Staff Bios
Freeman Klopott
I like coming to work every morning and having a blank slate to fill. Each
day is a clean, fresh start and I rarely know what it will bring, which I
find fun and exciting.
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Takoma Park police start text message tip system
Published: Feb 10, 2010
Takoma Park police have created a text messaging system that receives anonymous tips from cell phones.
The system, called Tip411, expands the department's ability to gather information from the street, Chief Ronald A. Ricucci said in a statement.
It allows anyone with a cell phone to send an anonymous tip to the Takoma Park Police Department by typing in the number 847411 and typing the word TPPDTIP before the message. The tips are 100 percent anonymous. The company that runs the system's technology removes all identifying information before forwarding the tip to police.
"When someone feels afraid to come forward, or simply feels like they don't want to get involved, this can be a...
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Blizzard doesn't stop bank robber in Bethesda
Published: Feb 09, 2010
The snowstorm that pummeled Washington over the weekend had just gotten started when a man armed with a handgun robbed a Bethesda bank, Montgomery County police said.
It was about 2 p.m. Friday, a little more than an hour before the steadily falling snow began to stick to the ground, when the robber entered the M&T Bank at 7700 Wisconsin Ave., pulled out a handgun and demanded money from tellers. Bank employees handed over an undisclosed amount of cash, and the robber ran through the shopping plaza that sits a block from the Bethesda Metro station, getting away through the rapidly developing blizzard, police said. No one was injured.
Police described the robber as a black male...
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The Blotter
Published: Feb 09, 2010
Two men found dead in car in Bladensburg
Bladensburg police said they believe carbon monoxide poisoning killed two men who were found dead in a car. The two men in their 20s, who have not been identified pending notification of their families, were found in the car around 8:40 a.m. Sunday. Police said there were no signs of trauma and all signs indicate they died from carbon monoxide poisoning while sitting in a closed, non-ventilated car with the engine running. Police said it's likely snow piled behind the car kept the tailpipe from properly emptying the engine's fumes, filling the car with the deadly gas that killed the two men.
Md. man pleads guilty to cocaine trafficking
A...
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Gun and larceny charges for Woodbridge felon
Published: Feb 08, 2010
A 29-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy, both from Woodbridge, have been accused of stealing guns, knives, video games and other items from a Dale City home and then dropping the weapons outside a middle school as they fled police.
Matthew Collins and the unnamed 14-year-old allegedly stole the items from a house on the 2400 block of Alden Court on Jan. 28, Prince William County police said.
When they were approached by officers the next day near Lake Ridge Middle School, police say they fled. The 14-year-old dropped the knives before reaching the middle school, police said, but Collins dropped one gun on school property. The other stolen items were later recovered.
Collins has...
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U.S. Attorney in Va. expands fraud unit to fight stimulus abuse
Published: Feb 08, 2010
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Alexandria is expanding its financial fraud unit as part of a U.S. Justice Department effort to crack down on scams that authorities believe will stem from the billions of government dollars spent to during the early days of the economic crisis.
The head federal prosecutor in Northern Virginia, U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride, has created a new second-in-command position for his office's fraud unit and is in the process of hiring three new fraud prosecutors. Last month, MacBride hired Paul Nathanson, a former senior Treasure Department lawyer, for the same unit.
"With the billions in federal spending being directed at recovery efforts, the potential for fraud is...
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U.S. attorney in Va. adds prosecutor to target gangs
Published: Feb 07, 2010
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Alexandria has added a new prosecutor to its major crime units to help fight street gangs.
Zachary Terwilliger was educated in Virginia, receiving his bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia and his law degree from the William & Mary School of Law, from which he graduated among the top 10 in his class. Since fall 2008, he has been working with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Alexandria through a partnership with the Virginia Attorney General's Office. Neil H. MacBride, the U.S. attorney for the Alexandria-based Eastern District of Virginia, said Terwilliger was an integral member of the Alexandria Division's Project Safe Neighborhood, a program...
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4 mobile speed cameras deployed in Montgomery County
Published: Feb 07, 2010
Montgomery County police have deployed four portable speed cameras, adding to the six cameras placed inside vans and the 60 in fixed cameras in 39 locations.
The newest, boxlike cameras operate on batteries and have been deployed in areas where cameras are already in place to evaluate their effectiveness.
"The goal is to reinforce the importance of maintaining a safe speed in neighborhoods and particularly in areas where students are walking, driving, or being driven to school," police said in a statement.
The cameras flash when drivers go by at 11 mph or more over the posted speed limit.
-- Freeman...
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Tattoos land illegal immigrant MS-13 member in solitary
Published: Feb 07, 2010
Federal authorities tossed an illegal immigrant former gang member into solitary confinement in a Virginia jail because his many tattoos led them to believe he would take a leadership role among other MS-13 inmates, court documents said.
