By Candace Rondeaux
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 23, 2007

Prince George's County police have formed a special investigative task force in response to a week-long spate of violence that has resulted in nine homicides, several of which police say appear to be drug-related.

The task force, which consists of three squads of homicide detectives and investigators from the police department's five districts, will focus on the recent surge of violence and any additional homicides, said Cpl. Clinton Copeland, a police spokesman.

"They're definitely beefing up the homicide squads to deal with all these incidents," he said.

The move is the latest by police to stem the bloodshed and quell fears. It came as the county logged the ninth in the string of homicides as well as the death of a gunman holed up in a house in the Forestville area after an hours-long standoff with dozens of officers.

Police Chief Melvin C. High has also appealed to the Maryland State Police to put more troopers on the streets and called on D.C. Acting Chief Cathy L. Lanier to refocus efforts on cross-border coordination between officers.

High said during a news conference Wednesday that several of the slayings appear to be connected to the drug trade. He did not specify which ones.

The Forestville area standoff began about 6 a.m. in the 4400 block of Rena Road, two blocks from the scene of an unrelated fatal shooting at 3 a.m. It led to the evacuation of residents and to road closures near the Capital Beltway, which snarled morning rush-hour traffic.

Special Agent Richard Wolf, a spokesman for the FBI's Baltimore office, said Michael Terry Smith, 42, opened fire when agents and police officers attempted to execute a search warrant at his apartment.

Smith, who was a suspect in an Alexandria bank robbery three months ago, retreated into his apartment as officers returned fire, Wolf said. Smith tried to flee from the rear of the apartment, only to fire again and then turn back when he saw agents there.

William D. Chase, head of the FBI's Baltimore office, said the warrant for Smith was issued because he had told his girlfriend, who worked on Capitol Hill, that he planned to force an armed confrontation with Capitol police and possibly harm her as well after she informed authorities about his alleged involvement in the bank robbery.

When Smith continued to refuse to surrender, officers fired tear gas into his apartment, said Chase. About 3:40 p.m., state and federal officers stormed the apartment. It was unclear whether Smith shot himself or was killed by the officers, Chase said.

Three hours before the standoff began, Prince George's police responded to a double shooting at Allentown and Forestville roads. Two men with gunshot wounds were found in a black Chevrolet Monte Carlo, said Cpl. Stephen Pacheco, a county police spokesman.

David Michael Sloley, 24, of the 500 block of 67th Place in Seat Pleasant was fatally injured in the front passenger seat, Pacheco said. The man in the driver's seat, whose name was not released, was hospitalized with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening.

Prince George's police also were investigating the fatal shooting of a 52-year-old man about 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Belcrest Plaza Apartments in the 3400 block of Toledo Terrace in Hyattsville. According to police, Ebenezer Ankuma was shot several times in the upper body during a robbery attempt against him in front of his apartment on Toledo Terrace. A resident called police to report gunfire. Ankuma was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Attempts to reach Ankuma's family were unsuccessful yesterday.

Two residents of the garden-apartment complex said they heard one or two shots about 7 p.m., but both said they did not contact police because they were unsure what they had heard. The residents said the complex generally is quiet, and they did not recall recent problems with crime or violence.

A woman who answered the telephone at the complex's management office declined to answer questions.

This year, 37 people have been slain in the parts of the county patrolled by Prince George's police, up from 23 by this date in 2006.

Last year, homicides in the county declined 21 percent, from a record 169 in 2005 to 134 in 2006.

Staff writers Allan Lengel, Eric Rich, Avis Thomas-Lester and Debbi Wilgoren contributed to this report.