Two state lawmakers from Prince George’s want to make sure that the Johnson scenario is not repeated. A bill introduced this week by Del. Jolene Ivey and Sen. Victor Ramirez, both Democrats, proposes amending the Maryland Constitution to immediately force public officials to resign when they plead guilty or are convicted of a felony, rather than wait for sentencing. The measure also would apply to officials convicted of misdemeanors if the crime is related to their official duties.

Amending the Maryland Constitution requires voter approval, and the bill would place a statewide referendum on the November ballot. The proposed change would affect all elected officials in Maryland, from the governor to part-time council members in the state’s tiniest jurisdictions.

The Fort Washington man arrested for sexual assault and robbery in Bethesda and Wheaton has also been charged in a Jan. 13 rape in Temple Hills, his third attack in a four-day span, Prince George's police say.

Kevin Darnell Ray, 33, of the 12400 block of Gable Lane is charged with first-degree rape, first-degree assault, armed carjacking, first-degree burglary, firearm use in a felony, and reckless endangerment in the Temple Hills incident, for which he was arrested Saturday morning, police said.

A hunter is in the hospital and four of his friends have been charged with multiple counts of illegal hunting after an incident Saturday afternoon just off a major thoroughfare in Prince George's County, Maryland Natural Resources Police reported.

Roy A. Contee, 57, of Upper Marlboro, was charged with negligent hunting, hunting without written permission and hunting with buckshot after he allegedly shot a member of his hunting group in the abdomen and knee, Maryland Natural Resources Police said Sunday.

Ricky L. Johnson, 59, of Clinton, was taken to Prince George's County Hospital for treatment of his wounds, which were not considered life-threatening, the police said.

The five men were hunting just off Indian Head Highway and Oxon Hill Road on land owned by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Shortly before 2 p.m., as some of the hunters were moving toward the others in an attempt to flush out deer from the underbrush, a deer leapt out and startled the group. Contee fired a shotgun loaded with buckshot, striking Johnson, NRP Sgt. Art Windemuth said.

Prince George's County Police are conducting a crackdown on crime in one of the most populated parts of our region.

Similar to the District's All Hands on Deck program, police are flooding local neighborhoods, aiming to keep people safe.

ABC7's Ben Eisler rode with one of the officers on duty, Sgt. Jim Davis. Watch Ben's report, which includes a traffic stop with a suspect wielding a taser, and  the discovery of marijuana residue in the car.

The department has assigned 150 officers to this team. Their mission? To prevent the deadly beginning to 2011 from repeating itself.

The department describes it as a proactive approach to deterring crime. Officers go into some of the most problem-prone areas, into the lion's den, to find perpetrators before they strike.

Despite public perception that Prince George’s County’s crime rate is high, it’s actually dropping dramatically, particularly violent crime.

Police say crime in Prince George’s County is at its lowest in 35 years and continues to drop. So far in 2011, reports show violent crime is down 13 percent compared to this time last year.

The county’s Assistant Police Chief Kevin Davis called the decrease a “significant stride” for a county that started out the year with a reported 11 homicides in 11 days.

In 2005, the county investigated 164 murders and 784 automobile thefts, two of the most common types of crimes in Prince George’s, and in 2011, those numbers decreased to 90 murders and 119 auto thefts, police report.

Property crime has also decreased, by 10 percent from the first 10 months in 2010 to the same time in 2011.

The Prince George's County youth detention facility where a teacher was killed last year remains plagued by assaults, security lapses, crowding and understaffing, according to a new report.

Maryland's Juvenile Justice Monitoring Unit, a watchdog for the state's youth detention centers, says assaults and disturbances at the Cheltenham Youth Facility spiked in July, August and September compared with those months last year.

Despite public perception that Prince George’s County’s crime rate is high, it’s actually dropping dramatically, particularly violent crime.

Police say crime in Prince George’s County is at its lowest in 35 years and continues to drop. So far in 2011, reports show violent crime is down 13 percent compared to this time last year.

The county’s Assistant Police Chief Kevin Davis called the decrease a “significant stride” for a county that started out the year with a reported 11 homicides in 11 days.

In 2005, the county investigated 164 murders and 784 automobile thefts, two of the most common types of crimes in Prince George’s, and in 2011, those numbers decreased to 90 murders and 119 auto thefts, police report.

FBI surveillance video showing former Prince George's County Executive Jack B.Johnson accepting a bribe from a local real estate developer

The police’s Special Enforcement Division took a Mexican national into custody and discovered a cache of gold and jewelry inside his home.

Police said the suspect has been operating an illegal jewelry kiosk inside a grocery store, where he’d receive stolen jewelry and gold.

After receiving it, the suspect would take it to his home and would melt it down to make it harder for authorities to trace it, police said. The suspect was also illegally operating a store out of his home.

Legislation targeting prostitution hot spots and under-the-radar strip clubs was approved Tuesday by the Prince George’s County Council as the lawmakers concluded their legislative year.

A measure proposed by Councilwoman Andrea Harrison (D-Dist. 5) of Springdale allows Prince George’s County police to establish temporary “prostitution-free” zones, in which officers would have greater powers to arrest suspected offenders.

