Ex-Pr. George's Official Indicted

Washington Faces Assault Charges

A Prince George's County grand jury yesterday indicted former county homeland security official Keith A. Washington on charges that he brandished a gun at a real estate appraiser who mistakenly knocked on his door.

Washington, a 17-year Prince George's police officer, could face prison time if found guilty on the charges of first- and second-degree assault and use of a handgun in a commission of a crime.

The alleged assault occurred April 5 near the doorstep of Washington's two-story home in the 1500 block of Shellford Lane in Accokeek after Kevin King, who works for ONCE Appraisals in the District, allegedly told Washington that he had come to the wrong address.

"It's a very serious charge," Prince George's State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said yesterday. "A jury will have a chance to hear both sides. I thought it was appropriate to move forward with the charges."

Washington, 45, remains under investigation for shooting two Marlo Furniture movers at his home on Jan. 24. Washington opened fire on Brandon D. Clark, 22, and Robert White, 36, with a 9mm Beretta after what White says was a dispute over a bed set the men were delivering to Washington's home. Clark died of his wounds Feb. 2.

Several phone calls to Washington's attorney, Michael Worthy, were not returned. Washington has denied wrongdoing in both cases. He says he was defending himself when he shot the deliverymen and denies having threatened King with a gun.

Sources familiar with the shooting investigation who requested anonymity because of grand jury secrecy rules said Washington and his wife were called before a separate grand jury recently in connection with the January shootings.

In a brief news conference yesterday at the Prince George's courthouse, Ivey said the two investigations will remain on "separate tracks," adding that Washington's indictment on assault charges will not affect the outcome of the shooting case.

In the April incident, King says Washington turned belligerent immediately after he knocked on his door about 10 a.m. After the encounter, King drove to the house he was supposed to appraise that morning and dialed 911. In a written statement filed after the incident, King said the confrontation made him fear for his life.

Washington testified in the assault case before a grand jury April 26, saying King, 39, of Columbia, provoked the incident when he refused a request to leave Washington's property. Following his testimony, Washington publicly denied pulling a weapon on King. He insisted King, who was convicted in 2003 of falsifying an application for purchase of a firearm and in 1994 for misdemeanor battery, was the aggressor and questioned the veracity of King's allegations.

Michael Winkelman, an attorney for King, White and the Clark family, said King is "encouraged" by the indictments. He said allegations that King was the aggressor are "baseless," adding that King's past record should have no bearing on the outcome.

"We are hopeful that a fair and open process applies to all pending cases," he said.

A cloud of speculation has surrounded Washington's fate for months. A former driver for Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D), Washington was appointed by Johnson as deputy homeland security director in 2004. That job ended April 6. He was relieved of his police powers and his police-issued gun after the encounter with King. Prince George's Police Chief Melvin C. High has said concerns that Washington could be a threat to public safety led to the suspension.

Lt. April Delabrer, a Prince George's police spokeswoman, said yesterday that Washington remains suspended and that the departmental investigation is ongoing, but she declined to comment further.

The police inquiry into the alleged assault on King has been complicated by an incident involving the department's inspector general, Mark K. Spencer. A departmental inquiry was launched into Spencer's role in the case after an internal affairs investigator filed a complaint against Spencer on April 9. The complaint, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post, alleged that Spencer ordered the investigator to fill out a search warrant for weapons at Washington's home for "political reasons."

Spencer, who began working for the police department after unsuccessful run against Ivey for state's attorney in 2002, has said he did nothing improper, and was only following High's directive to monitor the case.

Percy Alston, president of the Prince George's chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, cautioned against quick conclusions about the assault case, saying that the timing of the incident was "suspicious" and suggesting that the departmental investigation is politically motivated.

"I believe that when all of the facts are exposed regarding the veracity of [King], Keith Washington will be cleared of any wrongdoing," Alston said.