for a sentence within advisory state guidelines, which would mean terms of about 18 years each in prison, Korionoff said. They would be able to cut their sentences by about half with credit for good behavior, Korionoff said.

The four attackers belonged to a small gang that called itself the "Skull Crushers," authorities said.

Camara came to the United States in 1994. He had worked in banking and finance in his native West Africa but found life difficult in the United States, friends said. At the time of his death, Camara was working for a Prince George's County moving company, doing odd jobs.

O'Malley kills bus service from Prince George's to Annapolis

Mayor says 'nuts' to ending MTA bus; Moyer seeks way to revive No. 921 to rail stop.
Sun, 4 Jan 2009 (Fuller ).

Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer is calling a decision by the Maryland Transit Administration to cut a popular but sparsely used bus route connecting Annapolis to the Washington area "nuts," and is vowing to scrape together funds from the city's budget to keep the bus in circulation.

"It's nonsense," Moyer said. "We've spent a lot of time and energy - that means money - trying to convince people to use alternative transportation to reduce congestion on the roads and to reduce the [pollution] that goes up into the air. So canceling this right now, it's the wrong way to go."

MTA announced last week that it would cut service on several rail and bus lines, including the 921 bus that provides service between Annapolis and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority rail stop at New Carrollton because of shrinking revenues. The service cut will take effect Jan. 12.

The New Carrollton station also serves as a transfer point for several other bus lines, servicing parts of Prince George's County. Two other bus lines - the 922 and the 950 - follow a similar route through Annapolis, but originate on Kent Island, and transport riders into Washington proper near several Metro stops.
[More]