Much of the African-American demographic decline can be traced to the way lower- and middle-income blacks are moving to the suburbs, just as whites did after World War II. As a result, Maryland’s Prince George’s County is now the wealthiest majority-black county in the United States. (The gangsters from Yards Park also moved there, which accounts for most of the county’s crime.) But it’s just not true that D.C.’s racial divide is getting worse. Despite the African-American exodus—amounting to 100,000 people since 1990, according to a CBS Baltimore article on the 2010 census—the D.C. population grew by 30,000 residents over the same period. Many of the newcomers are well-off whites, while others are Hispanic, African, Asian, and multiracial. Immigrants now account for over 20 percent of D.C.’s metro-area population, according to a 2011 Brookings report, The Geography of Immigrant Skills. A recent article in the Washington Post, “A Region Remade,” reports that in 2010, just one in three neighborhoods in D.C. was highly segregated, with more than 85 percent of the residents of the same race or ethnicity. D.C. is becoming more diverse and undivided, not less.

A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization has called on the Office of the State's Attorney for Prince George's County Maryland to bring hate crime charges against a Prince Frederick man scheduled to go to trial on Monday, October 17, for allegedly assaulting a Virginia Muslim limousine driver.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says the alleged assault took place on March 11 of this year when the Muslim limo driver of Moroccan origin reported that he picked up two passengers in Washington, D.C., shortly after midnight and was asked to take them to National Harbor.

After learning that the driver's name is Mohammed, one of the passengers asked whether he was Muslim. When the driver said he is Muslim, that admission allegedly prompted both passengers to use religious and ethnic slurs and make threats to the life of the driver.

The passengers reportedly called the Muslim driver a "jihadist" and told him they were going to "f**king murder" him.

When the limo arrived at the destination, one of the passengers allegedly punched the driver in the head, knocking him to the ground and fracturing his wrist. Both passengers were subsequently arrested and charged.

Hundreds of people wanted for crimes were arrested recently in Prince George's County thanks to a grant, and the county sheriff hopes to continue the effort.

"We're asking all of these partners, what more can you do, absent overtime, to help us continue this," says Prince George's County Sheriff Melvin High.

He also wants to make changes within his department.

"Part of what we're doing in the Sheriff's office is looking at our resources, saying where can we pull to focus on this as a priority issue, so that we can increase the number of staff assigned to this particular function," High says.

The arrests came during a warrant initiative in Prince George's County, paid for with a $250,000 federal Byrne Justice Assistance Grant through the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention

Two Prince George’s County police officers have been indicted on charges of assault and misconduct stemming from a March 2010 street celebration that turned violent.

Prosecutors allege that Special Operations Division officers Reginald Baker and James Harrison assaulted University of Maryland, College Park, student John McKenna of Kensington during a celebration in College Park after the Maryland men’s basketball team defeated rival Duke University on March 3.

Video released after the incident shows McKenna being beaten by three officers.

Prosecutors in Prince George’s County on Tuesday received a boost in their efforts to track and crack down on criminals who violate the terms of their parole and probation with the announcement by Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) of a $306,605 grant for that purpose.

Authorities said the state’s attorney’s office in Prince George’s will use the funds to create a new collateral offender unit. The team will consist of two prosecutors and two paralegals who will identify and prosecute parole violators, officials said. The members of the unit will handle parole violation cases exclusively, O’Malley said.

Police closed a Prince George's County nightclub using a new law that cracks down on clubs and dance halls with violent reputations after a drive-by shooting Monday morning left one woman dead.

MSG nightclub in Capitol Heights was ordered to close Wednesday morning by Prince George's County police and the Department of Environmental Resources, which cited the venue for operating as a dance hall without a proper license.

When campaign aides to former Maryland Republican governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. were indicted last month on charges that they sought to suppress black voter turnout last year, the allegations against Ehrlich’s right-hand man drew the biggest headlines.

But as the case moves to court Monday, the lesser-known defendant and his often controversial, behind-the-scenes work for Maryland political campaigns are poised to take center stage.

A Prince George’s County police officer faces a lengthy prison sentence after he pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to cocaine trafficking, extortion and firearm offenses.

Sinisa Simic, 27, of Woodbridge, became the latest defendant convicted in a sweeping federal investigation of corruption in Prince George’s County.

Federal officials Thursday revealed the guilty plea of a third developer in the sweeping Prince George’s County corruption scandal.

Daniel I. Colton, 61, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion and to make false statements to the Federal Election Commission, officials said. Colton entered his plea, which was sealed until late Thursday afternoon, on Sept. 13, 2010, according to Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein.

For the third time, Prince George's Council member Leslie Johnson (D-Mitchellville) has asked a judge to delay a scheduled preliminary hearing on federal evidence tampering charges, saying she needs more time to investigate the allegations.

"Although Ms. Johnson continues to diligently investigate the pending allegations, she still needs more time to conclude that investigation and prepare her defense," defense attorneys Shawn M. Wright and Hardy Vieux wrote in court papers filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. Johnson requested a delay of the hearing, and "possible indictment."

Prince George's police detectives are looking for more victims of the "East Coast Rapist" in the county after a Connecticut man was arrested Friday who is believed to be responsible for five attacks in Prince George's dating back to 1997.

Officials say DNA links the suspect, Aaron H. Thomas, 39, of New Haven to a total of 12 rapes in four states between 1997 and 2001, including the five girls and women raped in four separate incidents in Prince George's.

Detectives are reviewing the county's unsolved rape cases to see if more victims identify their attacker as Thomas. Now that he is in custody, county police detectives plan to show his photo to at least four other victims of sexual assaults in which DNA evidence was not collected but there were similarities in the manner of the assaults, said county police commander Lt. Col. Gary Cunningham.

