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Liz Farmer writes in the Maryland Daily Record: As gang-related crime increases, the county prosecutor’s office increases its manpower — and its caseload:

On Halloween night in Rockville, a Safeway cashier was shot in the leg by a group of assailants. A week later, a stabbing assault at a Gaithersburg mall was followed by a fatal stabbing at a nearby bus stop.

Then, five men stabbed and seriously wounded a Gaithersburg man in what authorities described as a retaliatory strike. And the following week, two teens were shot outside the Shady Grove Metro station.

The Gang Prosecution Unit, made possible through state and local funding, handles not just gang violence but all cases where a known gang member has been charged with a crime. The unit handled nearly 400 cases this year, ranging from disorderly conduct to assault to homicide.

According to the Office of the State’s Attorney, today there are about 40 active gangs in Montgomery County and 1,150 members. Approximately 3,600 gang members have been identified in the D.C. metropolitan area.

By comparison, Prince George’s County has about 50 gangs with more than 400 members, and Baltimore City has about 170 known street gangs with about 1,300 members, according to state statistics.

The Decmeber Mid-Month edition of the Town Courier is now available:

• Sonya Burke writes, Montgomery County Vies for GE Site:
  

  Montgomery County officials are negotiating with the developers of the GE Technology Park to create a “public safety campus” in Gaithersburg next to the communities of Kentlands and Lakelands along Route 28

• Krista Brick writes, City Council Approves of Skate Spots:
  

  A new skate spot where skateboarders can practice their sport is going to be built in Gaithersburg.

• Sonya Burke writes, City Charges New Fire Fee to Commercial Owners
  

  The city of Gaithersburg is notifying 1,700 commercial owners of a new $50 annual fire permit fee.

This issue also has an opinion piece signed by the members of the Skate Park Committee:

On December 10, the Ad Hoc Committee for Skate Components presented its recommendations to the Mayor and City Council for the City of Gaithersburg. We proposed the creation of a skate spot (a commonly used term to differentiate small skate areas from larger skate plazas or parks) near the front of Lakelands Park facing Main Street. This recommendation has generated considerable controversy including allegations that the advisory process was flawed. Now that we have presented our recommendation to the City Council we would like to put our proposal into a larger context and respond to our critics.

I received the following press release from Ben Ross of Action Committee for Transit:

For Immediate Release

Thursday morning, December 27, 2007

Source: Action Committee for Transit

www.actfortransit.org

For more information, call: Ben Ross at 301-913-2849.

TRANSIT ADVOCATES BLAST PROPOSAL TO DROP RIDE-ON ROUTES AFTER SYSTEM GETS NEW STATE AID

The Action Committee for Transit today denounced a plan to cut Ride-On bus service at a time when the Montgomery County bus system has just been awarded millions of dollars in new state aid. The cuts were proposed in a Dec. 21 budget-cutting plan sent from the County Executive to the County Council.

“With Montgomery County’s traffic so bad, the last thing we should be doing is putting more cars on the road by forcing people to drive who don’t want to,” commented ACT Vice President Ben Ross.

Just one month ago, Montgomery County members of the General Assembly won a pledge from Gov. Martin O’Malley to provide additional aid for Ride-On from Maryland’s Transportation Trust Fund. Local legislators who voted for tax increases wanted to be sure that some of the new revenues would go to relieve the travails of county commuters.

If the county cuts Ride-On service at the same time that Ride-On is getting more money from the state’s Trust Fund, the net effect will be to use Transportation Trust Fund revenues to cover the county’s general operating deficit. ACT pointed out that when the previous state administration used TTF money to cover an operating deficit, Montgomery Countians were highly critical.

The transit group warned that diverting money dedicated for Ride-On could make it harder for our legislative delegation to win funding of any kind in the future.

• Patricia M. Murret writes, Two masked men with guns rob pharmacy
  

  Two men carrying handguns tied up two Rite Aid store clerks on Dec. 11 and stole money from the store.

• Sebastian Montes writes, One driver in fatal hit-and-run identified
  

  Yudis Alexander Chicos-Romero of Montgomery Village was driving the 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse that struck Bender as he tried to cut across Route 355 to buy groceries from the Walnut Hill Shopping Center, said Sgt. Meredith Dominick of the police department’s Collision Reconstruction Unit. Bender was not in a crosswalk and was shielding himself from the wind and rain with an umbrella, she said.

  When police found and inspected the car the morning after the crash, they determined that its damage was not consistent with a fatal pedestrian strike.

• Patricia M. Murret writes, City officials consider new enterprise district
  

  The city is considering creating an enterprise zone within the Olde Towne Central Business District that would allow certain municipal, county and state tax benefits for employers and property owners, according to Assistant City Manager Tony Tomasello.

