Police Step Up Patrols to Combat Gangs

Police in Montgomery County are increasing patrols and have made several arrests in connection with a recent spate of gang violence that last week killed one man and wounded several others, authorities said yesterday.

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Assistant Police Chief Wayne Jerman said in a written statement that three stabbings and a shooting are thought to be linked to a feud between gang members affiliated with the Bloods and the Crips. Jerman said his agency is working with Gaithersburg and Rockville police to respond to the violence, and he vowed to deal with gang violence "swiftly and firmly."

The shooting, the most recent of the violent episodes, occurred about 9 p.m. Monday near the Shady Grove Metro Station. An 18-year-old from Rockville was shot through the hand and a bullet grazed the leg of a 15-year-old from Gaithersburg after they argued with three men. The wounded teens were taken to a hospital and treated for wounds that authorities said were not life-threatening.

The first of the stabbings occurred Nov. 5 about 3:30 p.m. in the Wendy's restaurant in the Off-Price Shopping Center on Lost Knife Road in Gaithersburg. A 19-year-old Germantown man was stabbed in the hand, police said.

Michael A. Walker, 18, was charged with first-degree assault. Walker, who police said has no fixed address, was being held yesterday in the county jail on $75,000 bond.

About three hours later, in an attack that police said was related, Robert T. Jackson, 21, of Germantown was fatally stabbed as he stood at a bus station in the 9600 block of Lost Knife Road.

Police said Ronald Antoine, 16, of the 400 block of North Summit Avenue in Gaithersburg, was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in the stabbing. Antoine, who was charged as an adult, was being held without bond yesterday at the Montgomery Detention Center.

The third stabbing occurred Nov. 6 on Goshen Road near the 500 block of Odendhal Avenue in the Gaithersburg area. Police said a 26-year-old man was stabbed multiple times. He was treated for wounds that were serious but not life-threatening.

Police charged five suspected Crips members or associates, including a 16-year-old girl, in the attack.

Authorities said the girl, Tiffany Palmer of Germantown, was Jackson's cousin and was upset about his killing. Palmer is accused of identifying Jesus C. Mercado as her cousin's assailant and encouraging four male acquaintances to retaliate.

In addition to Palmer, police arrested Philip Cromwell, 15, of Gaithersburg; Kevin O. Churchill, 18, of Rockville; Tremaine A. Dorn, 16, of Gaithersburg; and Yadale A. Martinez, 21, of Rockville. All are charged as adults with first-degree attempted murder and conspiracy to commit attempted murder. All are being held without bond in the Montgomery jail.

Mercado is expected to survive.