After the proceeding, a court worker explained to an assembled group of Fields' friends and family that the suspect had been wondering who had shown up for his preliminary hearing for a crime where the Gaithersburg resident stands accused of breaking into a Brookland residence of six Catholic University students last month. That incident resulted in a shootout with police that left two alleged cohorts dead on Irving Street NE. An aunt made a list for the court worker to take back to her nephew. It was long: Fields' people had filled two rows.

The defendant likely needed the moral support. Judge Kimberly Knowles had just informed him that he wouldn't be moving out of the sometimes chaotic D.C. Jail.

On Feb. 13, prosecutors and police say that Fields, Davon Sealy, and Akeem Jamaal Cavo burst into the off-campus house and pointed guns at the occupants and their friends, ordering them to the floor. After a 911 call was placed, the three suspects were surrounded by Metropolitan Police Department officers. Sealy and Cavo were shot and killed by police during their attempt to escape. Fields was captured. He told cops he and his group had charged into the house looking to rob the "Weedman." It remains unclear whether the occupants of the house were linked to any drug activity.

Fields' lawyer, James Whitehead, argued that his client only had "a minimal criminal history" and that he should be transferred to the District's medium-security Correctional Treatment Facility, where he could more easily accommodate visitors. But the judge said that facility had "limited spots" so Fields will remain at the D.C. Jail.

Messages to Whitehead weren't returned. The case is scheduled to resume April 7.

Photo by walknboston via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

If Sunday night's home-invasion robbery in Brookland had not come to such a horrific end, it's a good bet D.C. would be spending this week pondering the identity of the city's newest pseudonymous drug-culture celebrity: The Weedman.

The three-man crew who allegedly stormed the group-house home of six Catholic University students at about 10:30 that night apparently thought they knew. Though two of the three were killed during the ensuing shootout, surviving crew member Steffan Fields told cops he and his companions had gone in search of drugs, according to court papers.

Armed and masked, two of the crew entered through the front door and one from the back, according to the filings, which also say there were ten people inside the house during the incident. Some of those people were kicked as the team marauded.

Things went wrong for the crew when cops got word of the robbery in progress. Metropolitan Police Department officers showed up in force, quickly surrounding the two-story brick in the 1000 block of Irving Street NE.

After about 30 minutes, Fields, Akeem Jamaal Cayo and Davon Sealy allegedly tried to shoot their way out. Sealy and Cayo went down in what was likely a hail of bullets. Fields was collared and arrested for first degree burglary while armed. He has a March 3 court hearing.

In court papers, Fields said "he had been at the residence before. Once for a party and a second time to purchase weed." Fields told police they'd been looking for the stash of someone he referred to as the "Weedman," according to the court papers.

A police official speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation says police believe the Weedman is actually a group of pot-dealers-cum-CUA-students. The official says cops found evidence and plan to bring charges against the students.

Asked about the identity and future of the Weedman, MPD spokeswoman Gwen Crump said she wouldn't comment on an ongoing investigation. A CUA spokeswoman also declined comment.

One CUA student who lives in the house at which the robbery took place seems to at least have a passing familiarity with weed. One of his Facebook friends, also a CUA student, posted what appears to be a picture of two intersecting spliffs, put together to form the shape of a cross. "A thing of beauty," wrote the housemate below the pic.

Photo of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, located adjacent to the Catholic University of America, by Gore Fiendus (Jerry Frausto) using an Attribution 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license 

Several issues of the paper were ripped up and placed in front of the newspaper office, and a comic that ran in the paper was ripped out and taped next to the door.

The comic was commenting on several forum pieces and letters to the editor that have run in the Tower over the past two months discussing gay rights and the Catholic Church. Featuring the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and symbols signifying gays and lesbians, the comic stated that the student population that identifies as gay is "no longer underground."

Student editors called the Metropolitan Police Department on Friday and again on Sunday, and were told by officers both times that because the issues were free on newsstands, they did not consider it a theft.

Contacted today, MPD Officer Israel James of the office of communications said the amount of papers trashed made the case "a little tricky," and said he would call back after he looked into the issue.

More on free newspaper theft after the jump.

"The Tower is proud to offer students a place to debate opinions, but we believe that most would agree theft is an inappropriate way to express their disagreement," said editor-in-chief Justine Garbarino.

She said the paper does not censor anything they run on the forum pages. "Anything that's signed by a member of the campus community, we print."