  Also in this item,

  Gaithersburg could soon see glitz and glamour at Celebrate Gaithersburg Day 2008. The city’s mayor and council authorized Acting City Manager Jim Arnoult to negotiate a contract with the William Morris Agency in Los Angeles for rock band the Gin Blossoms to headline the summer event.

• Sebastian Montes writes, Activists join in illegal immigrant services opposition
  

  Anti-illegal immigrant activists from around the metropolitan area held their first meeting Wednesday night to begin work on forming a regional coalition aimed at pressuring local and state governments to cut their support of illegal immigrants next year.

• Patricia M. Murret writes, SWAT specialists descend on Broadstone
  

  Small explosions accompanied by the ringing of car alarms came from the recently vacated Broadstone Apartments in Gaithersburg on Thursday as police engaged in small explosives training to prepare for hostage-rescue, barricade and school shooting situations.

Update 9: Leah Fabel writes in the Examiner, Montgomery judge denies Marine bail in dad’s death:

Barry Helfand, Winters’ attorney, argued for a reasonable bail so he could attend his father’s funeral, to be held Friday morning at Rockville’s Temple Beth Ami.

Outside the courtroom, however, Helfand said there was “no way” Judge Gary G. Everngam would have let that happen.

And Ernesto Londoño writes in the Washington Post, Case Against Son Is Shaky, Lawyer Says:

The attorney, Barry H. Helfand, said police have not recovered a weapon, spoken to a witness to the slaying or obtained an incriminating statement from the defendant, David Winters.

“This is like charging someone with murder and we’ll do the investigation later,” Helfand said during an afternoon bond hearing in Rockville.

Update 8: Ernesto Londoño and Daniel de Vise write in the Washington Post:

Andrew R. Winters was a proud dad.

So proud, neighbors and friends said, that he had recently begun wearing a maroon Marine Corps T-shirt in support of his son David, 18, who just completed boot camp.

That makes the account that Montgomery County police provided yesterday all the more baffling.

Update 7: An updated WTOP story has a the full mugshot from the County Police (who as usual are releasing this only to the mainstream media), included here to the right.

Also, Stacy Cohen has a video report on Channel 5.

Update 6: Channel 9 reports some more information about the David Winters:

A spokesman for the US Marines, Major Tim Keefe in Quantico, tells 9NEWS NOW that Winters entered the Marines in August, 2007 and held the rank of Private E-1.

He was assigned to the Marine Corps Service Support schools at Camp LeJeune, N.C. Private Winters had just begun Basic Logistic Embarkment Specialist training a week ago today (Dec 19) and was home on liberty.

Also, Erin Donaghue writes in the Gazette, North Potomac teenager charged in stabbing death of father:

The motive is still under investigation, according to police. The official cause of Andrew Winters’ death will be determined after an autopsy by the Medical Examiner’s Office in Baltimore.

David Winters is being held without bond at the Montgomery County Detention Center. He is scheduled for a bond review hearing Thursday.

Update 5: Ernesto Londoño has a brief item on the Washington Post’s website, which includes the photo of David Winters to the right.

Update 4: The County Police have now posted a press release on this incident:

12/26/2007

Suspect Charged for Homicide in North Potomac

Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Major Crimes Division – Homicide/Sex Section are continuing to investigate a homicide that occurred last night in North Potomac. A suspect has been arrested and charged.

The investigation began last night at approximately 10:35 p.m. when 6th District officers responded to Shady Grove Hospital to interview David Winters, the alleged victim of an assault. He was being treated for lacerations to his fingers. It was noted by officers that the blood on his clothing was inconsistent with his injury.

The preliminary investigation developed that David Winters and his father, Andrew Robert Winters, age 55, had been walking in the area of the 11000 block of Darnestown Road in North Potomac, when they were assaulted by a group of five or six unknown males. The son ran from the scene, but the location and condition of his father was unknown.

Officers assisted by K-9 and a Maryland State Police helicopter searched the area where the two had been walking. At approximately 11:45 p.m. the body of Andrew Winters was found in the area of Muddy Branch Park. He had apparently sustained multiple stab wounds. The cause and manner of death will be confirmed after completion of an autopsy by the Medical Examiner’s Office in Baltimore.

Through the course of the investigation evidence was not found to support David Winters’ allegation that the two men had been attacked by a group of males. David Coleman Winters, age 18, of the 14400 block of Rich Branch Drive in North Potomac, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. A motive for the murder is still under investigation. Winters is currently being held without bond at the Montgomery County Detention Center.

