Police release video of person wanted in near-campus assault on University of Maryland student

Prince George’s County Police have released surveillance video of a man wanted for questioning in the stabbing or cutting of a student near the  University of Maryland.

The suspect is described as a white male with a slim build and blond hair. He was last seen wearing a black shirt and blue jeans.

The video was shot from a camera at the corner of College Avenue and Dickerson Avenue in College Park, at about 1:30 a.m., Saturday.

The man can be seen walking on the left sidewalk on College Avenue. He walks twice towards the camera and once away from the camera. He is wanted for questioning in connection with the assault.

Police said the victim and the suspect encountered each other on College Avenue, and got into a fight. The suspect cut the student with a sharp object, then ran away. The victim was taken to a hospital, treated and has since been released.

The suspect is described as a white male with a slim build and blond hair.  He was last seen wearing a black shirt and blue jeans.

 Anyone with information can call police at (301) 699-2601.  Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477), text “PGPD plus your message” to CRIMES (274637) on your cell phone or go to www.pgcrimesolvers.com and submit a tip online.

Crime History, Aug. 30, 1850: Harvard professor executed for killing colleague at school

John P. Webster

On this day, Aug. 30, in 1850, Harvard Medical College instructor Dr. John W. Webster was executed for the murder of fellow faculty member Dr. George Parkman, a scion of one of Boston’s richest families.

The case shocked the city and has been recently called the O.J. Simpson trial of the 19th century.

On Nov. 23, 1849, Parkman attempted to collect payment from Webster, who had borrowed heavily from Parkman over the years to cover a lifestyle he could not afford.

Parkman visited Webster and threatened to use his connections to have Webster fired from the medical school. Webster grabbed a piece of firewood from the nearby fireplace and struck Parkman in the head, fracturing his skull.

Webster locked his lab door and dismembered Parkman’s body with his medical instruments. He burned the body in the lab furnace.

A week after Parkman vanished, a janitor of the college discovered body parts hidden in Webster’s laboratory.

Webster was convicted and sentenced to death. Despite an outpouring of mail from across the nation, Webster was publicly hanged in Boston’s Leverett Square.

Morning Roll Call: Cheerleaders hazing; car door stolen; and lawmaker explains what girl was doing at his home

Towson University won the National Cheerleaders Association’s Collegiate Cheerleading Championship in April. (Photo Towson University)

We round up the day’s top crime stories because you’re preparing for the Labor Day weekend.

• Towson cheerleaders suspended over hazing incident (Baltimore Sun)

• Va. lawmaker says 17-year-old girl at home was receptionist (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

• D.C. man petitions for innocence after DNA exonerates co-defendant (Washington Post)

• Suspects steal car door, airbags from Laurel cars (NBC4)

• Adams Morgan assault sends one to hospital (WJLA)

• Man sentenced for $220,000 armored car robbery in Rockville (WJLA)

• Appeal turned down for Columbia Heights bird-lover who tried to poison cats (Washington City Paper)

• Barry tweets concerns about enforcement of dirt bikes (Washington Post)

• Districted driving was cause of accident that sent car over Bay Bridge (WAMU)

• Virginia State Police beef up patrols for Labor Day weekend (NBC4)

• Grants to reduce Baltimore’s DNA backlog (Baltimore Sun)

• Three shot at trailer in Maryland (NBC4)

• Md. police work to keep Crab Derby safe after last year’s violent weekend (Delmarvanow.com)

Night Shift: Hershey’s chocolate tanker spills; D.C. youth court shuts down; and man threatened to decapitate U.S. lawmaker

The Youth Court of the District of Columbia will cease to exist after this week because of a lack of money. The program, which provides alternative sentences to first-time juvenile offenders, is credited with keeping the offenders from getting arrested again. (Courtesy Youth Court of the District of Columbia)

• D.C. abandons celebrated youth court after money fizzles out (The Atlantic)

• Virginia lawmaker under investigation for involvement with 17-year-old (Associated Press)

• Va. inmate one step closer to state funded sex change (Washington Times)

