This week we published a cover story about the D.C. Police shooting death of David Kerstetter. Kerstetter lived at the Iowa, a complex located at 1325 13th Street NW. During the course of reporting, I interviewed a neighbor, Sherry Lichtenberg who met with the two cops that morning, who talked to them just before they went inside Kerstetter’s condo.

Some of Lichtenberg’s account of that morning on Nov. 6 are in the full story. Here is the rest of our conversation.

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As if WMATA doesn’t have enough on its plate with having to implement random bag searches and combat body odor, one of its drivers has landed in some trouble.

Friday evening, in the vicinity of 3rd and D Streets NE, members of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Crime Reduction Team (CRT) observed a group of young men walking down the sidewalk swinging a baseball bat.

According to an account posted by Sgt. Christopher Micciche on a Capitol Hill listserv, members of the CRT decided to get out of their car and arrest the guy with the baseball bat for a “weapons violation.”

The grab didn’t go smoothly:

The officers were then besieged by the remaining group of four young men attempting to free their friend. Back-up was summoned to assist, and one of the young men kicked an officer. The young men were arrested for Assault on a Police Officer-Misdemeanor. While those individuals were being apprehended and the situation was still chaotic, a MetroBus driver exited her bus and attempted to intervene on behalf of the young men. She was also arrested and charged with Assault on a Police Officer-Misdemeanor.

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Dylan Ward, who has been charged with obstruction of justice in the mysterious death of Robert Wone, was released this morning. A D.C. Superior Court granted his release. He is required to submit to curfew restrictions and wear a monitoring bracelet on his ankle.

Where’s he going? Well, Ward will be living with the two other former roommates who were also recently charged with obstruction of justice.

The Post account of the mundane proceedings had one bit of news: “Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenn Kirschner said there were additional charges against Ward before a grand jury, but declined to identify what those charges were.”

Update 3:15 p.m.: Robert Wone’s family just filed a wrongful-death civil suit in D.C. Superior Court. The $20 million lawsuit was filed against the three defendants charged with obstruction of justice. The Post writes that the civil suit complaint alleged the defendants covered up the murder.

In conjunction with the investigation into the murder of Michael and Virginia Spevak, ABC 7 reports that D.C. Police discovered a safe and computer during yesterday’s search of the backyard and alley behind 622 Ingraham St. NW.

A neighbor also found a charred ID belonging to Dr. Spevak in the alley.

Inspector Rodney Parks, addressing the press yesterday at the scene of the investigation, refused to confirm or deny the discovery of a computer. “Items were taken,” he told us, “and burglary appears to be the motive. But we haven’t ruled out anything else.”

NBC is also reporting the discovery of a safe.

Photograph above: D.C. Police package evidence in the Ingraham alley on 11/24/08

This afternoon in the backyard of 622 Ingraham Street NW, police found evidence relating to the murder of Michael and Virginia Spevak . The house is less than twenty yards from the spot where the Spevaks’ blue 2005 Scion was torched in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Officers have brought in four of the house’s residents for questioning and are preparing to execute a search warrant on 622.

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Man on Phone, 1989

Police are mounting a full-scale investigation after the brutal murder last night of an elderly couple in Chevy Chase, D.C.

The victims, identified as Dr. Michael Spevak and Virginia Spevak, had been bound and brutalized after an apparent break-in. Their car—a 2005 blue Toyota Scion—was discovered this morning around 5 a.m. in the 500 block of Ingraham Street, NW, swathed in flames.

More below the jump, including photos, updates, and the official police statement.

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Washington City Paper had heard from various readers that the MPD was setting up checkpoints in Petworth, and as of this evening can now verify two checkpoints, which the MPD conducted under the guise of  “community outreach efforts” tonight for an hour at the intersections of Kennedy & 7th and Kennedy & 1st streets. Around 25 officers  could be seen stopping cars, checking licenses, running plates, and citing minor seatbelt and cell-phone infractions. Many road flares and many police vans.

UPDATE: The MPD is flooding the neighborhood with recruits. They can be heard yelling “HOORAH.”

UPDATE: According to Officer R. Mullins, the MPD is conducting “a routine walk-through,” something it does “every four to five months” using recruits from the police academy. Mullins said three classes are out tonight, or about 75 recruits, plus various commanding officers.

UPDATE: According to a release that went out to the MPD-4D listserv around 2 p.m., Mayor Fenty is calling tonight’s MPD activities “City-wide All Hands on Deck Phase IV.” In addition to the MPD maintaining checkpoints and conducting foot patrols, “homicide detectives [will be] following up with victims.” No word yet on whether said follow-ups will involve members of DC’s medium community.

Historically addresses ending in “SE” haven’t received the arts coverage that they would otherwise be showered with if they were located near 14th St. NW, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a thriving arts scene on the other side of the river. FOTO Week DC ends Saturday, but we at City Paper would be remiss not to point out some of the great SE venues participating in the festival:

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*A “near-certainty” is how one account puts the chances that Eric Holder will become the country’s next attorney general. Most of the accounts of Holder’s past service are glowing, with the standard Washington pundits saying all the right things about the guy. But any good vetting of this man’s past has to include his tenure as U.S. attorney for D.C., and on that front, the accomplishments aren’t so overwhelming.

*Winter cold “coming on strong,” as if you couldn’t figure that out for yourself.

*LottieB makes a superb point about the crowded Whole Foods on P Street. LottieB points out that if you head there on weekends, get in the store before 11 am. Anytime after that, she says, you’re sunk. My family has a new metric for success in household finance management: How long you can go without stepping foot in Whole Foods. Long live Peapod!

*OK, a smart expert on urban affairs says on his blog that Mount Pleasant is the best neighborhood in D.C. Now, everyone is entitled to an opinion, and Mount Pleasant is certainly a nice place, though it’s a bit congested, the retail strip is woeful, and the neighbors are painfully divided over everything. But the point is that this whole question of what’s the best neighborhood in the District has been scientifically settled by a crack team of experts.

At 8:05 this morning, more than 120 firefighters descended on 1034 Quebec Place, NW, where a massive blaze had consumed most of the house, inflicted extensive damage to the homes on either side, and charred a corpse on the second floor beyond recognition.

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