Man Charged in 3 Killings

A 21-year-old man who was released from jail in September has been charged with killing three people in a Prince George's County apartment community ravaged by crime, authorities said yesterday.

Sylvester C. Mitchell, formerly of the District, is accused of shooting three men in a five-day stretch that ended Nov. 2.

All three killings occurred in the 3300 block of Walters Lane in Forestville, where some residents say they fear being outside after dark and others have taken to keeping weapons inside their front doors.

According to online court records, Mitchell pleaded guilty in Prince George's Circuit Court over the summer to robbery with a deadly weapon, a charge that stemmed from an incident last December. In exchange, prosecutors dropped additional robbery, assault and theft charges.

On Sept. 3, Circuit Court Judge Michael Whalen sentenced him to five years in jail, suspending all but 251 days, the time he had already served, and placed him on probation for three years.

On Oct. 28, police say, Mitchell killed Maurice A. Stanley, 29, near the edge of a parking lot on Walters Lane.

Five days later, they say, he shot Levar T. Jones, 29, and Larry C. Johnson, 28, near the Regency Pointe apartments on the block.

Efforts to reach Mitchell's attorney and family were unsuccessful yesterday. Prince George's police said Mitchell has no fixed address, and people who answered phones at previous addresses in the District listed for Mitchell in online court records said they did not know him.

The Prince George's court clerk's office was closed yesterday, and it was unclear whether Mitchell is represented by an attorney in the murder cases.

Michael Straughan, homicide commander for the Prince George's police, said tips from residents helped identify Mitchell as the suspect.

"The community really gets the credit for this one," he said. "We tend to say that a lot, but several community tips got us going in the right direction."

He also praised the work of his homicide detectives and the patrol officers in Forestville. "To get a violent person like this off the street is a huge task," he said.