A youth who was 13 years old when he allegedly sexually assaulted and killed a teacher at the Cheltenham Youth Facility a year ago will be tried as an adult, a circuit court judge in Prince George's County has ruled.

Following a hearing that lasted several days, Prince George's County Circuit Court Judge C. Philip Nichols Jr. issued a written ruling Tuesday that the boy should be tried in adult court rather than in juvenile court, according to the decision, which has not been made public but was provided by a courthouse source.

Although a slew of 20 homicides so far this year in Prince George's County has alarmed residents and officials, police say overall crime is continuing to decrease as the department moves forward with new strategies to target those committing the most offenses.

Citing preliminary data from 2010, crime decreased 3 percent from 2009, when police announced, to much fanfare, that the county was experiencing a 35-year-low in crime. Among the bright spots in the year's crime drops are 5 percent reductions in assaults and stolen vehicles, and a 4 percent reduction in robberies, police officials said.

Usually when the phones light up at the radio stations, it's for song requests or contests giveaways given by the DJs. But those weren't the only calls coming in Tuesday.

Prince George's County Police set up camp at five Radio One stations. They were taking calls from listeners who may have important information about crime.

"Most of the listeners are calling in with criminal activity in their neighborhoods. We are taking their information, we are dispatching that information to the districts in which those activities are occurring and we're going to have officers as well as detectives take those tips," said Lt. Tammy Sparkman of Prince George's County Police.

As February begins, Prince George's County homicide detectives are investigating 16 killings in the new year. These were victims five, six and 11. Like nearly all of the others, none of these victims knew one another. There is no evidence that their slayings were connected.

It is an inexplicable - maybe unavoidable - flare-up of death and mayhem in a county that wants desperately not to be defined by violence. Police insist that law-abiding residents have little to fear, because most victims were targeted by their killers, and many of those slain were selling drugs. But they cannot ignore the human toll: When you get killed in Prince George's, friends and relatives come to know your number.

One had lost his police powers after he was accused of sending inappropriate text messages to a 19-year-old woman whose criminal complaint he was investigating. The other turned in his gun and badge after he was accused of punching a college student outside a party in Beltsville.

As with many Prince George's County police officers accused of misdeeds, the two were assigned to work in the property warehouse while internal affairs investigators probed their cases. It didn't stop them from getting into more trouble.

Last month, Officers Matthew Inzeo, the accused texter, and Dominique Richardson, the accused puncher, were transferred to the telephone reporting unit, assigned to take reports of misdemeanor crimes for which there is no suspect information, county officials said. The reason for their move: the two were using airsoft and BB guns to shoot at boxes of seized property, they said.

YouTube - DC SPOTLIGHT - PART 1 - Prince George's County Sgt. Floyd Tate talks to Wendy Thompson of the DC Spotlight about life as a cop in Maryland's most dangerous district.

The year is only 10 days old, and already nine families are planning funerals in Prince George's County.

As they develop a new action plan, officials in the county are turning to those not in uniform to help stay the string of murders mostly inside the Capital Beltway.

Prince George's County Police will meet with community groups and business leaders in all police districts this week.

"This will be a concerted, sustained effort that will include the PGPD, Office of the Sheriff, municipal police departments, federal agencies and community and business leaders," says acting Police Chief Mark Magaw, according to a police release.

"Together, we are a formidable force that will bring calm to all segments of our County."

A series of shootings and a stabbing that killed five in one week are likely part of a drug nexus in Prince George's County, police said Wednesday.

A majority of the homicides were carried out against people who were targeted, Interim County Police Chief Mark Magaw said at a press conference. He added that all county departments were focused on finding those responsible in the killing spree that started Saturday across the southern part of the county.

"This department is totally focused on the homicide," he said. "These homicides do not appear to be random acts."

Former Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson is no longer wearing an electronic monitoring device as he awaits trial on corruption charges.

Johnson's attorney asked a judge to release him from monitoring because he poses no flight risk, and he's no longer an elected official. Johnson was arrested in November and charged with accepting bribes in exchange for housing contracts. His wife, Leslie Johnson, also faces charges in the corruption investigation.

Killings declined last year in the District and Prince George's County, continuing a trend that has brought the number of homicides in the region's two highest-crime jurisdictions to their lowest levels in years.

A Landover man filed a complaint Monday in Prince George's County Circuit Court against the Woodmore Towne Center at Glenarden alleging Glenarden city police officers racially profiled him for going to multiple stores Nov. 26 without making noticeable purchases.

Jonathan Lancaster, 19, a black male, is suing for $70,000 in punitive damages after Glenarden police officers allegedly told him they observed him going to two stores without buying anything and after they asked him to leave the property despite his having no previous criminal history.

"I knew his rights were violated because the officers did not articulate a reasonable suspicion that a crime had occurred or was going to occur," said Lancaster's attorney, Jim Bell, adding that Lancaster is not talking to the press. "That was just blatant."

Seven of the 46 Prince George's County police officers who had been suspended for alleged wrongdoing in the department returned to duty Thursday after all the officers' cases were reviewed by the police department's executive review panel, officials said.

Among those returning to duty is a deputy police chief who had been suspended for six months, said Maj. Andrew Ellis, the commander of the public affairs division for the Prince George's County Police Department.

The review of suspensions was ordered by interim Police Chief Mark Magaw, who was named to the post Monday after County Executive Rushern L. Baker III took office and fired Chief Roberto Hylton. Magaw took swift action to address the suspensions, after announcing just Tuesday his plan to review them.

In two years, Prince George's County residents have seen a former schools superintendent sent to prison and corruption charges brought against a senior state senator and the county executive and his wife.

