Man Dies After Stabbing; Gang Link Suspected

A 21-year-old Germantown man died yesterday after being stabbed multiple times Monday night at a Gaithersburg bus station, possibly by gang members, Montgomery County law enforcement officials said.

Robert T. Jackson was stabbed at least four times about 6:30 p.m. at the Lakeforest Mall bus station, in the 9600 block of Lost Knife Road, authorities said. Another man was stabbed near the mall late yesterday, and police are investigating whether the two incidents are linked. The victim is a 17-year-old Hispanic male, police said.

The assailant in the Jackson slaying remained at large yesterday, and police said they did not have a detailed description. A law enforcement source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the assailant and the men he was with wore red garments, which may be an indication that they are members of the Bloods street gang.

Jackson had been charged with numerous crimes in recent years and was convicted in two robberies committed near the area where he was slain. Both were "pack robberies," the term police use to describe violent street robberies by small groups of young men -- a type of crime that police say has become disturbingly routine in the Washington area.

Jackson's latest conviction was for a robbery April 4 on Lost Knife Road. Jackson pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy to commit robbery and was placed on probation for 18 months, according to court records. A co-defendant in that case is scheduled to go on trial this week, and Jackson was expected to testify. It is unclear whether he was going to testify for the state, but investigators are exploring whether his slaying might have been linked to his role in that case, the law enforcement source said.

In the other robbery, which occurred May 27, 2006, on Lost Knife Circle, the victim fought back, brandishing a knife that he used to slash one of the robbers, according to a police charging document. Jackson pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and theft in that case, according to court records.

Police did not recover the knife used in Jackson's slaying, the source said.

Jackson was pronounced dead early yesterday. He was stabbed in the heart and the liver, the source said.

Last week, suspected Bloods members shot a cashier at a Rockville Safeway. They, too, remain at large.

Law enforcement officials in the county say gang violence is among their top concerns.

Yesterday's stabbing occurred about 5:20 p.m. in the 18200 block of Goshen Road, which is near the mall, police spokeswoman Lucille Baur said.

The man suffered injuries that may be life-threatening, she said. Montgomery police took four people into custody for questioning, Capt. Terry Pierce said.