Jose Noe Uria Hernandez's attorney said in documents filed in Alexandria's federal court that his 30-year-old client left the gang before he snuck into the United States from El Salvador in early 2003. Hernandez had been in the United States illegally before and was deported in 2002 after serving a one-year sentence for stealing cars in Fairfax County, where he had been running with MS-13.
Hernandez was sentenced to one-year, four months in prison...
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Feds want to drop rape charges against State Dept. official
Published: Feb 05, 2010
Federal prosecutors in Alexandria have asked a judge to dismiss charges accusing a U.S. State Department official of raping his maid while stationed in Bangkok because the maid will not travel to the United States to testify.
David E. Fountain was taken into custody from his Burke home in December, eight months after his maid accused him of raping her in Fountain's U.S. Embassy-owned Bangkok apartment. According to an indictment, the 49-year-old Fountain rapedthe victim, referred to only as P.K., by "threatening and placing victim P.K. in fear that she would be subjected to death, serious bodily injury or kidnapping."
In a motion filed Thursday asking U.S. District Judge James C....
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Monthly Bethesda sex party runs afoul of zoning regulations
Published: Feb 04, 2010
The monthly BDSM — short for bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism — parties have been held at 6304 Tone Drive, a castlelike home nestled in what neighbors described as a quiet residential neighborhood....
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Fire critically injures 3 young children left alone in apartment
Published: Feb 04, 2010
Three young children were critically injured during an early morning fire that started in the kitchen of their Southeast Washington apartment, authorities said.
The children -- a 6-month-old girl, a 2-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy -- had been left unattended in the Pannell House apartment on the 1900 block of Naylor Road, District fire officials said. Their father asked a neighbor to check on them while he was at work and when she went to the door around 6 a.m. Wednesday, she found smoke seeping into the hallway and the doorknob hot.
The neighbor called the fire department and firefighters found the children unconscious inside the second-floor unit, fire department spokesman Peter...
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Staying safe when carjackers attack
Published: Feb 03, 2010
Carjackers have been hitting Capitol Hill and other areas hard the past few months. Police say they are trying to fight back. Below are a few tips provided by the Prince George's County Police Department on how to stay safe from violent attacks while driving.
1) Keep doors and windows locked when driving.
2) When you come to a stop, allow at least one car length between your car and the car in front of you so you have room to maneuver if someone approaches your car.
3) If someone approaches your car in a threatening manner and you can't drive away, draw attention to the situation by honking the car horn or yelling. Stay in your locked car if possible, but act accordingly if the person is...
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Jury must decide whether crash that killed 8 was a street race
Published: Feb 03, 2010
There is no doubt that Tavon Taylor drove past bodies strewn across a highway in Accokeek in February 2008. But over the next week it will be up to a Prince George's County jury to determine whether the 20-year-old was racing against the car that plowed into the crowd of more than 200.
The driver of the white Crown Victoria that slammed into the crowd has pleaded guilty to killing eight people who had gathered in the early morning hours of Feb. 16, 2008, to watch an illegal street race.
Taylor is charged with illegal street racing and eight counts of vehicular manslaughter. His trial started Tuesday with Prince George's County State's Attorney Glenn Ivey telling the jury that Bullock...
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Search continues for 3-time Manassas bank robber
Published: Feb 02, 2010
Manassas police continue to search for a bank robber they say has hit at least three banks in the city in as many months.
Late last month, Manassas police made a quick arrest after a BB&T bank was robbed, the fifth bank there to lose cash to a robber since early November.
But police say that the suspect, Majeed Spanta, is not the man behind a string of robberies in and around the city.
That suspect remains at large and made his last appearance at the Northwest Federal Credit Union at 9730 Liberia Ave. Police say the suspect approached a credit union teller on Dec. 28 and demanded cash. The teller complied and the suspect ran out, heading toward Wellington Road. No weapons were...
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Gym teacher accused of fondling girl, 12
Published: Feb 02, 2010
A 43-year-old gym teacher at Center Ridge Elementary School has been charged with abduction and aggravated sexual battery after police say he molested a 12-year-old girl at the school in Centreville.
Sean Lanigan turned himself in to authorities Friday. According to Fairfax County police, Lanigan was supervising a group of students who were helping him clean up the gym on Jan. 12. At some point, he allegedly picked up the 12-year-old girl, fondled her and carried her into a nearby room, pushed her down and then lay on top her. The girl reportedly told him she had to leave and he let her ago.
Police say she reported the incident to her parents three days later and they in turn told...
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Montgomery Co. crime rate eclipses neighboring Fairfax
Published: Feb 01, 2010
Montgomery and Fairfax counties are similar is size, population and demographics, but the Maryland county has seen nearly 25 percent more serious crime recently than its neighbor across the Potomac, a study found.