The latest case is the stuff of movies or late-night TV jokes: Authorities say County Executive Jack Johnson and his wife were arrested Nov. 12 after he accepted $15,000 from a developer and federal investigators tapping his phone reportedly heard him tell her to flush a $100,000 check down the toilet and hide $79,600 in her bra.

The string of scandals has left residents angry, frustrated and wondering who will be next. Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein described their arrests as "the tip of the iceberg."

Police Chief Roberto L. Hylton will be featured on Fox 5 news this evening in an in depth interview with Fox reporter Wisdom Martin.

Chief Hylton will be addressing the recent events within Prince George's County to include the cooperative effort of the department's involvement into the FBI's indictments of three County officers.

Nine people -- including three police officers -- were arrested on Monday, accused by the federal government of running drugs, guns, and black-market alcohol and cigarettes. FBI agents also moved to seize more than 30 homes, businesses and vehicles as part of the probe of corruption in the county.

Seven defendants, including two of the police officers, have been charged with conspiring to commit extortion under color of official right in a scheme involving the transport and distribution of untaxed cigarettes and alcohol, said the FBI. Another man and the third officer are charged with a drug and gun conspiracy.

It is too premature to determine what will happen to the Prince George's County Council's District 6 seat following the arrest Friday and pending federal investigation of its Councilwoman-elect, Leslie E. Johnson, a county spokeswoman said.

Johnson and her husband, outgoing County Executive Jack B. Johnson, face federal charges after Jack Johnson allegedly received at least $120,000 from a developer in return for "using his official influence and authority for the benefit of [the developer] and his companies," and tampering with evidence, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday by a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent.

Photo gallery: View photos from the arrest.

Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson is accused of accepting cash in return for helping a developer secure federal funding, and then conspiring with his wife to destroy evidence as federal investigators closed in Friday morning.

Johnson and his wife, Leslie E. Johnson, who recently won her bid to represent District 6 on the Prince George's County Council, were arrested Friday by federal agents at their Mitchellville home.

Development deals have been at the center of Prince George's County's most contentious political fights for decades, the source of its highest hopes and deepest embarrassments.

The arrests Friday of Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson and his wife suggest that a federal investigation of corruption in county government, long a subject of rumor and speculation, is reaching critical mass.

Law enforcement officials familiar with the probe, which is being overseen by the U.S. attorney for Maryland, said more arrests are expected, possibly this week.

Johnson (D), whose term ends next month, and his wife, Leslie Johnson (D), newly elected to the Prince George's County Council, were charged with destroying and tampering with evidence.

The arrests Friday of Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson and his wife suggest that a federal investigation of corruption in county government, long a subject of rumor and speculation, is reaching critical mass.

Just after 10:12 a.m. Friday, Leslie Johnson frantically phoned her husband, Jack B. Johnson, the Prince George's county executive.

Two FBI agents were at the front door of their two-story brick colonial in Mitchellville.

"Don't answer it," the county executive said, unaware that more agents were listening in.

Johnson ordered his wife to find and destroy a $100,000 check from a real estate developer that was hidden in a box of liquor.

Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson declared Friday night that he and his wife would "be vindicated," hours after the two were charged with destroying evidence related to a two-year federal corruption probe.

Federal agents arrested Johnson and his wife, county councilmember-elect Leslie Johnson, after raiding Johnson's home and offices Friday morning.

Jack Johnson instructed his wife to flush a $100,000 check down a toilet and stuff cash in her bra earlier in the day, according to the criminal complaint.

Burglaries are down in Hyattsville, following the arrest of a man Hyattsville police report is connected with several local break-ins.

"The magnitude of the burglaries has dropped significantly," Sgt. Chris Purvis said. "There's a few random ones that we don't think are related."

After his first appearance in court Wednesday, the alleged shooter in the June slaying of a Maryland State Police trooper will continue to be held on first-degree murder charges awaiting his indictment.

In a preliminary hearing in Prince George's County District Court, Judge Robert Hefron ruled there is probable cause to hold Cyril Cornelius Williams, 27, of Seat Pleasant on the murder charge, despite objections from his defense attorney that the only witness to identify Williams as the shooter is his own codefendant, an alleged accomplice.

Angela Alsobrooks, who is almost certain to be the next state's attorney in Prince George's County, said her most ambitious goal as the county's top law-enforcement official would be to replicate a high-profile California program designed to break the cycle of crime. She also pledged to actively court community involvement.

After Prince George's County officials briefly closed the CFE Event Center in Forestville and eight other nightclubs accused of being havens for violence in 2007, the number of homicides at the Forestville club annually declined, from three homicides in 2006 to an average of one a year since 2007.

But that is one too many for Tracy Cooper, whose son was killed there two weeks ago. Cooper, 43, a Washington, D.C., resident, said she is on a mission to shutter CFE for good.

"It's too late for my child, but it's not too late for someone else's child," Cooper said. "We've got to do something about it."

The Prince George's County Police Department's Special Investigations Division, Gang Unit Investigators, urges the use of and reminds residents of the Gang Tip Line. Information received from the tip line has greatly assisted investigative efforts in combating gang violence and criminal activity. The tip line has both toll-free and local numbers to help with information pertaining to gang activities.

Callers have the option of remaining anonymous or leaving their contact information for follow-up by investigators. The nationwide toll-free number for the tip line is 1-877-629-GANG (4264) and the local number is 301-985-5365. Both numbers are operational and bilingual (English and Spanish).

