A Jan. 18 District Briefing item in the Metro section misidentified a woman who died late Jan. 16 after being struck by a bus. D.C. police said 24-year-old Carla Gonzalez, 24, died after being hit by a Metro bus in the Mount Pleasant area. A D.C. government official had earlier mistakenly identified the woman as Clauria Oxlal, 23.
DISTRICT BRIEFING
DISTRICT BRIEFING
Thursday, January 18, 2007; Page B04
DISTRICT COURT
Md. Man Sent to Prison on Child Sex Charges
A federal judge in Washington sentenced a registered sex offender yesterday to a 66-month prison term for possessing child pornography and attempting to entice a minor into sexual activity.
Larry Poole, 43, of Westminster, Md., was on probation for a 2004 Maryland conviction for child abuse when he was caught in an undercover sting, prosecutors said. Poole engaged in sexually explicit discussions in computer chats with a D.C. police officer posing as a 13-year-old girl, prosecutors said. Police then set up a meeting, where Poole was arrested.
Prosecutors said that authorities found child pornography in a search of Poole's residence after his arrest in July. He pleaded guilty to charges a few months later and was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman.
Friedman ordered that Poole be put on five years of supervised release once he gets out of prison; during that time, he is barred from using the Internet without written approval. The judge also ordered Poole to register as a sex offender for 25 years.
MOUNT PLEASANT AREA
Woman Killed by Bus Identified; Inquiries Opened
The woman who died late Tuesday after being struck by a Metro bus in the Mount Pleasant area was identified yesterday, as multiple investigations into the incident were initiated.
Clauria Oxlal, 23, who lived in the Columbia Heights area, died at the scene after a bus on the H8 route turned left onto Park Road from 16th Street NW about 10:25 p.m. Tuesday, said D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1). Oxlal had been crossing Park Road.
"Metro, the police department and the [city] Department of Transportation are all investigating this to find the answers to the questions that we all have on our mind," said Graham, who represents the area where the accident occurred and is also a member of the board that oversees Metro.
Graham said that signs at the intersection prohibit left turns onto Park Road from northbound 16th Street but that buses are exempt from the law. No such exception was noted at the corner, he said.
There could be a problem with the signs, Graham said.
HEALTH DEPARTMENT
Agencies Are Reorganized to Improve Service
District Health Director Gregg A. Pane has consolidated several agencies within his $1.8 billion, 1,300-employee department, in part "to better coordinate and integrate" services. His move, announced yesterday, cuts the number of health department administrations from 11 to seven while creating a center for health data and planning.
Two of the department's key agencies, dealing with HIV-AIDS and addiction prevention and recovery, are looking for new leaders because their previous directors were not reappointed by the Fenty administration. Pane recently designated himself interim director of the renamed HIV/AIDS Administration and said a national search would begin for a successor.
-- Susan Levine
