gaithersblog.net

Via Connected Communites, where reports for all six districts are available.

P1 Beat:

• An attempted rape occurred on Saturday, 1/31 in the 100 block of Duvall Lane in Gaithersburg. The male suspect was detained by others at the scene and arrested.
• A garage burglary occurred in the 400 block of Buttry Road in Gaithersburg overnight between Thursday, 1/29 at 11:30 p.m. and Friday, 1/30 at 7:30 a.m. Forced entry and once inside the garage, suspects found the keys to two vehicles. Suspects stole one of the vehicles. Vehicle later recovered in Gaithersburg.
• A theft from a vehicle occurred on Briarstone Lane in Gaithersburg overnight between Thursday, 1/29 and Friday, 1/30. Suspects entered an unlocked vehicle and removed a cell phone.

P2 Beat:

• No significant activity

R1 Beat:

• A garage burglary occurred in the 20100 block of Green Run Court in Gaithersburg on Tuesday, 1/27 between 3:00 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. Suspects entered an unlocked door and removed a bicycle.
• A garage burglary occurred in the 20100 block of Green Run Court in Gaithersburg on Tuesday, 1/27 between 3:00 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. Suspects broke window and removed cash from the vehicle.
• A garage burglary occurred in the 18000 block of Royal Bonnet Circle in Montgomery Village on Tuesday, 1/27 between 3:00 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. Suspects entered through the open garage and removed cash from the unlocked vehicle.
• A theft of a vehicle occurred in the 9500 block of Treyford Terrace in Montgomery Village on Wednesday, 1/28. Suspects removed a 1997 Honda Accord.
• A theft of a vehicle occurred in the 18400 block of Lost Knife Circle in Montgomery Village overnight between Friday, 1/30 and Saturday, 1/31. Suspects removed a 2002 Kia Spectra.

R2 Beat:

• No significant activity.

S1 Beat:

• A street robbery occurred at the Holbrook Shopping Center located in the 400 block of South Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg on Saturday, 1/31 around 2:20 p.m. An off-duty officer observed the suspect hit the victim repeatedly. Investigation revealed that the suspect was demanding money and began hitting him. Suspect arrested at the scene.
• A street robbery occurred in the area of North Summit Drive and East Diamond Avenue in Gaithersburg on Saturday, 1/31 around 9:20 p.m. Two suspects approached the adult male victim and asked for money. When the victim declined, they struck the victim in the face and fled on foot. Nothing was obtained.

  Suspect: H/M short hair, white & yellow sweatshirt, light blue jeans
  Suspect: H/M short hair, dark blue pants

• An attempted theft from a vehicle occurred in the 100 block of Harmony Hall Road in Gaithersburg overnight between Thursday, 1/29 and Friday, 1/30. Suspects entered an unlocked vehicle but did not remove any property.
• A theft from a vehicle occurred in the 100 block of Harmony Hall Road in Gaithersburg overnight between Thursday, 1/29 and Friday, 1/30. Suspects entered an unlocked vehicle and removed loose change.
• An attempted theft from a vehicle occurred in the 100 block of Harmony Hall Road in Gaithersburg overnight between Thursday, 1/29 and Friday, 1/30. Suspects entered an unlocked vehicle but did not remove any property.
• A theft from a vehicle occurred in the 100 block of Harmony Hall Road in Gaithersburg overnight between Thursday, 1/29 and Friday, 1/30. Suspects entered an unlocked vehicle and removed a wallet containing cash.

S2 Beat:

• A strong-arm robbery occurred in the 18300 block of Streamside Drive in Gaithersburg when two juvenile males were accosted on Monday, 1/26 around 4:40 p.m. One B/M suspect, accompanied by five other B/Ms drove up alongside them, exited, and threatened to assault them if they did not
  turn over their property. One victim gave them his iPod and the suspects fled
  Suspect: B/M 18-20 years, 6’3”, 170 lbs., unshaven, dredlocks with blonde highlights
  Suspect Vehicle: Gold 4-door Honda with dark tinted windows
• A theft of a vehicle occurred in the 7500 block of Laytonia Drive in Derwood on Thursday, 1/29 between 2:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. Suspects removed a 2004 Ford Escape. Vehicle later recovered in the Rockville District.

Via Connected Communites, where reports for all six districts are available.

P1 Beat:

• A residential burglary occurred in the 15700 block of Mahogany Circle between Sunday, January 11, at 5:30 p.m. and Monday January 12, at 1:30 a.m. No forced entry and property was taken.
• A strong-arm robbery occurred at the Washingtonian Café, 10003 Fields Road, on Friday, January 23, around 12:20 a.m. One suspect posed as a customer, asking for a pack of cigars. When the employee opened the register, the suspect grabbed the cash.
  Both Suspects: B/M, 5’7” to 5’11”, 150-170 lbs., black jackets
• Three thefts from vehicles occurred in the 600 block of Coral Reef Drive on Wednesday, January 21, between 12:00 a.m. and 6 a.m. Windows were smashed to steal a GPS unit, clothing, and a portable DVD player.
• Five attempted vehicle thefts of Dodge product vehicles occurred between Thursday, January 22, and Friday, January 23. The vehicles were parked on the 300, 700, and 900 blocks of West Side Drive and the 300 block of Palm Spring Drive.

P2 Beat:

• An armed robbery occurred of a pizza deliverer in the 800 block of Quince Orchard Boulevard on Saturday, January 24, around 9:00 p.m. One suspect walked up to the adult male victim brandishing a handgun. Two other suspects came up from behind and took the victim’s car keys, then searched his vehicle. They obtained cash and food before fleeing on foot.