Editors say they have the name of a suspect who was seen by other students throwing papers away, but cannot do anything about it because the university will not let them see the footage from a system of cameras in place across campus. On Friday, they were told they could look at the footage on Monday, but the only person with access to the system was apparently not on campus today.

"They are being really nice and open to giving us the best information they can, but the fact of the matter is, our papers were stolen and some kind of action needs to be taken," said Garbarino.

From Garbarino:

"University administrations, have only offered consolation, saying there is not much they can do, other than it might be a violation in the student code of the University. Our Department of Public Safety has been of little help. They have disregarded our requests to see the video tapes and have said that the investigation will take a long time and not to expect any answers. Our staff has conducted our own investigation and has been able to determine who the culprit(s) may have been, but without seeing the tapes, we can not pursue anything. MPD also will not take a report, claiming that since the papers are free, anyone can take them and do with whatever they want with the issues. However, numerous court cases have proven that this is simply not true."

Even if the school does prosecute the students internally, Garbarino does not believe the campus judicial prosecution will be adequate since the punishment will not be made public and because The Tower is hoping to recoup printing costs and partially refund advertiser's money.

Washington City Paper publisher Amy Austin said that she has also been frustrated by MPD's reaction to the destruction of free newspapers. About eight years ago, she got into a fight with a flower vendor in Dupont Circle who was taking issues out of the box and using them to wrap his produce. Austin confronted him, and the man started yelling back at her, saying he could do whatever he wanted. Austin called police.

"The police told me he could do whatever he wanted," said Austin. "'It's okay, little girl, just go home,' is what I felt they were saying to me."

Austin said "there's nothing more aggravating then to have someone take a fresh, unread paper and then throw it in the trash."

Editors at the student paper say they had hoped for a stronger action from the university.

"It is seriously disappointing to see that the university is allowing this destruction of property and blatant censorship to occur without taking action," said Ben Newell, former editor-in-chief of the Tower.

"It is equivalent somebody driving a car through the president's office, and campus security throwing up their hands and saying 'oh well, it was a student on campus property so its not criminal'," said Newell. "We have lost money and property. It is absolutely a criminal act."

This is not the first time a large number of student newspapers were taken off stands at school–many were removed by the university's admissions department when potential students were visiting campus in 2006.

Video of the trashed issues of the paper below.

From The Tower's blog:

Issues were missing in the Pryzbyla Center, McMahon Hall, Leahy Hall, the Mullen Library, Hannan Hall and various other locations.

It is believed they were stolen from the Pryzbyla Center between approximately 5:45 and 6:15 p.m.

Tower editors subsequently informed the Department of Public Safety  and placed any salvageable issues of the paper to new stands.

Editor-in-Chief Justine Garbarino said the Tower plans to pursue both internal disciplinary action and legal action against those responsible.

Ryan J. Reilly, a Washington City Paper intern, also serves as an editor at the Tower.

Green is scheduled to appear before the board today at 1 p.m. At last check, he was being represented by Andrew J. Kline, who Loose Lips reported in December violated nearly a dozen rules of professional conduct, including committing criminal forgery and engaging in behavior “involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation," according to a report [PDF] issued by the D.C. Court of Appeals’ Board of Professional Responsibility.

Read the full report and other details after the jump.

City Paper covered the bar last May and their Go-Go music last June after shootings outside the club. There have been several incidents since, including an assault in November. (Find coverage of these incidents over at the Tower, Catholic U.'s student newspaper, where I also work.)

ABRA investigators visited Cardinal's Nest on Aug. 28 in response to a complaint by an associate dean of students at CUA. That is where they allegedly observed the sale of alcoholic beverages to underage students. The complaint says the investigators "observed several patrons with Xs on their hands drinking from cups of beer in their hands and in some cases holding two cups of beer." They also saw a bartender serve a patron with Xs on his hands.

During an incident in the spring, an investigator saw a male walking away from Cardinal's Nest carrying two white cups with Budweiser/Bud Light advertisements.

The male told the investigator that he had just come from Cardinal's Nest and had been there all night. Asked what he was drinking, the patron told the investigator it was "happy juice."

Darrell Green, the owner of the Cardinal's Nest, has quite a history. The former cop worked in the 4th District for 10 years until he resigned in 2002 under circumstances the police department will not disclose, according to a City Paper article. The article, written after a man was shot and killed outside the bar says he was not the first victim of violence outside one of Green’s bars. "In May 2004, Rumba Café owner Boris Canjura was found unconscious outside of Adams Mill Bar & Grill, his skull fractured, his ribs broken, and his lung punctured."