The Prince George's County Police Department's Robbery Unit is seeking the public's assistance in identifying an individual wanted in connection with the armed robbery of a Game Stop.

On August 23, 2010 at 6:40 p.m., the suspect walked into the Game Stop located in the 14200 block of Baltimore Avenue in Laurel, Maryland posing as a customer. The suspect approached the registers and displayed a handgun.

Landover man linked to Parole robbery, six in Prince George's

"He said he did the one in Anne Arundel County because he went into a bank in Prince George's County and saw a wanted poster of himself in the bank," he said. "… He admitted to everything and was very cooperative … and said he only did it because of financial reasons."

Roberts has no criminal record.

Sheriff's records indicate deputies in Prince George's County, Md., have shot 10 domestic dogs in nine incidents since 2005, and one politician in the county said that's a pattern of excessive force that should be addressed.

Two years ago, Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo's pair of Labradors were shot and killed by sheriff's deputies during a controversial raid on his house. Calvo is suing Sheriff Michael A. Jackson.

The Prince George's County Police Department's Robbery Unit is seeking the public's assistance in identifying an individual wanted in connection with the robbery of the PNC Bank in Beltsville, Maryland.

On August 3, 2010 at 4:56 p.m., a suspect walked into the PNC Bank located in the 10400 block of Baltimore Avenue posing as a customer. Once inside, the suspect passed a note to the victim demanding money. The victim complied and gave the suspect an undetermined amount of money. The suspect fled the scene on foot.

The Prince George's County Police Gang Tip Line is now fully operational. The tip line will be monitored by Prince George's County Police Gang Investigators. Vital intelligence received on the tip line will be disseminated accordingly. Callers will have the option of remaining anonymous or leaving contact information so that a Gang Investigator can contact them. The nationwide toll free phone number for the tip line is 1-877-629-4264 (GANG) and the local number is 301-985-5365. Both numbers are operational and bilingual (English and Spanish). These numbers may be given out to the community.

The man responsible for the slayings of two mothers and their daughters in the Largo area last year is a crafty serial killer who pored through books about forensic science to learn how to clean up his crime scenes and intentionally changed his killing methods to confuse detectives, law enforcement sources close to the investigation said....

For now, at least, he is behind bars on unrelated charges.

"This case before you, I think, is going to be a case study for many law enforcement agencies in the future," Hylton said Tuesday, delivering his first public remarks about the suspect....

"He's a serial killer," Hylton said.

Hylton said the man in custody made efforts to throw detectives off his trail, but he would not say what those efforts were. He also was not specific about the evidence connecting the man to each killing, saying only that it places him at "the scene of the crime."

A Prince George's County grand jury on Tuesday indicted two District men on charges they stole more than $19,000 worth of copper wire from Amtrak.

The indictments were announced by State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey during a press conference outside the Amtrak station in New Carrollton.

Authorities said the thefts occurred between November 2009 and this March.

A serial bank robber in Prince George's County struck again last week and is now thought to have committed six robberies since March.

The robberies have occurred in Largo and Bowie.

According to police, in each incident the robber entered the bank, posed as a customer and handed a note demanding money to the teller. Once he obtained money, he fled the bank on foot.

Two men are accused of impersonating police officers and robbing people outside of a Langely Park apartment complex.

According to Prince George's County police, the victims were walking in the 7900 block of 15th Avenue in Langley Park about 3:30 a.m. Sunday when they were approached by a black SUV with flashing lights.

Police have issued one $500 citation and 180 warnings for failing to adhere to mandatory water restrictions in Prince George's and Montgomery counties.

The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission is aiming to cut water use by a third while it repairs a failing section in an 8-foot water main in Potomac. On Saturday, usage was down just 14 percent.

Contractors installed a new section of pipe overnight, and WSCC says the repairs are on schedule.

Until the repairs are complete, WSCC says all business and residential customers must refrain from using water outside and should limit toilet flushing and the use of dishwashers and washing machines.

Prince George's County police have suspended a deputy chief after he was accused of taking a "closed fist" swing at his wife and threatening to lock her out of the couple's Beltsville home, according to police and court records.

Deputy Chief Gary Cunningham, who heads the bureau of administration, was suspended Tuesday, a day after his wife obtained a temporary protective order against him, records show.

An Amber Alert has been issued by D.C. Police for a missing nine-year-old girl.

Lamoury Bryant was last seen wearing a green shirt, denim skirt and flip flops.

Bryant was taken by 49-year-old Lamont Johnson. Johnson is described as a black male, 5 feet, 9 inches tall, weighing 200 pounds. Johnson is bald with a dark complexion and was last seen wearing a red baseball cap, white tank top and blue jeans.

Johnson also abducted an adult female.

The child and suspect were last seen in a cream or white Chrysler 300 with the Maryland tag 4GAX63.

Fireworks are illegal in most parts of the Washington area. That's why Prince George's County, Md. will allow you to turn in illegal fireworks, no questions asked.

The Prince George's County Fire & EMS Department is conducting its eighth annual Fireworks Amnesty program. All you need to do is call the Fire & EMS Operations Center at 301-583-2200. A department worker will come to your home or workplace to take the fireworks. You will not face any fines or threat of arrest. The program runs through July 14.

The police department has seen an increase in large private parties with 50 to 100 people in attendance. These events have led to several violent incidents in our local communities.

On Saturday night, our Homicide investigators handled a homicide that occurred at a large private party with several hundred people in attendance. In another incident, officers responded with the assistance of our Special Operations Division to a large party with over 200 people in attendance. That party led to a person suffering a fractured skull after a large fight.