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Contact: Media Services Division Phone: 240.773.5030

Also, there are stories (many of them just the AP wire story) on MSNBC, Baltimore Channel 13, Baltimore Channel 11, The Examiner, and WTOP.

Update 3: Channel 4 has a new video report by Cheryl Butler posted, and Channel 7’s video report by Sarah Lee has been updated.

Update 2: Channel 7 now reports that the accused assailant was an active-duty Marine:

Montgomery County Police have arrested and charged an active-duty Marine with killing his father.

Eighteen-year-old David Coleman Winters was taken into custody at a hospital where he had gone for treatment of cuts on his hands. He is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his father, 55-year-old Andrew Robert Winters. Police say David Winters told doctors that he had been jumped by a gang of five or six people. Doctors called police, who later located the body of the elder Winters, who had apparently been stabbed to death.

There is currently a video report linked from that page, but it was posted before charges were filed.

Also, Channel 4 has an updated story credited to Cheryl Butler:

The body of Andrew Robert Winters, 55, was found at about 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday in a wooded area near Route 28 and Muddy Branch Road in Gaithersburg.

Officials said Winters and his son, David Coleman Winters, 18, both of 14416 Rich Branch Drive, were walking Tuesday night when the son said they were assaulted by a group of men.

To be precise, it should be noted that none of these addresses are within the city limits of Gaithersburg, as they are south of MD 28.

Update: Channel 5 now reports that it appears the two incidents described the Channel 4 report were in fact linked:

An 18-year-old Montgomery County man is being held on charges of first degree murder after his father was found dead Christmas night of apparent stab wounds.

The son, David Winters, went to Shady Grove Hospital and claimed the two were assaulted by five or six people and that his father, Andrew Winters, had gone missing.

Channel 4 reports:

A body was found at about 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday night in a wooded area near Route 28 and Muddy Branch Road in Gaithersburg.

Meanwhile, police are investigating an assault that happened at about the same time in an area nearby.

Police said that at about 11:20 p.m. on Tuesday, a man and a friend were attacked near Route 28 and Dusies Mill Road in Gaithersburg.

I’m not able to find any “Dusies Mill Road” on the map. Possibly this is supposed to be Dufief Mill Road, which is in fact nearby Muddy Branch & MD 28.

Ernesto Londoño writes:

A former U.S. Army Ranger accused of killing his roommate and fellow Ranger last year in Gaithersburg has tested positive for marijuana numerous times in recent weeks, violating the terms of his release on bond, according to court documents.

During a hearing yesterday morning, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Eric Johnson ordered Gary James Smith to immediately provide urine for a drug test and said he intends to send Smith back to jail if the test indicates drug use, said Smith’s attorney, Andrew V. Jezic. Smith is charged with first-degree murder.

Amanda Lee Myers writes in an AP wire story:

Illegal immigrants in Arizona, frustrated with a flagging economy and tough new legislation cracking down on their employers, are returning to their home countries or trying their luck in other states.

For months, immigrants have taken a wait-and-see attitude toward the state’s new employer-sanctions law, which takes effect Jan. 1. The voter-approved legislation is an attempt to lessen the economic incentive for illegal immigrants in Arizona, the busiest crossing point along the U.S.-Mexico border.

And by all appearances, it’s starting to work.

Do you suppose Maryland would be one of the "other states" in which they might try their luck?

This follows a Federal judge’s refusal to block the new law. Paul Davenport writes in another AP story, Judge Doesn’t Block Ariz. Employment Law:

A federal judge on Friday refused to block the Jan. 1 implementation of an Arizona law that penalizes businesses that knowingly employ illegal immigrants.

U.S. District Judge Neil Wake denied requests for a temporary restraining order or an emergency injunction to block the law from taking effect.

Wake said that those who would suffer the most from blocking the law would be legal low-skill workers who lose jobs and get depressed wages due to competition from illegal immigrants.

Update: I just noticed another story on this subject in the Arizona Republic:

Daniel González writes, Holiday visit to Mexico becomes one-way trip:

In what are considered bellwethers of permanent moves back to Mexico, the Mexican consulate in Phoenix has seen a dramatic increase in applications for Mexican birth certificates, passports and other documents that immigrants living in Arizona will need to return home.

In November alone, the consulate processed 240 applications for Mexican birth certificates, three times as many as the same month last year, said Carlos Flores Vizcarra, Mexican consul general of Phoenix.

The consulate also has processed more than 16,500 applications for Mexican passports this year, nearly twice as many as last year. Vizcarra attributed some of the demand for passports to stricter travel regulations among the U.S., Mexico and Canada slated to take effect in January. But he said many undocumented immigrants are applying for passports in case they lose their jobs due to the sanctions law or a slowdown in the economy and therefore want to go back and live in Mexico.