Murders, rapes, assaults, burglaries, and other serious crimes totaled 28,311 in Montgomery County, and 21,319 in Fairfax County in 2008, according to a report released by the Montgomery County Council last week.
The rate of violent crimes in Montgomery is 235 per 100,000 residents, in Fairfax it's 78 per 100,000 residents.
The two counties have a similar demographic breakdown. Fairfax County has a slightly larger population at 1,015,000 compared with Montgomery's 950,680....
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Promotions follow drop in P.G. crime
Published: Jan 31, 2010
Promotions abounded in the Prince George's County Police Department as Police Chief Roberto Hylton gave an enormous pat on the back to more than 200 department members for their role in bringing crime back to levels not seen since the 1970s.
"I'm honored to be here to congratulate each one of you," Hylton said during a promotion ceremony at Charles H. Flowers High School. "Our crime rate is the lowest it has been in 35 years, and you all have played an integral part in making this happen."
Those promoted included two lieutenant colonels, nine majors, 12 captains, 18 lieutenants, 29 sergeants, 37 corporals, and 139 police officers first class.
Throughout 2009, as crime steadily dropped,...
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Guilty plea in Accokeek street racing accident
Published: Jan 31, 2010
Darren Jamar Bullock pleaded guilty to killing eight people when his Crown Victoria smashed into a crowd of onlookers during an illegal street race in Accokeek in February 2008.
The 22-year-old Waldorf resident is expected to be sent to prison for 15 years on eight counts of vehicular manslaughter when he's sentenced March 1.
Bullock admitted that he was driving at more than 100 mph when he rammed the crowd, which had moved into the road after having just watched another illegal street race on Feb. 16, 2008. An illegal street-racing charge against Bullock was dropped as part of the plea agreement.
Prosecutors say Bullock was racing 20-year-old Tavon Taylor, who is scheduled to go...
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Robberies on Metro system skyrocket
Published: Jan 29, 2010
Robberies on the Metro system soared 50 percent through the first 11 months of 2009 over the same period in 2008, contributing significantly to a jump in overall crime on Metro.
There were 805 robberies in the Metro system from January through November 2009, compared with 538 over the same 11 months in the previous year. Statistics released by transit police show that during that same time period in 2007 there were 397. That means robberies have jumped 103 percent in two years.
The increase in robberies drove overall crime up on the Metro system by 12.5 percent during the first 11 months of 2009 over the same period in 2008. Assaults, larcenies and motor-vehicle theft all remained...
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The Blotter
Published: Jan 29, 2010
Brother of Graham's chief of staff slain
The 18-year-old younger brother of D.C. Councilman Jim Graham's chief of staff was shot and killed in Southeast, authorities said. Calvin Lavonne Woodland was found shot multiple times in a parking lot around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said. His older brother, Calvin B. Woodland Jr., was promoted to chief of staff after his predecessor, Ted Loza, was indicted on bribery charges in the fall.
Police: Md. man stole from hikers' cars
A 41-year-old District Heights man has been accused of breaking into cars in Potomac and used the credit cards he stole at pharmacies and grocery stores Virginia. Police say Oliver Eric Lopez broke into dozens of cars...
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Region's once most wanted man convicted on murder charges
Published: Jan 28, 2010
The man once known as Washington's most wanted fugitive has been convicted of stabbing a 26-year-old woman to death in her Landover apartment in 1998, Prince George's County prosecutors said.
Gary Parham Jr. spent more than a decade on the run after the slaying. The 32-year-old was caught in Florida last year when his girlfriend found him listed on a most wanted Web site and called authorities.
On Wednesday, Parham entered an Alford plea, which means he admits prosecutors have enough evidence to convince a jury that he killed Theodora Cooper, but he admits no guilt or innocence in the matter. He faces up to 30 years in prison.
On Aug. 5, 1998, Cooper's boyfriend, Marco Polo Honesty,...
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The Blotter
Published: Jan 28, 2010
Teen father gets 20 years in 2-year-old's death
An 18-year-old Gaithersburg man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for abusing his 2-year-old son, which eventually led to the boy's death, prosecutors said.
Earlier this month, Darryl E. Powell pleaded guilty to first-degree child abuse resulting in the death of his son Zjaire Williams after an autopsy of the dead boy found he had suffered from repeated blunt force trauma. Powell was sentenced Wednesday.
Police confirm remains are Va. Tech student's
Dental records provided by the parents of a missing Virginia Tech student helped Virginia State Police confirm that remains found Tuesday were hers, authorities said. Morgan Harrington...
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The 3-minute interview: Janet Barnett
Published: Jan 26, 2010
Barnett is the executive director of Senior Services of Alexandria, a nonprofit dedicated to providing resources to the city's elderly. She comes to the job with 30 years of experience in the Alexandria department of recreation, where she worked her way up to director. Senior Services of Alexandria runs a meals-on-wheels program and provides other services to help the elderly age in place.