An 85-year-old Prince George's County woman was swindled out of most of her life savings by a couple who promised to share with her a box of cash they claimed to have found in a parking lot, authorities said yesterday. ...

Renner said he hopes someone will recognize the woman from the surveillance photograph.

A Riverdale volunteer firefighter pleaded guilty Tuesday to sneaking into a vacant home and setting a sofa on fire with a flare so that he and other firefighters could return to help put out the blaze.

Jerome Engle, of Bowie, faces up to 10 years in prison but is more likely to receive a penalty closer to the guideline recommendation of one year in jail at his sentencing next month, said Prince George's County State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey. Prosecutors will seek $200,000 restitution from Engle.

Prince George's County police are asking the public for help in identifying a suspect in a string of robberies at Largo banks.

In each incident, the suspect handed a note demanding money to a teller, took the cash then fled on foot.

Gigi Barnett reports on the Maryland State trooper who was shot and killed while working off-duty security early Friday morning in Prince George's County. (video)

The Prince George's County Police Department's Robbery Unit is seeking the public's assistance in identifying two suspects wanted in connection with an armored car robbery that occurred in Fort Washington, Maryland.

On May 21, 2010, at approximately 2:10 p.m., patrol officers responded to the 9200 block of Oxon Hill Road for the report of an armored car robbery. Once on the scene, the victim advised that as she was leaving the Philippine National Bank (PNB) she was approached by suspect #2. While suspect #2 was distracting the victim, suspect #1 approached the victim from behind and struck her in the back of the head with an unknown object. While the victim was disoriented, the suspects took a money bag and fled on foot. The victim, who sustained minor injuries, ran to the armored car and called police.

A Camp Springs attorney who was involved in a Lanham-based mortgage fraud scheme was disbarred in Maryland on Friday by the Maryland Court of Appeals.

Richard Wayne Allison II, 39, is serving 18 months in prison after he pleaded guilty Sept. 3, 2008, to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. He was sentenced Sept. 14 for his involvement in the scheme, which allegedly duped homeowners facing foreclosure by promising to help them keep their homes and repair their damaged credit.

The Prince George's County Police Department is asking the public to help identify a suspect in the robbery of an Upper Marlboro bank.

On May 25, the man walked into the BB&T Bank, located at 9420 Pennsylvania Ave., posing as a customer. Once inside, the suspect passed a note to the bank teller demanding money and implied he had a gun.

Randy McRae, the man accused of stealing thousands in federal dollars given to Prince George's County for affordable housing projects, has been arrested, said Sgt. Yakeisha Hines, spokeswoman for the Prince George's sheriff's office.

Hines said she did not know the details of the arrest, but a source close to the investigation said McRae was located by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development investigators Thursday at his residence in Prince George's....

McRae's attorney, Ronan J. Gulstone, said he filed court papers Friday indicating that McRae would plead not guilty, and added that allegations that McRae was avoiding authorities were false.

"Mr. McRae ... is eagerly awaiting the opportunity for all of the facts to come out at trial," Gulstone said. "Unfortunately, we're in the position of having to respond to fallacious allegations by unnamed sources, allegations that Mr. McRae was on the run and/or in hiding, and/or cowering are simply false. ... Mr. McRae denies all of the allegations and he's awaiting his chance to have all of the real facts in this case come out."

Prince George's County and the District are looking for a trio of thieves who are behind a string of armed robberies.

The owner of Sammy Carry Out on 12th Street Northeast was confronted by a man with a gun on Thursday evening. He says he recalls one of the suspect's demands. "Gimmie money, gimmie money," said Guo Jin He.

The Crofton man indicted by a grand jury last month for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars earmarked for affordable housing projects in Prince George's County is still a free man.

Randy McRae -- the former board member of a local nonprofit group who is accused of scamming an investor and the county out of a combined $50,000 -- has yet to turn himself in, though a warrant was issued for his arrest more than a week ago, Ramon Korionoff, spokesman for Prince George's County State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey, said Wednesday.

Prince George's County, Maryland…The Prince George's County Police Department's Robbery Unit is seeking the public's assistance in identifying an individual wanted in connection with the robbery of an M&T Bank in Largo, Maryland.

On May 21, 2010 at 2:20 p.m. the suspect walked into the M&T Bank located in the 1000 block of Shoppers Way in Largo posing as a customer. Once inside, the suspect passed a note to the victim demanding money. The victim, fearing for her life, complied with the demand. The suspect took the money and fled the scene on foot.

A grand jury in Prince George's County returned a five-count indictment Thursday against the former board member of a nonprofit who allegedly used the charity to draw thousands of dollars from the county meant for affordable housing projects, according to a law enforcement source close to the investigation.

Randy McRae, 51, of Crofton once sat on the board of the Central Prince George's County Development Corp., a nonprofit that works to revitalize communities in the county. According to a law enforcement source close to the investigation, McRae -- who ran unsuccessfully for county executive in 1998 -- faces up to 65 years in prison on charges of theft, counterfeiting and forgery.

The beating did not generate the same level of outrage in Prince George's as it did in other places, in part because so many residents are sick of Maryland students and their postgame antics. There also was no racial component that could have inflamed the situation, because the student was white and the skin color of the officers was blocked by riot gear....

According to those who know him, Hylton understands that when residents get to know police officers on a first-name basis, they are less inclined to criticize an entire department for the misbehavior of individuals. Still, residents are exasperated with having to pay millions and millions of dollars to compensate victims of police brutality. And stopping the pattern of misconduct will require systemic changes in the department.