[Devo should note that my headline for this post was taken directly from the AP’s own headline for the initial story — assuming that Google doesn’t alter the headlines provided by the AP. FWIW, Yahoo’s copy of this story uses the same headline.]

Martin Weil reports in the Washington Post:

Employee Raped in Hotel Room

A hotel employee was raped yesterday in Gaithersburg when she entered a room to clean it, Montgomery County police said.

Police said the assailant fled after the attack at the Holiday Inn Gaithersburg on Montgomery Village Avenue.

He was described as an African American man between the age of 20 and 25, who was 5-foot-6 and weighed 140 to 150 pounds. He reportedly wore dark pants, a blue and white sweater and a black skullcap, police said. They said he was unshaven.

Channel 4 adds some details:

The rape happened about 9:45 a.m. at the hotel on Montgomery Village Avenue, police said.

The 50-year-old victim told police she was physically assaulted and raped in the room. After the attack, the man fled.

This incident is not listed on either the County or the City Police web pages.

From the City’s website:

Friday, December 21, 2007

Armed Robbery

On 12/21/07 at approximately 10:12 p.m., police responded to the unit block of Honey Brook Lane for the report of a robbery that had just occurred. The victim reports being approached from behind by three suspects, who obtained items of his property after threatening him with a weapon.

Suspects:
three black males, 18-20 years of age, wearing dark colored jackets with hoods.

On 12/21/07 at approximately 10:38 p.m., police responded to the area of Prairie Rose Lane and Hyacinth Court for the report of a robbery that had just occurred. The two victims report being approached by three suspects who produced a weapon and demanded money. The two victims resisted, and the suspects fled without obtaining any property. One victim was transported to an area hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Suspects:
two black males, 18-20 years of age, wearing dark colored jackets with hoods;
one white male, 18-20 years of age, wearing a dark colored jacket with hood;
one unknown description subject, operating a light colored vehicle, possibly a Honda Accord.

On 12/21/07 at approximately 11:00 p.m., police responded to the 300 block of Muddy Branch Road for the report of a robbery that had just occurred. The victim reports being approached by three suspects, who produced a weapon and demanded money. When the victim did not comply, he was struck in the head and the suspects fled.

Suspects:
three black males, 18-20 years of age, wearing dark colored jackets with hoods.

The first of these addresses is not particularly close to the other two, which are at most a half mile apart. Honey Brook Lane is near Game Preserve Road, north of Clopper. Prairie Rose Lane and Hyacinth Court are off School Drive, between Muddy Branch and Sam Eig Hwy. The 300 block of Muddy Branch is just south of West Side Drive.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Burglary

On 12/18/07 at approximately 6:40 a.m. police responded to 619 S. Frederick Ave for a burglary that occurred earlier. Suspects unknown removed cash from an office.

Note that, in recent months, the County Police appear to be uninterested in releasing photographs (and even some whole press releases) to anyone but the mainstream media, and thus I had to pull this picture from Channel 7’s website — Channel 7 being, as far as I can tell, the only media outlet that bothered to post it. One does begin to wonder what could be the point of this restrictive policy, and how many crimes the public never learns about because the media finds them insufficiently interesting.

From the County’s website:

12/19/2007

Detectives Seek Public’s Help in Identifying Robbery Suspects

Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Major Crimes Division – Robbery Section are investigating the armed robbery of a Rite Aide store in Gaithersburg that occurred on December 11. They now have surveillance photos of the suspects to release.

At approximately 9:30 p.m., on Tuesday, December 11, 6th District officers responded to 662 Quince Orchard Road in Gaithersburg for the report of an armed robbery that had just occurred.

The preliminary investigation revealed that one suspect entered the Rite Aide at closing time and stayed in the store to help a second suspect gain access to the store. An 18-year-old male employee was in the rear storage area when he was accosted by both masked suspects. Cash was obtained from the store, and the male employee and a 43-year-old female employee were tied-up prior to the suspects leaving the store. Both suspects were armed with handguns, and were last seen running toward the Shell gas station at 600 Quince Orchard Road.

Both suspects are described as males of uncertain ethnicity, between the ages of 20 and 25, 5’10” to 6’0” tall. One wore blue jeans, a black jacket, and carried a red back pack. The other wore glasses and dressed in all black clothing.

Anyone who has information about the identity of the suspects or about the robbery is asked to call the Robbery Section at 240-773-5100. Callers may remain anonymous.

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Contact: Media Services Division Phone: 240.773.5030