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Update 2: Chris Robinson writes that the Police have released the name of the defendant in this case:

Lynnard James Slaughter, 23, of the unit block of Grandchester Place, was arrested at 5 p.m. and charged with first-degree assault, illegally carrying a handgun and the use of a handgun in the commission of a felony, according to a statement from Montgomery County police released Wednesday

Update: I see now that the County Police have posted a press release on this incident. It promises more information “tomorrow” — which would be yesterday as I post this update on the 31st — but that appears not to have been posted yet. Anyway, here’s the text of their press release:

5/29/2007

Assault Arrest in Gaithersburg
Assault Arrest in Gaithersburg

Officers from the Montgomery County Police 6th District and Gaithersburg Police Department are investigating a first-degree assault that occurred today in Gaithersburg.

At approximately 11:37 a.m., a citizen called 911 to report what the caller believed was an attempted armed carjacking in the 500 block of Odendhal Avenue near Goshen Road.

Responding officers learned that the adult male suspect was known to the 18-year-old male victim and was armed and verbally threatening him, not trying to steal a car. The victim had seen a firearm, but It could not be immediately determined whether it was a BB gun or another type of firearm. After the assault, the suspect fled on foot. A Maryland State Police helicopter responded to assist efforts to locate the suspect. Through the course of the investigation, the suspect was identified. He was taken into custody at his home at approximately 5:00 this evening.

Three Montgomery County public schools: Forest Oak Middle School, Gaithersburg Middle School, and Gaithersburg Elementary School activated a Code Blue heightened security status during the initial stages of the police search for the potentially armed suspect. The Code Blue status was removed between 1:00 and 1:30 p.m. Police kept a presence in the area of Forest Oak Middle school for students walking home when school was dismissed.

***Further details on the suspect will be released tomorrow after the suspect has been charged and processed.***

###

LEHB:lehb

# # #

Contact: Lucille Baur 240-773-5030 or Mel Hadley240-773-5030

Chris Robinson writes:

Three Gaithersburg schools were on alert Tuesday while police searched for a man they believed was armed with a handgun.

Forest Oak Middle, Gaithersburg Middle and Gaithersburg Elementary schools were placed on Code Blue at 12:10 p.m., following a series of reports about a man armed with a handgun in the area, said Sgt. Rudy Wagner, a spokesman for Gaithersburg Police. The suspect had not located as of Tuesday afternoon.

A witness told police at about 11:40 a.m. that he saw what appeared to be a carjacking, but police later learned the incident involved a man with a silver handgun who was threatening another man, Wagner said.

The men then fled in separate directions — the armed man toward Girard Street and the other toward North Summit, Wagner said. The victim later told police he believed it might be a B.B. gun, Wagner said.

Some of you may already have noticed, but if you look at the button bar up at the top, you’ll find a link to a new feature, the Gaithersblog Calendar. It uses the free Google Calendar to store the events. I’ve worked over the past several days to include a number of events of possible interest to my readers. Feel free to let me know about additional events that could be added.

From the County’s Website:

In the summary, they list one rape, two robberies, one aggravated assault, one commercial and five residential burglaries, twenty-four thefts from vehicles, six stolen vehicles and three sex offenses.

• An attempted sexual assault occurred in the parking lot of Shady Grove Radiology, 9850 Key West Avenue, on Wednesday 5/16, at 1700 hours. The victim was leaving work and the suspect followed her out of the building. He grabbed her arm and said “Come on, baby”. The victim ran to her vehicle and the suspect attempted to prevent her from closing the door. He pointed to his erect penis (underneath his pants) and told her to look at it. The victim threatened to run him over and he fled on foot.

  Suspect:W/M, 5’8”-5’9”/180-185 lbs., goatee, medium-length black hair, possibly Middle-Eastern, grey sweatshirt and pants

• A strong-armed robbery occurred on Water Street on Sunday 5/20 at 1820 hours. The victim was at the bus stop when the first suspect asked her for the time. He then grabbed her around her neck and took her purse. The first suspect joined the other suspect and they fled into the woods. The victim’s purse (minus the cash) was found nearby on James Street.

  Suspect: B/M, 20-26 yrs. old, white T-shirt, blue shorts

  Suspect: B/M, 20-22 yrs. old, blue shirt

  Water and James Streets are between Muddy Branch & South Frederick, south of W. Diamond Ave.

• An armed robbery by known suspects occurred at the rear of Pepito Restaurant, 107 E. Diamond Avenue, on Monday 5/21 at 2130 hours. The victim told the suspects he had a $50 bill and offered to buy them dinner. They went to the rear of the building where the suspects displayed a knife and beat the victim. He passed out and then went to the Gaithersburg City police station to report the incident. The suspects were found later the next morning at Popeye’s and were arrested.

  Defendant: Daniel Medina, AKA Daniel Pantoja, H/M, 47 yrs. old, 5’10”/198 lbs., balding, mustache, multiple tattoos, multiple tattoos, homeless, has priors for robbery, theft, CDS and kidnapping

  Defendant: Juan Galinda-Rodriguez, H/M, 23 yrs. old, 5’7”/175 lbs., homeless, has priors for deportable alien, assault, disorderly and trespassing

• Officers responded to the area of the Montgomery Village Golf Course on Thursday 5/17 at 1515 hours for the sound of shots fired. A citizen saw multiple suspects run behind the homes on Ridgeline Drive, with one suspect possibly carrying a gun. The suspects were stopped nearby, but the citizen did not identify them in a show-up. Some of the suspects ran into an address on Ridgeline Drive and consent was given to search the house but no gun was found. A black IPod and an ID belonging to a ‘Gila Herbert’ was found. Officers served a search warrant the next day and recovered at least two guns.

