Regional Briefing

Thursday, October 1, 2009

FATALITIES

Two Men Killed in Car Crashes

Two men were killed Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning in single-vehicle crashes in Prince George's County, police said.

The first crash occurred just before 8:45 p.m. Tuesday near Rhode Island Avenue and Fox Street in the College Park area, said Officer Evan Baxter, a spokesman for the Prince George's police.

A vehicle swerved off the road and hit a tree, pole and guardrail, he said. The crash also caused a power outage in the area, he said.

The second crash occurred about 4:20 a.m. Wednesday near Lottsford Vista Road and Forbes Boulevard in the Lanham area, Baxter said. In that accident, a vehicle swerved off the road and hit a tree.

Police did not immediately identify the victims but said both were men.

-- Matt Zapotosky

CRIME

Officer Shoots Suspect in SUV

A Prince George's County police officer shot and wounded a suspect in a stolen sport-utility vehicle whose driver was trying to ram another officer Tuesday, police said.

The incident occurred just after 9 p.m. near White Pearl Place and Pepper Mill Drive in the Seat Pleasant area. Police were called there by a report of a suspicious vehicle, said Officer Evan Baxter, a Prince George's police spokesman.

The SUV, which had been reported stolen a week earlier, sped at an officer approaching it, prompting another officer to fire, Baxter said. One of the occupants was hit in the arm, he said.

At least two people, including the person who was shot, bailed out of the vehicle and led officers on a brief foot chase, Baxter said. Officers eventually apprehended both suspects, he said. Baxter said investigators think that a third person might have also run from the SUV.

Baxter declined to identify any of those involved in the incident. The person who was shot was hospitalized with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, Baxter said. He said the officer who approached the SUV was also hospitalized.

Police recovered a handgun from inside the SUV, Baxter said.

-- Matt Zapotosky

Former Intern Admits Shooting

A former D.C. Council intern acknowledged in court Tuesday that he shot two men outside a Metro station in Northwest Washington in June.

Devyn Black, who worked for Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), pleaded guilty to aggravated assault while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.

The shooting occurred about 3 p.m. June 18 after Black spotted a man on a Metro train with whom he had recently fought, according to court filings by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Hooks and Emily Miller.

Black, 19, followed the man out of the Columbia Heights Station and opened fire, wounding him and a male bystander, authorities have said.

Black is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 30 before Superior Court Judge Robert I. Richter.

-- Del Quentin Wilber

Man Accused of Assaulting Boys

Arlington County police have arrested a 31-year-old man and charged him with aggravated sexual battery in connection with assaults on two boys.

James Roy Cremeans of Arlington was arrested Friday and is being held without bond in the county jail. Police said Cremeans, who has lived in Arlington for the past 10 years, has shown a pattern of sexual abuse.

Anyone with information about him is asked to call Detective Angela Comer at 703-228-4243.

-- Allison Klein

Fairfax Resident Stabbed in Mall

A Fairfax County man was robbed and stabbed inside Springfield Mall on Tuesday night, Fairfax police said Wednesday.

Police said the man, who lives in the Springfield area, was sitting on a bench outside a store in the mall about 9:20 p.m. when he was approached by two men who demanded his wallet. The man handed over the wallet, and one of the suspects stabbed the man in the upper body.

The victim was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital. His injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

The man did not know his attackers, Officer Don Gothardt said, and investigators do not think the attack was gang-related. The suspects were described as a thin white man and a thin black man, both in their 20s and wearing black clothing.

-- Tom Jackman

Md. Woman Charged in Slaying

A Prince George's County woman has been charged in the Sept. 13 killing of a 32-year-old man found shot in Northeast Washington, D.C. police said Wednesday.

The suspect, Takia V. Neeley, 20, of the 3300 block of Dodge Park Road in Landover was arrested Tuesday night and charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jason Liser, who was shot in the 4800 block of Minnesota Avenue NE.

Lister, of the 6400 block of Glydon Court in Bowie, was found shot shortly before 3 a.m. and pronounced dead about a half-hour later at a hospital. Investigators have not given a motive for the slaying.

-- Paul Duggan