A standoff between two alleged robbers and police ended Sunday with the arrests of both teenagers, one of whom had just been released from jail for an earlier crime.
The two suspects, Devon Dixon, 19, of Columbia, and a 17-year-old boy, allegedly ran into Dixon?s residence in Long Reach Sunday after a street robbery, police said.
Police surrounded the home, but both eventually emerged from the house peacefully, officers said.
Crime in the village of Long Reach has become a hot topic in recent weeks.
Last Tuesday, members of the Long Reach Village Board met with Howard County Police Chief William McMahon to discuss crime in the village after some residents complained to elected officials.
State Del. Neil Quinter, a Democrat, told The Examiner residents are afraid to go to the Long Reach Village Center.
This latest incident will only heighten residents? perceptions of crime in the village, several officials said.
“Incidents like this make people concerned,” said Victor Bailey of the Long Reach Village Board. “But it doesn?t happen frequently. If you have a crime, you catch them and you lock them away. You hope they learn to straighten out.”
Henry Dagenais, the Long Reach representative on the Columbia Association Board of Directors, said the village has a “handful” of young men who cause problems, but on the whole it is not experiencing a crime wave.
“We?ve always had a problem with loitering and hanging around,” he said. “But it?s not against the law to stand on a corner. It?s more of perception than a reality.”
Long Reach Village Board Member Nina Basu, who is running for State Delegate in District 13, said the board has an “exceptionally low tolerance” for crime.
“Even one crime is too many,” she said. “The situation that happened Sunday was terrible and not something we accept in our community. That said, it was resolved, and the police are working hard with the community.”
Dixon had been in the Howard County Detention Center for nearly four months after his March sentencing in a shooting at Long Reach.
In that case, Dixon was sentenced to 110 days for his involvement in the July 2005 shooting at the former Barber King salon in the Long Reach Village Center. Dixon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery in Howard County Circuit Court.
Police said Dixon and another man entered the shop at 1 a.m. and attempted to buy drugs from an employee of the shop. When one man attempted to rob another, a gunfight broke out and Dixon was shot.
