Friday, September 4, 2009
POLICE
Driver Hits Building Near Mall
A Cadillac crashed into the U.S. Department of Agriculture building Thursday night just steps from the Mall after its driver fled a traffic stop, authorities said.
Officials reported no significant damage to the Yates building, next to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, at 14th Street and Independence Avenue NW.
The incident began about 7:30 p.m. when U.S. Capitol Police officers tried to stop a car traveling erratically on Independence near the Capitol, officials said. As an officer approached the car, the driver took off.
The pursuit continued west on Independence, and the Cadillac struck a vehicle near 13th Street. About a block later, it crashed through construction scaffolding and hit an entrance to the Yates building.
The driver of the Cadillac and the driver of the car he hit were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.
Investigators shut down the intersection at 14th and Independence for several hours.
-- Clarence Williams
CRIME
Charges Dropped in Stabbings
Prosecutors have dropped the charges against a College Park man accused of fatally stabbing one man and wounding another during a domestic dispute last month, according to police and online court records.
Roberto E. Cruz, 45, was cleared of a second-degree murder charge after investigators found the incident to be "a case of self-defense," police said. According to online court records, he was released from jail Aug. 26.
Cruz had been charged in the fatal stabbing of Johnny E. Alvarez-Gomez, 28, of Gaithersburg at a residence in the 5000 block of Hollywood Road in College Park. There, police said, Cruz stabbed Alvarez-Gomez and a 19-year-old Riverdale man after a domestic dispute turned violent. Both men were found in the parking lot of a nearby 7-Eleven and transported to area hospitals, where Alvarez-Gomez later died.
-- Matt Zapotosky
Ex-Trooper Faces Sex Charges
Maryland State Police say a trooper who resigned in April after being disciplined for a personnel issue has been arrested for sexually assaulting a woman.
State Police said Thursday that Marlon Iglesias, 42, of Silver Spring was charged Wednesday night with sexual offenses. Police say Iglesias squeezed a woman's thigh after he arrested her on Interstate 270 in July 2008. The woman told police in May that he fondled and kissed her while she was handcuffed.
Maryland State Police hired Iglesias in 1994 to patrol roads out of the Rockville barracks. In January, his police powers were suspended because of a personnel issue. He has been released on bond.
-- Associated Press
POLITICS
O'Malley Publicizes Endorsements
In an attempt at an early show of strength Thursday, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley released the names of more than 300 elected officials who are endorsing his reelection bid next year.
The list consists of most of the major Democratic figures in the state, including both U.S. senators; all seven Democratic members of Congress; Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler; Comptroller Peter Franchot; 28 members of the state Senate, including President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert); and 89 members of the House of Delegates, including House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel).
The most notable omission is Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D), who has talked about the possibility of a statewide run for office. The list includes Democratic leaders of other large Maryland jurisdictions, including Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett; Howard County Executive Ken Ulman; Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith; and Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon.
The release of the list on O'Malley's campaign Web site comes as several Democrats and Republicans are contemplating challenging O'Malley (D) at a time when state budget pressures are testing the governor's relationships with key constituency groups.
Among the Democrats are George Owings, a former delegate from Southern Maryland who served in the Cabinet of former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R).
On the Republican side, Ehrlich remains the biggest mystery and probably won't make an announcement about his intentions for a few months. Several lower-profile Republicans are also positioning themselves for the race.
-- John Wagner
View all comments that have been posted about this article.