Latest news with #MetroTransitPolice
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Fairfax County man denied bond for attempted abductions in Alexandria
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (DC News Now) — A Fairfax County man remains in custody, accused of two attempted abductions, including one at a Metrorail station. The Alexandria County Police Department released video from one of their cameras, caught on Friday night. It's said to show Jeffrey Gary, 35, as he tried to abduct a woman along Braddock Road, not far from the Metro station. The woman managed to get free and call the police. Investigation underway after suspects fire shots at tow truck driver in Montgomery Village, police say The attack happened about an hour after Metro Transit Police said Gary tried to abduct another woman, this time at the Potomac Yard Station, while with her four-year-old child. 'Another passenger was exiting the system, and it distracted the arrestee,' said Metro Transit Deputy Chief Dan Alvarez. She escaped and also called for help, police say. 'He was targeting females while riding on the Metro,' said Alexandria Police Chief Tarrick McGuire. Alexandria Police, Metro Transit Police, and Fairfax County Police found Gary early Sunday morning and arrested him. 'Your actions were [cowardly],' McGuire said. 'The pursuit of justice will be relentless until this case completely comes to a close.' The attempted abduction surprised Metro passengers, but they're glad to hear a suspect is in custody. 'That's good, police doing their jobs,' said Leo Martinez of Raleigh, N.C. 'That's what we expect.' Investigators said Gary does not have any prior arrests. They ask the public to contact them if they believe they're a victim. 'This department stands firmly behind the principle that no one, no woman, should ever have to live in fear of violence,' said McGuire. Gary remains held without bond, charged with assault and battery, and abduction. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Man falls onto Metro tracks while trying to evade fare in DC
WASHINGTON () — The Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) said a person tried to evade fare at a Metro station and fell onto the tracks. On Friday at around 8:30 p.m., officers responded to the Benning Road Metro Station. There, a man fell from the platform level to the track bed while attempting fare evasion. Youth curfew goes into place at DC's Wharf over Memorial Day Weekend The man was able to get himself out. DC Fire and EMS crews also responded and evaluated the man for any injuries. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Maryland man wanted for attempted murder in 2023 shooting caught in fare evasion stop
The Brief A man stopped at a D.C. Metro station is allegedly connected to a 2023 shooting that left a man injured. 20-year-old Zion Peters was stopped for fare evasion at the Gallery Place Metro station. Police later found that he had arrest warrants out of Hyattsville for attempted murder and robbery. HYATTSVILLE, Md. - A stop for fare evasion at a Metro station ended with the arrest of an attempted murder suspect. Metro Transit Police have been cracking down on fare evaders at stations across D.C., Maryland, Virginia. When they stopped a man at the Gallery Place Metro station Wednesday night, they didn't know they had also caught a suspect accused of attempted murder. What we know On May 7, Metro Transit Police stopped 20-year-old Zion Peters for fare evasion. They put him in handcuffs after he allegedly assaulted an officer. Police said they also found a gun on him. After further investigation, MTPD officers discovered that Peters had warrants out for his arrest in Hyattsville. The charges were for attempted murder and robbery. READ MORE:Metro Transit Police say man stopped for fare evasion assaulted officer; gun later found The backstory FOX 5 reported on the attempted murder that Peters was allegedly involved in. It was a shooting near the Regal Hyattsville Royale movie theater in Maryland, back in September 2023. Investigators say Peters got into a fight with a man, shot him in the stomach and took off running. The man survived the shooting and Peters was never caught. WATCH: Man shot near Hyattsville movie theater, suspects on the run What they're saying People in the Hyattsville area say they're just happy he's behind bars. "I heard the story that he got caught jumping the fare or whatever the case may be. I'm just glad he's off the streets. I'm glad because I have a son right here and my son and he means the world to me," one Hyattsville resident told FOX 5. "More crime needs to be taken off the streets," said another. What's next Peters' next court appearance is set for June 24.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump targets DC in latest executive order, establishing 'Safe and Beautiful Task Force'