• FBI arrests man who threatened to decapitate congresswoman (Roll Call)

• Ex-officer who says he was forced to shave in front of colleagues for Obama visit settles suit with city  (Baltimore Sun)

• Man arrested in Montgomery County held in Vegas jewelry heist (Associated Press)

• Tanker hauling Hershey’s chocolate drives off embankment (Northern Virginia Daily)

• Most Wanted: Twice deported gang member back in the area (D.C. Crime Stories)

• Bounty hunter who posed as federal agent sentenced in assault case (WJLA)

• Stabbing at Brookland Metro Station (PoPville)

• Murder conviction tied up over exclusion of family from courtroom (Legal Times)

• Four Johns Hopkins students robbed during move-in day (Baltimore Sun)

• Hundreds of fake iPhone, iPad parts found in Anne Arundel mall raids (WUSA)

• SWAT team, robot deployed to Springfield home (NBC4)

• Woman accused of vandalizing National Cathedral sent to psychiatric hospital (WAMU)

• Two men wanted for targeting money couriers in D.C. (WUSA)

• Shotguns, ammo found at Md. school property  (NBC4)

• Man sneaks into Woodbridge home, sexually assaults woman (NBC4)

• Montgomery Co. officers wins two gold medals in Ireland (Silver Spring Patch)

• Helmet-cam video from apartment fire in Montgomery County (Statter 911)

• Cuts to private lawyers could benefit D.C. Public Defenders (Legal Times)

• Video: Police seek help to identify burglar of Crystal City Sports Pub (ARLnow.com)

• Proposal to give GW police officers off-campus authority under scrutiny (GW Hatchet)

Most Wanted: Twice deported gang member back in D.C. area

Luis Ramos-Rosales

By Scott McCabe

Luis Ramos-Rosales, a gang member whose been twice deported from Maryland, appears to be back in the area and U.S. Marshals are looking for information that can lead to his capture.

Luis Ramos-Rosales has a tattoo of a crying clown on his left arm.

Ramos-Rosales, a native of Guatemala, was last deported two years ago after he was found in Hyattsville with .38-revolver loaded with six hollow point pullets, according to charging documents.

U.S. Marshals says he back in the area, and has been known to hang out in Silver Spring, Hyattsville, Langley Park and Charles County. Authorities are asking the public for information.

“Ramos is an illegal alien gang member who carries guns,” said Matt Burke, supervisory inspector for the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force. “We are looking for assistance in reigning him in again.”

Ramos, 25, is wanted for violating the terms of his probation for the firearms charge. When Ramos is captured he will be subject to additional federal charges for illegally reentering the country.

Ramos, who also goes by the name Zorito, is listed as 5-feet-4 and 140 pounds. He has a clown tattoo on his left arm, typical for Hispanic gang members, and means, “Laugh now, cry later.”

Anyone with information regarding Ramos’ whereabouts should contact the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force at 301-489-1717.

Crime History Aug. 29, 1977: Plot to steal Elvis’ body gets even weirder

Elvis Presley

On this day, Aug. 29, in 1977, three men were arrested and charged with trying to steal Elvis Presley’s body, leading to the dead singer being moved to his Graceland mansion.

The body-snatching incident stunned Elvis fans just a week after he was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis. The thieves’ plan was to ransom the corpse for $10 million, but the plot was foiled when one of the crooks, an FBI informant named Ronnie Lee Adkins, tipped Memphis police and a TV reporter to the scheme.

The charges were dropped after the prosecutor declared that Adkins was too unreliable.

Twenty-five years later, Adkins claimed that the body-snatching was staged for the Presley family so they could convince county officials to allow them to move Elvis to Graceland for security reasons. At the time, there were local laws that prevented bodies from being kept on residential properties.

In a strange turn of events, in 1992, Adkins was placed in the federal Witness Protection Program after masked men broke into his home, either for revenge or to collect $20,000, and killed his mother and shot his children. Adkins later helped put a Memphis lawyer in jail in a plot to kill a Tennessee judge.