The message to Hylton from civic leaders: Be proactive. Don't just promise to punish abusive cops, but nip the problems in the bud.

Hylton had first brought the civic leaders together last year to announce that police and community cooperation had contributed to a steep drop in crime. The strategy appears to be paying political dividends as well.

Prince George's County police officials responded quickly when a Post reporter asked about allegations that three or four county officers beat and pepper-sprayed a young man for no reason outside a pizza shop in Largo last month.

The reaction was much different when attorneys for John J. McKenna, a 21-year-old University of Maryland student, said their client was brutalized and falsely charged with assaulting a police officer and a police horse.

A key difference between the cases: McKenna's beating was captured on videotape. His attorney's released on April 12 after the state dropped charges against the student.

In the first case, Maj. Andy Ellis, a department spokesman, said officers used the proper amount of force on Prince A. Duncan-Lollis on the night of March 31.

A teacher's aide at Oxon Hill Middle School allegedly assaulted a 14-year-old developmentally disabled student, according to a spokeswoman for the student's family.

Natalie Williams, the spokeswoman, said the teacher's aide slammed a basketball into the student's face during the April 6 incident, then picked him up and threw him into the bleachers. As another staff member tried to intervene, the aide threw a punch at the student, Williams said.

This is not news to The Syndicate as last summer I heard stories of youngsters robbing and mobbing for iPods, iPhones, and other hand-held electronic devices. With all due respect, The Examiner was the first print news outlet last fall to break down Metro's crime stats clearly showing a spike in robberies correlating with an increase in portable personal technology over the past five calendar years. The Examiner has continued its close coverage with The Post's coverage noticeably lagging behind. The city's paper of record was at one time on top of the Metro beat, but they aren't anymore.

Police have released a photo of the man suspected of trying to rob a Prince George's County supermarket Sunday night.

It was a wild scene at the Giant Food store in Laurel Sunday night as the SWAT team stormed in. Police say an armed man confronted the manager and tried to get him to open the safe.

Principals, police and prosecutors would share confidential information about Maryland public school students suspected of gang activity under a bill House Speaker Michael E. Busch plans to introduce Tuesday.

The bill, which is raising concerns about student privacy and civil liberties, would be among the most aggressive in the country in the level of coordination between law enforcement and school officials to root out gang activity.

Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy announced the filing of a bill designed to fix four loopholes in the Maryland Gang Prosecution Act that was passed in 2007. The bill will be filed by freshman Del. Gerron Levi, a Democrat from Prince George's County, and Jessamy's office said it has "broad bi-partisan support including Speaker of the House Michael E. Busch and Del. Mary Dulany-James." Of the 23 co-sponsors, 19 are Democrats and four at least six are Republicans.

Jessamy said in the three years since the law was enacted, it has been rarely used by prosecutors due to broad language and weak penalties, and because it does not allow for some common gang crimes such as witness intimidation to be charged. It's a sentencing enhancement bill that allows for tougher penalties if a crime is committed by a gang member or in furtherance of a gang activity.

A string of break-ins in Prince George's County is more widespread than originally thought, according to residents. A number of people in Berwyn Heights reported they'd been burglarized, and the same thing has been happening to some in College Park.

It's a crime of opportunity that has been catching on in neighboring cities. While residents are away, the criminals come knocking. When there is no answer, they break-in.

"What angers me is I didn't have my house alarm on. I've been paying 15 years, and I normally set it. That day I didn't," says Berwyn Heights resident Kathy Gonzales.

State prosecutors will push for strengthened anti-gang legislation in Annapolis this spring in hopes of garnering more convictions of gang-related crimes — and helping to combat growing numbers of Maryland youth participating in gangs and at younger ages....

In July, his client 16-year-old Edgar Garcia of Germantown, pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder after he and a 16-year-old friend from Gaithersburg stabbed another teen nearly 50 times and left him in a park in 2008. The victim, a fellow member of the Vampire Bloods street gang, was attempting to leave the group for another faction of the Bloods gang, prosecutors said. Garcia said at sentencing that he joined the Vampire Bloods while attending Neelsview Middle School.

"Kids who were white were calling him racial epithets and beating him up and the only people who stood up for him were members of the black community and ultimately gangs," said Malouf. "For him at least, it was: 'These guys are friends.'"

If a gang leader encouraging 11, 12 and 13-year olds to participate in criminal gang activity had been a child predator manipulating sexual activity, his client would be considered too young to make his own decision, Malouf told the judge. The gang leader would have been charged with a felony.

IN THE SUMMER of 2005, when Prince George's County was beset by a wave of homicides, Police Chief Melvin C. High threw a sort of public temper tantrum in which he derided the officers on his force as lazy. Less than a year later, when the murder rate had dipped somewhat, he lauded the leadership of "the great men and women of this department" for the improved performance -- and credited his own strategy of flooding crime hot spots with police officers.

Mr. High has since retired, but his bipolar analysis helps illustrate the truism that there's a degree of guesswork involved in explaining why crime rates dip anywhere. Since then, crime in Prince George's generally, and the number of murders in particular, have continued to slip, more or less in line with a national trend. Current chief Roberto L. Hylton, in the job a little more than a year, recently applauded the drop, citing what he called his efforts to hold officers accountable for their work.

Crime in Prince George's County hit record lows in 2009, dropping in every major category from the previous year to hit an overall rate not seen since at least the Ford presidency, officials said at a news conference Thursday.