Why did you move to Senior Services of Alexandria after your career with the city?
I have a passion for helping people. Seniors in the city are somewhat underserved. There's a lot of focus on children and youth, but elders need our help.
With the country's population aging, do you think SSA will...
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Virginia man charged with major marijuana sales
Published: Jan 25, 2010
Federal authorities have accused a man of selling more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana in Northern Virginia since 2007.
Jeffrey Lewis Musgrove has formally been charged with distributing more than 220 pounds of the drug, the highest drug-dealing category for marijuana. According to court documents recently unsealed in Alexandria's federal court, Musgrove, also known as "Fats," was brought down by three drug dealers who used him as a source. The dealers became informants after they were arrested by police in Prince William and Arlington counties, and other unnamed jurisdictions.
The first informant was arrested on April 10 by Arlington County police with an assist from Prince William...
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U.S. attorney's office in Alexandria adds new fraud prosecutor
Published: Jan 24, 2010
The U.S. attorney's office in Alexandria has hired a former law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to help prosecute fraud cases in Northern Virginia.
Paul Nathanson was most recently a senior adviser to the U.S. Treasury Department's general counsel.
His appointment comes at a time when the U.S. Justice Department has made prosecuting financial crimes a top priority, officials said.
"Paul brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our fraud unit," said U.S Attorney Neil H. MacBride. "The U.S. attorney's office is aggressively pursuing financial fraud cases, especially those cases involving the more complex mortgage, securities and investment fraud that...
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FBI: Inmate in stabbing, shooting incident stole $33k
Published: Jan 24, 2010
The FBI says in court documents that a Fauquier County inmate, who allegedly stabbed a sheriff's deputy in the face with a shank and shot another in the leg, stole more than $33,000 in two armed robberies.
George Golder Phillips II was waiting for a hearing on Dec. 30 regarding armed robbery charges related to a Jan. 26 robbery of a Warrenton bank when he stabbed the deputy with a shank, authorities said. He then allegedly pulled a gun from a deputy's side and used it to shoot another deputy in the leg. Both deputies are recovering from their wounds.
According to an FBI agent's sworn statement filed in Alexandria's federal court last week, Phillips committed the first armed robbery...
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Leader of ID theft ring that ensnared Bernanke gets 17 years
Published: Jan 24, 2010
A ringleader of a $1.5 million identity-theft ring that left Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as one of its victims has been sentenced to 17 years in prison and ordered to pay back $1.4 million.
Leonardo Zanders paid pickpockets and professional office employees to steal identifying information that he and others used to steal cash from bank accounts, authorities said.
One of those pickpockets grabbed a pocketbook from Bernanke's wife at a D.C. Starbucks. He then used her driver's license and checkbook to cash $900 in checks from their bank account.
The conspiracy was brought down, in part, by a receptionist at a Washington doctor's office who had sold patients' information...
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The Blotter
Published: Jan 24, 2010
Former Defense official gets 3 years for spying
A former Department of Defense official convicted of espionage was sentenced to three years in prison after a federal judge concluded the information he gave to a Chinese spy did not harm U.S. interests. James Fondren gave the information to the spy as part of a side consulting business he ran while he was the deputy director of the U.S. Pacific Command Washington Liaison Office. Prosecutors had asked he be sentenced to more than six years in prison, but U.S District Judge Claude Hilton gave the 62-year-old less than half that time because the information caused no harm to the United States, the Associated Press reported.
D.C. man accused...
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One student involved in Sidwell molestation accusations, attorney says
Published: Jan 22, 2010
Child molestation charges filed by authorities in Montgomery and Queen Anne's counties against a Sidwell Friends School teacher came from one alleged student victim, the teacher's attorney told The Examiner.
Pollice in Montgomery and Queen Anne's counties have filed separate sex abuse of a minor charges against 65-year-old social studies teacher Robert A. Peterson, who was fired by the school last week.
Investigators have not confirmed that the incidents of alleged abuse were filed by one student or more than one, but Peterson's attorney Barry Helfand said, "I have never been told, nor seen any document to say there's more than one alleged victim."
Helfand said he plans to fight the...
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Defense official's mom introduced him to Chinese spy, court documents say
Published: Jan 22, 2010
The mother of a high-ranking U.S. Department of Defense official introduced him to the Chinese spy he's convicted of providing classified information to, court documents said.
James Wilbur Fondren, the former deputy director of the U.S. Pacific Command Washington Liaison Office, was introduced to Chinese spy Tai Shen Kuo by his mother in 1996 while visiting her in Louisiana. In 1997, Fondren began "consulting" for Kuo, a Taiwanese businessman, eventually handing over classified information. Prosecutors have asked U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton to send James Fondren to prison for up to eight years when he's sentenced Friday.
Fondren's attorney, Gilead Light, has appealed the...
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