In 2009, after watching an episode of “America’s Most Wanted” at home, Adkins recognized a murder suspect and helped authorities capture a murder suspect.

— Scott McCabe

Morning Roll Call: MLK Jr.’s relatives in bus accident; church vandal suspect back in court; and puppy tossed from window

Dexter, a border-collie mix, recovers from a severely broken leg. (Courtesy of Prince William County Animal Shelter)

We round up the top crime stories to get you ready for your day.

• Midshipman describe night of drinking before alleged rape (Baltimore Sun)

• King’s relatives involved in bus accident after ‘I Have a Dream’ rally (Chicago Tribune)

• Illegal ATVs go unpunished in D.C. due to no-chase police policy (NBC4)

• Puppy recovers after being thrown from second story (WTOP)

• Woman charged in cathedral vandalism back in court (Associated Press)

• Would the government have spied on MLK Jr. today? (CNN)

• D.C. taxi driver ridership complaints (NBC4)

• Officer killed in raid known for leadership, dedication (Baltimore Sun)

• Adams Morgan restaurant, bar closes doors permanently after stabbing (WTOP)

• Pellet gun found in juvenile’s carry-on at BWI (WUSA)

Night Shift: D.C. doubles police cameras; mother, children killed in crash; and Adam Kokesh remains jailed

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier welcomes Sam, the newest member of the department. Sam is a bloodhound and is trained to track people – even over long distances. (Courtesy MPD)

We round up the day’s top crime stories because you people have better things to do.

• D.C. to more than double amount of photo enforcement cameras (NBC4)

• Marion Barry’s son charged with DWI, possession of marijuana (D.C. Crime Stories)

• D.C. police add four-legged friend to force (DCist)

• Will new recruits fill D.C. fire vacancies? (NBC4)

• King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech attracted intense attention from FBI (Washington Post)

• Mother, two children, killed in Anne Arundel County crash (WJLA)

• University of Maryland student stabbed near campus, suspect sought (D.C. Crime Stories)

• Md. removes security chief at prison after officer not notified of threat (Associated Press)

• County councilman frustrated over school camera delay (Bethesda Now)

• Gun activist will remain in D.C.. jail for now (Washington Post)

Marion Barry’s son charged with DUI, drug possession

Christopher Barry

By Scott McCabe

D.C. Councilman Marion Barry’s son was charged with driving under the influence and possession of marijuana in Virginia earlier this month.

According to Hampton, Va., police,  33-year-old Marion Christopher Barry was pulled over after an officer noticed a PT Cruiser driving erratically about 9:10 p.m., Aug. 16.

Police found what appeared to be marijuana on Barry and synthetic marijuana and marijuana in the vehicle.

He was arrested and charged with DUI, possession of marijuana and possession of synthetic marijuana.

He was released on his own recognizance and is expected in court Nov. 13.

It’s not the first brush with the law for the younger Barry. In 2012, he pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and PCP after he jumped from the window of his apartment in Southwest Washington.

The younger Barry was previously charged with assaulting a police officer in 2005. Court records indicate the charges from that incident were dismissed.

His father, who had had his own problems with drugs, had hoped that his son could eventually take his seat on the D.C. Council.

University of Maryland student stabbed near campus, suspect sought

Police want to question this man about a stabbing near the University of Maryland campus.

A University of Maryland student has been stabbed near campus, and law enforcement authorities have released a photo of a person for questioning.

The stabbing occurred about 1:30 a.m., Saturday, in the 4600 block of College Avenue, in College Park.

Prince George’s County Police found the student suffering from a cut to his upper body. The victim was taken to a hospital, treated and has since been released.

Police said the victim and the suspect encountered each other on College Avenue, and got into a fight. The suspect cut the student with a sharp object, then ran away.

The suspect is described as a white male with a slim build and blond hair.  He was last seen wearing a black shirt and blue jeans.

Anyone with information can call police at (301) 699-2601.  Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477), text “PGPD plus your message” to CRIMES (274637) on your cell phone or go to www.pgcrimesolvers.com and submit a tip online.