gaithersblog.net

Freeman Klopott writes in The Examiner, Pack robberies fuel jail population boom:

Montgomery County officials say the jump in pack robberies — roaming gangs of youths ripping off people’s wallets and cell phones at gunpoint — along with a rise in other violent crimes, has caused the jail population to boom.

All of these factors combined have caused the inmate population to climb from 1,000 at the beginning of the year to more than 1,100 by the end of June, jail statistics show.

Within the last month, an additional unit of the jail had to be opened for several days to house the inmate influx, boosting overtime costs, [Department of Corrections Director Arthur] Wallenstein said. The county also stopped accepting federal male inmates five months ago. “We wouldn’t allow them to crowd the jail,” he said.

• Patricia M. Murret and Bradford Pearson write, Bethesda teen jailed on explosives charges posts bond:
  

  The parents of an 18-year-old Bethesda teen who turned himself in on weapons and explosives charges to Montgomery County Police on Wednesday posted a $115,000 bond to get their son released from jail on Thursday morning, using their home as collateral.

• Meghan Tierney writes, Jail time for two men in gang-related attacks:
  

  Kevin O’Neal Churchill, 18, of the 500 block of King Farm Boulevard in Rockville was sentenced to 20 years with all but 18 months suspended on July 23 in Montgomery County Circuit Court for his role in a non-fatal stabbing on Nov. 6. Churchill pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree assault April 30.

  The attack came one day after Robert Troy Jackson, 21, of Germantown was fatally stabbed at the Lakeforest Transit Center.

• Erin Donaghue writes, Child died after being accidentally struck by Potomac resident’s vehicle, police say:
  

  The 3-year-old girl who died on River Road in Potomac late last month was killed after being accidentally struck by the car of a Potomac resident who had given her family a ride, police said.

• Douglas Tallman writes, County disputes police union’s claim on use of cameras:
  

  Montgomery County is asking a Circuit Court judge to throw out a police union claim that a plan to install cameras in police cruisers violates Maryland’s wiretap law.

• Patricia M. Murret writes, New city manager gets perks:
  

  Gaithersburg has hired a new city manager: Angel Jones of Eugene, Ore.

  As the city’s top administrator, Jones will earn a $165,000 annual salary and receive retirement contributions totaling $26,400, including a one-time $8,250 hiring bonus, according to a copy of Jones’ offer letter obtained by The Gazette.

• Sebastian Montes writes, Supporters outnumber opponents in truck-ban debate:
  

  Proposed legislation that would tightly restrict the parking of commercial vehicles and large trucks along county roads has been met by far more support than opposition.

• Jason Tomassini writes, Speed cameras slowing drivers, increasing government coffers:
  

  Drivers are slowing down and residents are complaining less about speeding in their neighborhoods after the first year of the Montgomery County Safe Speed program, according to police and an independent study of the program.

• Sebastian Montes writes, Rapid bus is edging light rail in CCT debate:
  

  The rapid-bus option for the long-planned Corridor Cities Transitway is winning favor over light-rail as the deadline approaches for deciding the mode and alignment of the 14-mile project.