Corrections Agency Official Fired

Woman Charged With Impersonating Officer in Fairfax

A deputy director of the Prince George's County Department of Corrections was fired last week after she was charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer in Fairfax County, her defense attorney said.

Rose C. Merchant was charged in Fairfax under what the lawyer said was her married name, Rose C. Clark. In a letter dated Feb. 21, she was fired from her job as a civilian deputy director, said the lawyer, Darwyn Easley.

The misdemeanor charge stems from an encounter between Merchant and a Fairfax police officer who was investigating a minor traffic accident involving a car registered to Merchant, said Easley and Ian M. Rodway, deputy commonwealth's attorney for Fairfax. Easley said he did not know specifically what led to the charge, and Rodway declined to offer more details.

Easley said his client has done nothing wrong. Merchant, 37, did not respond to a message left at her home in Fort Washington. County officials said she was appointed Aug. 8, 2005, and was paid $103,542 annually.

Merchant is the fourth Prince George's official appointed by County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) to resign or be fired from a post after being accused of a crime.

John Erzen, a spokesman for Johnson, said officials could not comment on Merchant's firing because it is a personnel matter.

This week, Keith A. Washington, a former deputy homeland security director for the county, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and other charges for shooting two unarmed deliverymen, one fatally, in his home last year. Washington left the job in April after he was charged with assaulting a real estate appraiser.

In May, Robert L. Thomas, a former deputy director of the county's Office of Central Services, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison after he was convicted of scheming to extort $250,000 from a company in exchange for a government contract. Robert L. Isom, a former deputy director of the Department of Environmental Services, pleaded guilty in the same case and was sentenced in 2006 to a year in jail.

James Keary, another Johnson spokesman, said of the four: "A thorough background check is done of all appointees. There was nothing to indicate any cause for concern with any of these four. When something happens, we have taken appropriate action."

As a police corporal, Washington was accused of excessive force or abusing his authority on four occasions before he was named to the homeland security post. Authorities have said none of the accusations was substantiated.

According to Fairfax court records, Merchant is accused of impersonating a law enforcement officer Feb. 9. A county magistrate issued a warrant Feb. 13, and Merchant surrendered Feb. 19 and was released on her own recognizance, Easley said.

Easley said Merchant and her husband met with the Fairfax police officer a day or two after a motorist reported being "bumped" by a Mercedes on Interstate 495 in Virginia. The motorist wrote down the tag number and reported it to police; the car was registered to his client, Easley said.

The officer contacted Merchant, who, with her husband, drove the Mercedes to a 7-Eleven in Fairfax so the officer could inspect it, Easley said. During the Feb. 9 meeting, Merchant asked the officer to identify who filed the report. The officer said he couldn't and at Merchant's request got a lieutenant.

Later, the investigating officer called the Prince George's Department of Corrections to verify Merchant's employment, Easley said. At that point, the officer told Prince George's officials that there was a warrant for her arrest, Easley said.

The trial is scheduled for March 4, Easley said.

Staff writer Rosalind S. Helderman contributed to this report.