  Suspect: B/M, 5’6”, 150 lbs.
  Suspect: B/M, 15-18 years, 6’0” to 6’2”, 160-170 lbs.
  Suspect: B/M, 15-18 years

• A robbery occurred on Sunday, January 25, around 3:15 p.m. at the T. T. Nail Spa at 460 North Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg. Employees and customers were robbed at gunpoint by two suspects who brandished handguns.

  Suspect: B/M, 20-25 years, 5’6”, black hoodie, purple bandana
  Suspect: B/M, 20-25 years, 5’10” to 5’11”, black hoodie, black ski mask

• A residential burglary occurred in the 100 block of Cherrywood Terrace on Friday, January 23, just after 3:00 a.m. No forced entry, property and two cars taken.
• A residential burglary occurred in the 100 block of Cherrywood Terrace on Tuesday, January 20, between 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. No forced entry, property taken.

R1 Beat:

• A residential burglary occurred in the 18200 block of Willow Creek Way between Wednesday, January 21, and Thursday, January 22. Forced entry, nothing taken.
• An aggravated sexual assault occurred in the laundry room of athye 18300 block of Lost Knife Circle on Monday, January 26, around 12:00 p.m. The suspect approached a cleaning woman and appeared to be seeking assistance with an address. The suspect then grabbed her, displayed a knife, and touched her inappropriately. A resident came upon the scene and the suspect fled.

  Suspect: B/M, 20-30 years, 5’7”, all-black clothing

R2 Beat:

• A residential burglary occurred at an unknown time between Monday, January 19, and Friday, January 23. Forced entry, a party was held inside.

• Sebastian Montes writes, Problems surface in ‘Smart Growth’ plan:
  

  Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett’s “Smart Growth Initiative” has hit a number of snags, including finding homes for two major industrial facilities; settling on a price for the Webb Tract; and having to pay $7.7 million more than expected to buy a 36-acre property.

• Nathan Carrick writes, State takes a new look at Gude Landfill contamination:
  

  State environment officials have asked for county pollution data on the Gude Landfill after a group of Rockville residents exposed years of toxic contamination from the site.

  Peter Karasik, of the county’s Department of Environmental Protection, said the state stopped monitoring Gude after the landfill closed in 1982 but in light of the activism of a residents’ group, Gude Landfill Concerned Citizens, is renewing their review of the defunct facility.

• Patricia M. Murret writes, Gaithersburg leaders firm on growth plan:
  

  Gaithersburg city leaders remain resolute about potential expansion boundaries defined in a municipal growth plan that could guide city development for decades.

  They gave city officials guidance at a public hearing Monday to keep the Belward farm, Shady Grove Life Sciences Center, the University of Maryland at Shady Grove, and Johns Hopkins University and other large parcels in the county’s technology corridor in Gaithersburg’s proposed growth plan.

• Patricia M. Murret writes, Economic development emerges as priority for Gaithersburg:
  

  Gaithersburg City Manager Angel Jones wants the city to form a nonprofit economic development corporation to help draw new revenues in the face of the stalled housing market.

  According to finance officials, the city’s fiscal 2009 budget will see a deficit of more than $3.5 million and next year’s revenues could plummet further.

• Sebastian Montes writes, ‘Gaithersburg West’ heads to Planning Board for scrutiny:
  

  After more than a year of community debate, the Montgomery County Planning Board is set Thursday to launch into its months-long process to craft a blueprint that regulators will follow as an 800-acre area in and around the county’s primary biotech and research hub quadruples in size over the next 40 years.

• Susan Singer-Bart writes, County pits preservation against property rights:
  

  The recent County Council vote to remove a Damascus church from historic designation and an anticipated bill to bolster property owners’ rights worries preservationists, who fear a fundamental shift in the county’s approach to what is historic will endanger its architectural resources.

• Patricia M. Murret writes, Henderson’s murder trial gets under way:
  

  The murder trial of Shawn M. Henderson opened Tuesday with the defendant’s lawyer telling the jury that blame for the shooting death of a Gaithersburg woman in April rests with another man — one acquitted of the murder by a jury last month.

  On the first day of the Montgomery County Circuit Court trial, Henderson’s girlfriend testified that he told her during a phone call that he had shot the woman.

• Sebastian Montes, C. Benjamin Ford and Janel Davis write, ICE will get names of violent suspects:
  

  Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett has ordered county law enforcement officials to send the names of all people arrested and charged with violent crimes and any gun violation to federal immigration agents to see if they want to hold them, easing concerns over racial profiling of immigrants.

  Leggett (D) announced the rules Tuesday after months of uproar sparked by two killings allegedly committed by suspects who were in the country illegally.

• Joe Beck writes, Police seek help in identifying homicide victim:
  

  County police said Tuesday they hope a computer-generated sketch of an unidentified homicide victim whose body was found last week in Germantown will produce a breakthrough in the stalled investigation.

• Patricia M. Murret writes, Teens arrested for robbing pizza deliverer:
  

  Three 15-year-olds from Gaithersburg were charged in connection to an armed robbery of a pizza delivery man in which the teens absconded with cash and pizza.

  “Whatever the delivery guy had in his hands, they grabbed that and ran,” said Officer Megan Duffey, a Montgomery County Police spokeswoman.

• C. Benjamin Ford writes, Budget cuts hitting the MARC:
  

  When people drove less and took the train more because of higher gasoline prices, MARC’s budget took a hit.

  A Montgomery County delegate is hoping to change that and is pushing other improvements for the commuter rail service.

  “People are very interested in having choices in how they travel,” said Del. Alfred C. Carr Jr. (D-Dist. 18) of Kensington.

• Gazette Staff write, Wegmans could come to the upcounty:
  

  Germantown is slated to become the prize winner in the county to land super grocery store company Wegmans, if all goes as planned for the mixed-use project Minkoff Development Corp. has in mind for the north end of its Seneca Meadows property.