Green has also been accused of renting out substandard properties and turned himself in after being accused of looting painting, antiques, china, and Oriental rugs from a self-storage unit in Vienna, VA. The charges were later dropped.

He was opposed to the ban on smoking as owner of Adams Mill Bar & Grill, according to a Washington Post article in early Jan. 2007. He told the Washington Times that his business fell off as a result of the ban and had to eliminate lunch service.

He also was not a fan of Flexcars and Zipcars taking up public parking spaces outside of his bar in Adams Morgan.

Catholic University administrators have long complained about the bar, which has been open since the fall of 2006. In the spring, Craig Parker offered legal help and University resources to University residents who wanted to get the bar's liquor license pulled.

The original voluntary agreement between Cardinal's Nest and Brookland neighbors was signed in Dec. 2006, and amended in April, 2008.

Read the D.C. ABRA Order to Cardinal's Nest for the full details (dates were before rescheduling and delays).

Live coverage starts at 1 p.m.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Over at why.i.hate.dc, a local D.C. blogger has declared war on local D.C. blogs, and written a sarcastic list of tips for creating a successful neighborhood blog (which if you follow, "you should find yourself linked by DCist and The Washington City Paper in no time!").

One anonymous commenter joked that he/she was "so inspired I'm going to start a Brookland neighborhood parody blog."

My first post will ask readers to join me in an email writing campaign to Whole Foods corporate headquarters asking for our own store.

Next, I'll review the new coffee shop opened by two gay men who just returned from wintering in Vieques, and who import "fair trade" Ethiopian coffee direct from the source.

Jokes aside, it raises a legitimate question: where is Brookland on the blog scene? Both the Brookland Blog (which has an old post about the ever-entertaining Brookland listserv) and stop, blog, and roll have been inactive since the summer, leaving a huge gap for an intrepid blogger to fill. Sure, there's the Brookland Heartbeat, but that only comes out every other month.

There's just an endless stream of material to cover in Brookland – the Brookland-CUA Small Area Plan is a classic development v. status quo fight, a new restaurant on 12th Street, town & gown stories based on conflicts between Catholic U. and the neighborhood (usually centered around bars like the Library and the Cardinal's Nest), fights about putting power lines underground and Brookland is right next door to the Armed Forces Retirement Center and the McMillian Sand Filtration site. What more could a blogger ask for?

Some suggestions from why.i.hate.dc to get you started:

...Your blog's banner must include a photo of either the local Metro station, or a group of rowhouses.

...You should always discuss how awesomely friendly your neighbors are, in so much that the people who have "lived there forever" say hi to you.

...Hearing gunshots warrants an immediate "live blogging" event. You should definitely make note of how long it took the police to arrive. You should also mention that while you aren't sure what actually occurred, you intend to call the police station to find out. You may or may not post a follow up, explaining how unhelpful the police were on the phone.

...You should lament how despite the growing number of restaurants and bars, you have yet to find one that's "cozy" or "neighborhood" enough for you. Don't mention that any place that would meet this criteria is EWWW waaay too gross for your taste.

...Post a lot of poorly composed, low quality photos that you took with your iPhone/cell phone.

...Lament the lack of a good (name brand) grocery store in your neighborhood.

Head over to their post for some more tips, Brooklanders, and get bloggin'!

Update: former stop, blog, and roll blogger Jaime Fearer (now blogging for Greater, Greater Washington) argues that the blog "isn't inactive, it's closed b/c i moved but still up in case the info is useful. semantics, i know." Point taken. While stop blog and roll is "closed," it does serve as an archive of a lot of happenings in Brookland (as well as a lot of great links for info on the area). Sidenote: someone needs to come up with a new buzzword for abandoned blogs.

A shotgun-wielding man with a bandanna across his face robbed a Catholic University student in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven early Saturday morning, according to a release from CUA's Department of Public Safety [PDF]. The release describes the suspect as a black male, 21-27 years of age, 5’9’’, 160 lbs., and wearing dark clothing.

The parking lot of the 7-Eleven is the same place where a homeless man showed off a decomposing head in a plastic bag and ditched it in a dumpster in March 2007. The homeless man left when bystanders called police.

The head's accompanying human remains along with clothes and a rope were later found next to the university softball field.