The Brief President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order to establish a 'D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force.' The order is meant to address several crime-related issues and establish a program to beautify the city. The White House says the task force will be made up of leaders with several key government agencies. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order targeting D.C. The order establishes the "D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force," which reportedly aims to target crime, immigration and graffiti. According to the White House, the task force is largely being established to address several crime-related issues that the Trump administration has noted as a priority. The order will also create a beautification program for the District. What we know The Trump administration says the task force will be made up of leaders with several key government agencies, although those leaders were not named on the White House website. The areas of crime the task force is expected to address include demonstrations, vandalism and public intoxication in public spaces, immigration enforcement, strengthening pre-trial detention policies, expediting concealed-carry licenses for gun owners and cracking down on fare evasion and crime on the Metro. WMATA itself announced on Thursday that Metro Transit Police are working to ban serial offenders from its buses and trains. Metro officials say overall crime in the system is at a seven-year low but they have adopted a so-called "banning policy" that would apply to repeat offenders for sex crimes and assaults on customers and employees on trains, buses, at rail stations and in Metro parking lots. What we know Trump's order says the administration will also create a program to restore and clean graffiti from federal buildings, monuments, statues, memorials, parks, and roadways. It also directs the National Park Service to "rapidly" clear all homeless encampments and clean up graffiti on federal land. This is not the president's first hard hit on homeless camps in D.C. Just a few weeks ago, Trump threatened D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, saying "she must clean up all the unsightly homeless encampments in the city," or the federal government would step in. Those comments were also made after Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he supports a "federal takeover" of D.C. The backstory In February, Trump said the federal government should "take over" D.C. He complained about crime and homelessness in the District and said that the federal government would "make it safe." "I think we should take over Washington, D.C.," Trump said. "I think that we should govern District of Columbia." Under the terms of the city's Home Rule authority, Congress already controls D.C. laws and has the power to overturn them but some congressional Republicans have sought to go further, eroding decades of the city's limited autonomy and putting it back under direct federal control, as it was at its founding. Trump has said he likes Bowser personally, but has continually complained about the city's governance. "They're not doing the job," Trump said. "Too much crime, too much — too many tents on the lawns — these magnificent lawns." In the order, Trump blamed the current conditions in the District on "failed policies," saying it "opened the door to disorder." Word-For-Word Here's exactly what the White House says in its March 27 fact sheet: MAKING WASHINGTON THE GREATEST CAPITAL CITY IN THE WORLD: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to make Washington, D.C. what it should be—the pride of every American to whom it belongs. The Executive Order establishes a task force, officially known as the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, that will be comprised of members of key government agencies. The task force is directed to:Surge law enforcement officers in public areas and strictly enforce quality-of-life laws in public areas like drug use, unpermitted demonstrations, vandalism, and public immigration enforcement to apprehend and deport dangerous illegal aliens, including monitoring D.C.'s cooperation with federal immigration D.C.'s forensic crime laboratory get assistance to the D.C. Police Department in recruiting and retaining officers and boosting dangerous criminals off the streets by strengthening pre-trial detention concealed carry licenses for law-abiding down on fare evasion and other crimes on the D.C. Metro system. Surge law enforcement officers in public areas and strictly enforce quality-of-life laws in public areas like drug use, unpermitted demonstrations, vandalism, and public intoxication. Maximize immigration enforcement to apprehend and deport dangerous illegal aliens, including monitoring D.C.'s cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Help D.C.'s forensic crime laboratory get accreditation. Provide assistance to the D.C. Police Department in recruiting and retaining officers and boosting capabilities. Keep dangerous criminals off the streets by strengthening pre-trial detention policies. Expedite concealed carry licenses for law-abiding citizens. Crack down on fare evasion and other crimes on the D.C. Metro system. The Executive Order will also create a program to beautify Washington, D.C.:This includes restoring and beautifying Federal buildings, monuments, statues, memorials, parks, and roadways, removing graffiti from commonly visited