The District and Prince George's County, long considered the region's most violent jurisdictions, logged their lowest homicide totals in years in 2009, with D.C. hitting a 45-year -low.

...Prince George's had its lowest homicide numbers since 2000.

....Prince George's Police Chief Roberto L. Hylton said the county made a concerted effort to reduce violence. "It's not about luck," he said. "It's really a methodical approach to crime. We're actually applying strategies. We're developing new relationships and partnerships with community groups, and I think that has a lot to do in the way of affecting crime."

To local members of Congress, it was a big deal: More than $2 million secured this month to go after gangs that straddle the border between Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

Trouble is, the counties were hoping for a lot more, fighting gangs isn't cheap and no one on the ground knows exactly how the money will be carved up.

...In Prince George's, Police Chief Roberto L. Hylton said his department will delegate how the $1.3 million is spent. He wants social services agencies to get some to curb gang recruitment and improve youth literacy. He also wants money for police overtime.

...Had Prince George's received the full request, officials planned to give $200,000 to a youth center, $100,000 to the police youth athletic league, and $200,000 to "safe houses" to provide lodging for teens who want to leave gangs and be away from other members unhappy with their decision. Those earmarks might be curbed or eliminated.

U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced the president of the Metropolitan Money Store, Joy Jackson, age 41, of Fort Washington, Maryland, today to 151 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme that falsely promised to help homeowners facing foreclosure keep their homes and repair their damaged credit, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Judge Titus also entered a judgement ordering Jackson to pay restitution of $16,880,884.86 and to forfeit three residential properties in Oxon Hill, Capitol Heights and Laurel, Maryland and three vehicles.

The former police chief of the Prince George's County town of Morningside was indicted Tuesday on charges related to selling a stolen handgun, authorities said.

A county grand jury returned a five-count indictment against David A. Eichelberger Jr., 30, of Accokeek. Among the charges are possession of a stolen firearm and sale of a stolen firearm.

Attorney General John Ashcroft had a choice: He could send them to be tried in Maryland, where most of the murders took place but where the death penalty was on hold because of the specter of racial unfairness. Or he could send them across the Potomac River to Virginia, the site of three of the killings and where death sentences are carried out swiftly.

Ashcroft chose Virginia.

Authorities threw the book at 12 people Tuesday, accusing them of checking out pricey textbooks from a public library system outside Washington to sell for quick cash.

The Prince George's County Memorial Library System in Maryland lost $87,000 worth of material from thefts between November 2008 and July 2009, county prosecutors said.

Textbooks and other works were quickly sold to used book stores at a fraction of their original value, investigators said.

Maryland jurisdictions will receive $23 million from a federal grant program to hire new police officers, Vice President Joe Biden announced Tuesday.

The money, part of a $1 billion national fund set up under the federal stimulus plan, comes through the U.S. Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services program, known as COPS.

Prince George's County police officers raided a Cheverly pawnshop Tuesday afternoon and seized a truck full of merchandise, some of which police said may have been stolen.

As of Wednesday afternoon, police had not yet shut down the Maryland Computer Exchange but were "working in that direction," said Maj. Andy Ellis, chief Prince George's police spokesman.

Prince George's County police obtained a search-and-seizure warrant for the shop in the 5600 block of Landover Road after officers from the county's newly formed Pawnshop Task Force noticed packaged items during a routine visit last week, Ellis said Tuesday.

Prince George's County Police Chief Roberto L. Hylton is crediting a community policing effort he spearheaded with helping to keep crime down for the fourth year in a row.

Hylton says the 65 officers on the Community Response Team build trust with residents, who in turn provide information to police. The unit has helped crack at least two homicide cases.

Prince George's Police Chief Roberto L. Hylton knew he had to rebuild his department's relationship with the community. He also knew he needed eyes and ears in the county's neighborhoods and officers to develop sources within the county's criminal element.

In short, he was looking for a group of officers to become the department's ambassadors to Prince George's County.

So Hylton grabbed 65 beat officers and created the Community Response Team.

Already, the chief says, the unit is paying off. The team has helped solve at least two homicide cases. And Hylton credits its members with helping keep crime down this year for a fourth year in a row.

In the District and Prince George's County, homicides are down about 17 percent this year.

Prince George's County Police Chief Roberto L. Hylton took aim again at pawnshops Wednesday, saying at a news conference that he was creating an 11-member task force to investigate the stores and shut down those found to purchase stolen goods.

Robberies in the Metro transit system are increasing and are on track to jump 24 percent by the end of the year if the current pace continues, according to Transit Police statistics...

In Prince George's County, several police agencies, including Metro Transit Police, began high-visibility patrols in April using uniformed officers at stations, on trains and in surrounding parking lots and parks, Asato said. ...

At stations in surrounding jurisdictions, the biggest problems occur in the parking lots. In Prince George's, there were 36 vehicle crimes reported at the Southern Avenue station through April 30, 35 at New Carrollton and 22 at Suitland. In Virginia, there were 10 vehicle crimes reported at the Huntington Station during the same period, four at West Falls Church and two at Vienna.

The slaying of U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum guard Stephen T. Johns was the latest sign that discrimination and racism remain as potent as ever, ministers at the security officer's funeral said yesterday.

About 2,000 mourners filled the pews of Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington to pay tribute to Johns, who was fatally wounded June 10. The guard had opened a museum door for white supremacist James W. von Brunn, 88, who then walked in with a rifle and shot him, authorities allege.