The Heights Center where the head was dumped includes several shops frequented by students, including University Liquors, Domino's Pizza, and Hunan Delight.

At every home game the Catholic University basketball team has played in the past 62 years, Francis E. “Franny” Murray has been cheering the Cardinals on from the sidelines. But Saturday was not a typical home game for the 86-year-old employee. This time, the long time equipment manager was on the receiving end of the cheers as the University named the basketball court in the DuFour Center in his honor.

Over 300 people spanning seven decades attended a dinner that night in the university's Pryzbyla Center, where Murray was awarded the President’s Medal, the university’s highest honor, for his service to the school.

Many spoke of Murray’s uncanny ability to remember not only names but also details about each and every player he has come into contact with.

So as a parade of former student athletes, staff members and assorted friends and family greeted the campus legend, there was no need for reintroductions. He knew each one by name. Between the dedication of the court and the dinner in his honor, he was back in the equipment room (“The Cage”) reminiscing with old and new friends.

Soon, point guard Sean Stolzenthaler stopped by, fresh off a Cardinal victory on the newly renamed court.

“Franny!” said Stolzenthaler.

“Hi-ya, Sean. Good win,” said Murray.

“All for you, sir,” said Stolzenthaler.

“Some of my friends asked how long Franny had been at Catholic, and I could only say that I don’t know for sure, but I think since dirt was made,” said Sharon Repass, the first woman ever inducted into CUA’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988.

So what has changed about the University since he started as equipment manager some 62 years ago?

“Not much,” said Murray. “The kids are still the same, and that’s what’s good about the place I think.”

“He feels like one of the guys,” said Mike Bzozowski, a sophomore baseball player. “He’s the big man on campus down here at the Duf."

It's hard to grasp the sheer volume of Murray's legacy — baseball coach Ross Natoli calculated that Murray worked 18,720 consecutive days at the University. He has seen the University under eight separate presidents (or rectors, before the title was changed in the late 1960s). The Washington Post did a profile piece highlighting his long career in 1988 when he had been at the University for 40 years. Murray has not missed a single home basketball or football game since 1947 even after triple bypass surgery in 1982.

But do not try to get Murray to talk about himself. He kept his remarks at the dinner under 30 seconds and said that he was the world’s worst speaker and if not, the second. He thanked everyone for taking time out of their lives to come and say hello.

Even those organizing the dinner met some initial resistance from Murray.

“Being a very humble man, Franny wasn’t too keen on the idea at first, but he finally gave in,” said Katie Acuff, development director.

“After the invitations came out for the dinner, Franny called me up and he said ‘Hey Bob, did you see the price of this ticket for dinner?’ and I said ‘Franny, $130, anyone would come for you! $130 is no problem’,” said Robert J. Talbot, who has known Murray for 54 years. “Franny said, ‘I wouldn’t pay $130 for a seat at the last supper’.”

“I wouldn’t either,” University President Rev. David M. O’Connell quipped from the audience.

“I think I speak for everyone here when I say that this isn’t about an event for us. It’s not about a plaque, or a reception or a dinner. It’s about having a chance to simply say thank you, Franny. Thank you for the memories. Thank you for your warm embrace you so willingly shared. Thank you for the gentle guidance all these years. Thank you for just being you,” said Acuff.

“He’s the most humble man in the world,” said Ann Brogioli, class of 1989. She and some fellow basketball teammates seemed determined make that as difficult as possible, designing t-shirts embroidered with his photo and the caption “The Man, The Myth, The Legend.” Even O’Connell sported one under his clerical clothing.

During World War II, Murray served in New Guinea and the Philippines as a B-25 gunner in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He had enlisted at age 19 and trained as an airplane mechanic, and enrolled at CUA under the G.I. Bill after an honorable discharge. He graduated in 1950 with a degree in English and boxed on the varsity team for four years.

“Boxing was big at Catholic University in those days, as it was on the east coast,” said Talbot.

Murray says he spend the majority of his time in the ring on his back looking up at the lights and joked that he got knocked down so often that advertisers used to rent out space on the soles of his shoes.

The sport was discontinued in the mid-1950s, as it was at many schools, and the University put more emphasis on basketball.

During his second year at Catholic, he started working in the athletic department in the old gym, now the architecture building, which was originally conceived as a temporary armory for World War I.

“I got married in June of ‘47, so I had to get a job, and I started working in the athletic department,” said Murray. His wife of 58 years, Eileen, died four years ago. He has eight children and seven grandchildren.