areas, and ensuring the cleanliness of public spaces and National Park Service will rapidly clear all homeless encampments and graffiti on federal lands. This includes restoring and beautifying Federal buildings, monuments, statues, memorials, parks, and roadways, removing graffiti from commonly visited areas, and ensuring the cleanliness of public spaces and parks. The National Park Service will rapidly clear all homeless encampments and graffiti on federal lands. AMERICANS DESERVE A BETTER CAPITAL THAN TODAY'S WASHINGTON: Our nation's capital, the only city that belongs to all of us, must be a symbol of pride for the American people and a safe location for public servants to do the people's work. Today, because of failed policies, it's not. Crime is near historic highs, yet D.C. police force numbers recently reached a half-century left is touting modest decreases in D.C. crime in 2024, but they still represent a massive increase from earlier rates. In 2023, violent crime rose by 39 percent. Property crime rose by 24 mirrors the spin they tried to put on "decreases" in the rate of inflation in recent years. Inflation is still up—and so is crime. And Americans are smart enough to example, 2023 saw the highest number of homicides in the District since D.C. Metro Police Department needs at least 4,000 officers, yet has fewer than 3,500. The left is touting modest decreases in D.C. crime in 2024, but they still represent a massive increase from earlier rates. In 2023, violent crime rose by 39 percent. Property crime rose by 24 percent. This mirrors the spin they tried to put on "decreases" in the rate of inflation in recent years. Inflation is still up—and so is crime. And Americans are smart enough to notice. For example, 2023 saw the highest number of homicides in the District since 1997. The D.C. Metro Police Department needs at least 4,000 officers, yet has fewer than 3,500. D.C.'s failed policies opened the door to disorder—and criminals noticed. Washington, DC:Abandoned traditional pre-trial detention and effectively replaced it with 'catch-and-release.'Decriminalized rioters run loose even if they vandalize property and assault police. Abandoned traditional pre-trial detention and effectively replaced it with 'catch-and-release.' Decriminalized marijuana. Lets rioters run loose even if they vandalize property and assault police. In 2022, the Biden U.S. Attorney for D.C. declined to prosecute 67% of arrested people who would have been tried in D.C. Superior Court. The vacuum in law enforcement has created an environment that facilitates crime and blight, encourages homeless and vagrancy encampments, and jeopardizes public safety. The D.C. crime lab remains partially unaccredited, creating a bottleneck for investigations. Federal authorities will assist with capacity so forensic work can resume and accreditation can be regained. PRESIDENT TRUMP KEEPS HIS PROMISES: President Trump is following through on his promise to restore Washington, D.C. to glory by making the nation's capital safe and beautiful once again. On President Trump's first return to Washington since leaving office in 2021, he lamented "the filth and the decay" that marred the nation's capital in his absence. President Trump later promised that his Administration would "take over the horribly run capital of our nation, Washington, D.C., and clean it up, renovate it, and rebuild our capital city so that it is no longer a nightmare of murder and crime, but rather it will become the most beautiful capital anywhere in the world." The Source White House, FOX 5 reporting
Washington Post
19-03-2025
- Washington Post
How a sneaker left at a crime scene led to an arrest in a shooting
The bullet and spent casing at the crime scene made sense. The suspected shooter, last seen running through Chevy Chase, Maryland, toward a Metro train station, probably left them. But what about the sneaker — a black, left-footed, size 7 Under Armour? 'It kind of had us scratching our heads,' Sgt. Wayne Nichols said this week. Then one of his detectives began combing through surveillance video from the Friendship Heights Metro station that showed passengers at fare gates. Suddenly before him was a person wearing a black shoe on her right foot and a white sock on the other. 'It was immediately apparent,' Nichols said. The sergeant's recollections, along with a detailed arrest warrant filed in Montgomery County District Court, tell a modern-day and decidedly violent Cinderella story, its crucial clue an abandoned shoe. Fare data from the Metro station, police allege, offered detectives an exact time their suspect used a SmarTrip card, which they eventually traced back to Roniyah Thomas, 20, of District Heights. She remained held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility on Wednesday, accused of approaching a 19-year-old the night of Feb. 4 after he had just parked his 2023 Subaru. The suspect unsuccessfully demanded the car, fired one round into the victim's leg and ran away. Thomas was charged this month with attempted murder, attempted carjacking and three other counts, according to court filings. Those charges, though, rest on an incomplete description of a masked assailant, according to an attorney who represented Thomas in court recently and asked that she be allowed release pending her trial. 