  Suspect: Juvenile, B/M, 16 yrs. old, 6’2”/184 lbs.

  Suspect: Juvenile, B/M, 14 yrs. old, of N. Stone Avenue, (1D)

  Suspect: Juvenile, B/M, 16 yrs. old, 5’9”/160 lbs., of Walker House Road

  Defendant: Nashawn Grant, B/M, 18 yrs. old, corn rowed hair, has priors for CDS and was wanted on an unrelated warrant, of 20418 Meadow Pond Place

  Suspect: Juvenile, B/M, 16 yrs. old, of Club House Road

  Suspect: Juvenile, B/M, 16 yrs. old, of Brassie Place

• A ’98 Ford Contour was stolen at the Exxon gas station, 16425 S. Frederick Avenue, on Saturday, 5/19 at 1850 hours. The victim went inside the store, leaving the vehicle running unattended. The suspect fled in the vehicle and was last seen on Walnut Hill Road; the suspect had stolen a bottle of water from the store just prior to this event.

  Suspect: B/M, 25 yrs. old, 6’/180 lbs., long braided hair, red jersey, jeans, black & white shoes

• A residential burglary occurred in the 700 block of West Side Drive on Monday 5/21 at 0046 hours. The suspect entered the residence and when he saw the victim inside, the suspect fled on foot.

  Suspect: H/M, white T-shirt, blue shorts, NFD

• The pickpocket and purse-snatch do not appear to be related.

  • 5/16 WED 1114 hrs. 9715 Medical Center Drive, Medical Plaza BLDG 1: The suspect helped the elderly male victim’s wife into his vehicle and the victim later discovered his wallet missing. Suspect: B/M, NFD
  • 5/22 TUE 1535 hrs. Muddy Branch Road & School Drive: The victim was at the bus stop when the suspect snatched her purse and fled on School Drive towards the townhomes

    Suspect: B/M, dark complexion, black hat, white T-shirt, blue jeans

• A possible transient criminal crime occurred on Russell Avenue on Thursday 5/17 at 1600 hours. The 87-year-old female victim answered the door and the suspect said she was looking for a piece of paper to leave a note for the victim’s neighbor. The suspect was allowed entry and walked around the house. The victim is disabled and was unable to keep up with her, and the suspect walked into the bedroom and emerged a few minutes later. The victim later discovered $250 and several pieces of jewelry missing.

  Suspect: H/F, mid-30’s, 5’6”/110 lbs., long black ponytail, white blouse & pants

• A residential burglary occurred at 12200 block of Bradbury Drive on Tuesday 5/15 between 0700 and 1000 hours. The suspect previously did work for the victim at his house and had given the victim back his house key, but the victim believes the suspect made a copy of the key. The victim’s child was home and heard the suspect enter and open drawers in the bedroom. Checks taken have been forged. The victim believes the suspect is currently living out of his vehicle. Investigation is continuing.

  Bradbury Drive is south of Great Seneca Highway, just east of Seneca Creek State Park.

• The P2 beat was hit hard with thefts from vehicles from Thursday 5/17 to Friday 5/19, with 12 vehicles entered and lloose items inside taken. Nine of the victims had unlocked doors, the rest were ‘unknown entry’. The map to the [below] shows the theft locations. See the printout for specific addresses and added details.

• A theft from a vehicle occurred in the parking lot of the Shell gas station on Quince Orchard Road. The victim was getting gas and had stepped away from the vehicle. He saw the suspect and three other subjects walking away from his vehicle and he noticed his wallet was missing from the vehicle. He yelled at them and they fled on foot. The suspect claimed the other suspects took the property and gave it to him to hold. He was arrested the same night as the other thefts in the beat but it is unknown if he was involved in them or not.

  Defendant: Boima Sanimanie, B/M, 19 yrs. old, 5’9”/112 lbs., has priors for armed robbery, agg. assault, burglary & CDS, of 18229 Lost Knife Circle

• A peeping tom occurred in the 400 block of 427 Christopher Avenue on Tuesday 5/15 at 0040 hours. The adult female victim was in the bedroom with the window and blinds partially open. She heard a noise and saw the shape of a human head move outside of the window. The victim’s dog had barked just prior to this, which the victim said was highly unusual.

• Gang-related graffiti was painted on the walls of Montgomery Village Middle School, 19300 Watkins Mill Road, sometime between 1900 hours on Wednesday, 5/16 and 0700 hours Thursday, 5/17. The graffiti was from “MS13” and “Bloods”.

• Officers responded to Zio’s Italian Restaurant, 9083 Gaither Road on Saturday, 5/19 at 0445 hours for an alarm. They found the bottom of a rear glass door broken with a piece of concrete. The cash register was searched but had been previously emptied. Nothing was taken.

• There were two Acuras taken between Tuesday 5/15 and Wednesday 5/16.

  • 5/15 TUE 1320-1420 hrs 7400 block of Brenish Drive ’02 Acura RSX
  • 5/15-5/16 TUE-WED 2300-0800 hrs. 8500 Fountain Valley Drive ’95 Acura Integra

  Brenish Drive is north of the Airpark off MD124. Fountain Valley Drive is between Warfield and Snouffers School roads, east of Goshen Road