Four men were killed in Prince George’s County over the long Memorial Day weekend, as the number of homicides in the county soared to 46 through the end of May.
In the weekend’s murder spree, two were shot to death in Capitol Heights late Monday night, one was found dead in Chillum on Monday morning, and a Temple Hills man was killed in Capitol Heights on Friday night.
The four killings raise the number of deaths to 10 more — or 28 percent more — than the 36 committed through May 2010.
As the Washington area’s searing temperatures top 90 degrees, police officials noted the unofficial start of summer brings with it an increase in crime.
“There’s more activity outside, and people are out and about,” said Cpl. Larry Johnson, Prince George’s County police spokesman. “Unfortunately, there are more opportunities for people to get caught in these violent situations.”
Late Monday night, police found Anthony Stevens McKelvin, 28, of Suitland, and Sean O’Neal Ellis, 24, of District Heights, inside their car on the 1300 block of Rollins Avenue. The two men, who suffered gunshot wounds, were pronounced dead on the scene.
Earlier that day, police found 60-year-old Edward Jerome Scott, a D.C. resident, dead on the 900 block of Chillum Road, with trauma to his body.
On Friday night, police found 34-year-old Jimmie Lee Hunter, of Temple Hills, shot and unresponsive on the 1700 block of Kenilworth Avenue in Capitol Heights. Hunter was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The four deaths bring May’s total to 11, one more than May 2010.
Capitol Heights residents who live near the scene of Monday night’s double homicide said they were shocked by the proximity of the killings to the peaceful neighborhood.
Harriet Spencer, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1986, said there hadn’t been a homicide there in decades.
“This is the first killing I can remember since the year I moved here,” she said. “Sometimes you hear shots at night, but it’s usually pretty quiet.”
But the summer is heating up, and other residents say they’re concerned about the crime the warm weather may bring.
“I used to walk around the neighborhood, but just to be safe, I don’t do it anymore,” said one neighbor who wanted to remain anonymous, who worries what the county will be like once school lets out in a couple of weeks. “Keep ’em occupied. They’re young people. … You got to give them something to do.”
The jump in the number of homicides this year was partly fueled by a deadly January, when 13 homicides occurred in the first two weeks of the year.
But since a February respite, the number of deaths has been increasing every month.
Police have increased enforcement in five high-crime areas inside the Capital Beltway, where most homicides have occurred: Langley Park, Riverdale, Suitland, Hillcrest Heights and Glassmanor. Gang and drug investigators will work specifically in those areas in an effort police say helped deter crime last summer.
Federal agents are still working with Prince George’s homicide investigators in a rare move prompted by January’s killing spree. Police have made arrests in 33 of the year’s homicide cases.
Detectives have been added to the department’s homicide unit this year, but they are replacing other officers who retired or transferred to other units. The homicide unit is staffed with two lieutenants, six sergeants and 27 detectives.
“Our officers are doing good police work out there as far as carrying out their duties,” Johnson said. “We’re just going to continue to press on in terms of deterring the violent crime that exists in Prince George’s County.”