Murray’s “Cage” was on the first floor to the right in the old gym. When the department moved into the DuFour Center in 1985, Murray told the Post that they were “going to move this room just as it is.” The Post described the room as the kind of thing you’d find reconstructed at the Museum of American History as an example of American sporting life, circa 1940.

"The cage was like a mall, complete with a laundromat, a CVS, Footlocker, Dick's Sporting Goods, Beer & Wine and Off-Track Betting," said Repass. "Franny provided student athletes with more than a clean uniform. He provided friendship, support and encouragement. He even provided us with iced-down adult beverages concealed conveniently behind a locker after a hard fought game."

He has not always been “Keeper of the Cage.” His career has included stints as a referee, as head of the intramural and sports information operations, a year as acting director, 29 years as athletic trainer and many more in his current role of equipment manager.

“His dedication to our university is pretty remarkable,” said athletic director Mike Allen.

But it is not just the length of Murray’s career that is so impressive. It is the way he treats everyone he works with, speakers said at the tribute dinner.

“He makes you feel special and he knows your name, and he knows your friend’s name, and your parents’ names, who you dated, what town you came from, what team you were on, your teammates, your stats, the year you graduated, who you married, and many of our children,” said Repass.

“It was so nice and so comforting to go down to Franny’s office just in between classes to go in and B.S. a little bit,” said Talbot. “It was also a great place to go to complain and whine.” He described complaining to Murray about his teachers and coaches as Frank Sinatra music played in the background and Murray signaled he was listening by offering up the occasional “yeah.” Pretty soon, “Franny says, ‘Heck, you know people in hell want a glass of water’,” said Talbot. “After all these years, you still can’t figure out if he ever agreed with you.”

Talbot also recalled Murray’s well known ability to tape an ankle. Murray had a special tape “that was like cement” and he would spray it all over. “The taping job was fabulous – you never knew how bad you were hurt because you never felt that ankle for the rest of the season,” said Talbot.

“He was very kind and always open, I think he provided a lot of counseling for students,” said Karl Bailey, who ran sports medicine at CUA for almost 20 years—from 1982-2002.

Martin Dowd (brother of New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd) has spent nearly 50 years as an athlete and a coach at CUA, and is one of the most successful coaches in CUA history. This spring marks his 50th season as a part of the men’s tennis team–four years as a player and 46 as a coach.

“He’s the only person left at Catholic who still calls me junior, and that’s why I love him,” said Dowd. He suggested that perhaps the court wasn’t big enough and joked of renaming McMahon Hall for Murray. “Ask any student on campus who McMahon Hall is named after [they’ll say] Ed McMahon. If you name it Franny Hall, they’ll sure as heck all know who it was named after.”

Dowd recalled when he first met Franny as a freshman in 1956 after he made the tennis team. "My captain told me to pick up my equipment at the gym. Go up the steps, through the doors, stay to the right, head down the hall to the cage, there's an old guy there named Franny Murray," Dowd said. "Franny was 32!"

Hicabi "Turk" Emekli was a player and a coach, and started the soccer program. “He was great, we all loved working with Franny,” Emekli said.

Dowd’s wife Jane is the former senior associate director of athletics who founded women’s athletics at CUA in the late 60s, said that she would not have been hired without Murray’s approval. When she was interviewing at the age of 23, the director of athletics at the time took her down to the cage, introduced her to Murray and asked him what he thought. Murray glanced up, sized her up, and gave his seal of approval – “She’s okay,” he said. Once she got the thumbs up from Franny, Dowd went on to work in athletics for 47 years. Her husband is still coaching men’s tennis team, and her daughter is coaching the women’s squad.

“There is not one other person in CUA history who could attract a crowd of this many people,” said Dowd. “He’s got a special gift.”

Murray also has a great memory. When former lacrosse team captain Christine Thornton graduated in 2005, she realized she had forgotten a number of items in her locker and returned to the DuFour Center. She did not know the combination to her locker, but somehow Murray knew if off hand.

Murray reportedly got a little tired at the end of the long day and was taken to the hospital for a checkup, but he was back in “The Cage” this week.

He doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon. “I don’t really have any hobbies, so why should I quit?”

Some of the younger alums stopped to say goodbye to Murray before they left the dinner on Saturday, ready to head out to a bar downtown. “Stay out of trouble,” he told them.