Local
Police arrive too late to save frantic caller
By: Scott McCabe
Examiner Staff Writer
November 24, 2008
The man accused of fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend inside her apartment as police desperately raced to save her had escaped from the D.C. Department of Corrections last month, authorities said.
U.S. marshals looking for fugitive Roderick Ridley got a frantic phone call from Tiffany Gates saying Ridley was trying to get into her apartment building on the 3900 block of D Street SE, said Robert Fernandez, commander of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force of the U.S. Marshall.
Gates, 33, was frightened. Last August, Ridley, 31, had allegedly set her fourth-story apartment on fire and the boyfriend had to be rescued by D.C. firefighters after he became overcome by the smoke, fire officials said. Ridley was later charged with arson and sent to jail for two months. A judge released him to a halfway house, but after nine days he walked away and never returned. An escape warrant was issued for Ridley on Oct. 30.
Now, Ridley was outside Gates’ building.
U.S. marshals rushed to the building, but by the time they got there D.C. police had already been on the scene and Ridley had disappeared, said U.S. marshal commander Robert Fernandez, commander of the Capital Area Fugitive Task Force.
The marshals decided to stake out the apartment in case Ridley returned. As the unit was setting up surveillance, the Marshals received another frantic call from Gates. Ridley was now outside her door, she said.
Marshals ran to the building but had difficulty getting into the complex, Fernandez said. By the time police made it upstairs to Gates’ apartment, it was too late. Her front door was open. Gates was on the ground, drenched in blood. Ridley was nowhere in sight.
Gates was taken to a hospital, where she died of stab wounds.
D.C. police cordoned off the building and conducted an apartment-by-apartment search. They captured Ridley in a vacant unit on the bottom floor, hiding in the cabinets, Fernandez said. Ridley was charged with second-degree murder.
D.C. corrections officials could not be reached for comment Sunday.
U.S. marshals looking for fugitive Roderick Ridley got a frantic phone call from Tiffany Gates saying Ridley was trying to get into her apartment building on the 3900 block of D Street SE, said Robert Fernandez, commander of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force of the U.S. Marshall.
Gates, 33, was frightened. Last August, Ridley, 31, had allegedly set her fourth-story apartment on fire and the boyfriend had to be rescued by D.C. firefighters after he became overcome by the smoke, fire officials said. Ridley was later charged with arson and sent to jail for two months. A judge released him to a halfway house, but after nine days he walked away and never returned. An escape warrant was issued for Ridley on Oct. 30.
Now, Ridley was outside Gates’ building.
U.S. marshals rushed to the building, but by the time they got there D.C. police had already been on the scene and Ridley had disappeared, said U.S. marshal commander Robert Fernandez, commander of the Capital Area Fugitive Task Force.
The marshals decided to stake out the apartment in case Ridley returned. As the unit was setting up surveillance, the Marshals received another frantic call from Gates. Ridley was now outside her door, she said.
Marshals ran to the building but had difficulty getting into the complex, Fernandez said. By the time police made it upstairs to Gates’ apartment, it was too late. Her front door was open. Gates was on the ground, drenched in blood. Ridley was nowhere in sight.
Gates was taken to a hospital, where she died of stab wounds.
D.C. police cordoned off the building and conducted an apartment-by-apartment search. They captured Ridley in a vacant unit on the bottom floor, hiding in the cabinets, Fernandez said. Ridley was charged with second-degree murder.
D.C. corrections officials could not be reached for comment Sunday.