'The connection is tenuous to this individual,' Assistant Public Defender Luke Swinney said. 'I think there are honest questions about identity in this case.' He also noted that Thomas is in college and studying to be a nurse. Thomas spoke in court, saying she could be placed under house arrest. 'I work daily, school daily, I do have a daily life that does not contain any threat to society or a danger to the community,' she said. Before the incident, Thomas appears to have had only limited contact with law enforcement. Last April, Metro Transit Police cited her for an alleged fare evasion, according to court records. The case was placed on inactive status, records show. But the new case, if proved, has Thomas facing decades in prison. Police say the victim survived, but only after the bullet barely missed his femoral artery and his bleeding was slowed by arriving officers who applied a tourniquet. 'This case was insanely close to being a homicide,' Assistant State's Attorney Adrienne Ferrell said in court recently. 'This victim is alive by pure luck given where he was shot.' It was six weeks ago, just before 7:45 p.m., when the victim — having driven from Virginia to see his girlfriend — pulled up outside her apartment building near the intersection of South Park Avenue and The Hills Plaza. The northwest corner of that crossing has a statue of a policeman, erected 25 years ago, whose outstretched arm reminds drivers to stop at crosswalks and pedestrians to stay alert. One block east is a stretch of high-end shops along Wisconsin Avenue, including Brooks Brothers and Tiffany & Co. After the man got out of his car, police say, a person wearing dark clothes approached and pointed a gun at his face. 'Give me your keys,' she said, according to detectives. The man instinctively tried to push the gun away and the suspect stepped back, fired and fled. Responding officers found the victim lying 'on the ground with a large amount of blood coming from his left thigh,' according to an affidavit investigators filed in court. The victim described the shooter as a young male, his face covered by a mask, standing 5-foot-5 to 5-foot 7, police said. The victim was taken to Suburban Hospital. Back at the scene, investigators found one spent casing, one live round and the left sneaker just under the passenger side of the Subaru, where the victim had been standing, court records show. They canvassed the area for surveillance video, finding footage that showed just before the shooting, a person dressed in black, walking toward the intersection of South Park Avenue and The Hills Plaza. Another camera nearby recorded the sound of single gunshot at 7:36 p.m. Subsequent video showed what appeared to be the same person running from the scene. After the victim had recovered from surgery, detectives had a chance to ask him about the size 7 shoe they found. He said it wasn't his — he wears a size 8½ — but perhaps it belonged to his girlfriend and had fallen from the car when he opened his door, according to Nichols. That the shoe had been left there by the shooter 'was only a theory at that point,' Nichols said. But one of Nichols's detectives, Brian Dyer, was soon reviewing the surveillance video from the Metro station. He spotted a person missing a left shoe and passing through the fare gate just before 7:40 p.m. Once on the other side, 'the subject removes their other shoe and places it in a backpack,' Dyer wrote in an affidavit filed in court. Investigators then went back to review outdoor videos, which weren't as clear as the Metro video. This time they had a renewed focus on the fleeing person's feet. The video before the shooting showed a person walking in two shoes, police said, while the video after the shooting showed only a shoe on the right foot. 'When you're looking for it, you can see it,' Nichols said. Detectives determined the woman had entered the Friendship Heights station using a D.C. Student fare card belonging to a 7-year-old. The primary emergency contact for that card, they said they came to learn, was a 36-year-old woman who lived in District Heights. Research into her address yielded another occupant, Roniyah Thomas, investigators asserted in the court filings. The detectives kept researching the card, finding it in regular use from the Suitland Metro station near District Heights to the Friendship Heights station. Then they reviewed Metro surveillance video taken at the times and locations of the moving card. On 'all occasions,' detectives asserted, they spotted a person similar in appearance to the person they saw on video the night of the shooting. Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Thomas on March 10 and arrested her March 13. Court records indicate she had a job near the shooting scene, and list her as 5-foot-4, 125 pounds. The results of forensic tests — including possible DNA taken from the sneaker found at the scene — are pending, according to Nichols. Police say they know Thomas's foot size but declined to share whether the shoe fit.
