D.C. Police detectives worked quickly to solve the murder which took place last Wednesday as Rawlings was trying to board a Metro bus along H Street NE. According to an affidavit [PDF} filed in D.C. Superior Court, there were several witnesses that came forward.

In reading the affidavit, one thing is clear: Jeffrey Britt will not be the only one charged in this case. Police recovered two different caliber shell casings from the crime scene, and witnesses point to other individuals involved in the killing:

"One such witness...reported that it observed two black males armed with guns shooting into the well of the Metro bus."

The affidavit goes on to describe a murder plot developed in front of witnesses and carried out within minutes.

While attending the funeral service for Ashton Hunter, one witness saw Rawlings walk into the proceedings. At that point, several attendees of the funeral talked about Rawlings' supposed involvement in Hunter's murder. The witness heard a "Jeff" state: "I should kill that nigga!"

After Rawlings left the funeral home, this witness saw "Jeff" and two other individuals standing near Rawlings. Rawlings soon left. Jeff and the two others followed. A short time later, the witness heard gun shots and observed the three individuals running back towards the funeral home. The witness said that he noticed they were armed with guns. The witness identified Jeff as Jeffrey Britt.

Another witness saw the actual murder. The affidavit states:

"[The witness] observed one of the black males who was with 'Jeff' shooting a gun at the decedent who was lying on the steps of the Metro bus....It subsequently observed the black male aiming the gun at him and pulling the trigger, but the gun did not go off because it appeared to be out of bullets."

After the murder, detectives found on Rawlings a Smith and Wesson 9mm semi-automatic handgun and a "bottle containing a clear liquid that had the chemical odor consistent with...PCP."

WTOP's Mark Segraves noted the huge time suck for officers on the Fenty bike detail:

"Documents obtained by the police union through a Freedom of Information Act request show officers from the Special Events Branch are routinely detailed for the "mayor's bike ride," racking up hundreds of man hours - many of which officers spend waiting for the mayor.

On multiple occasions, WTOP witnessed uniformed officers waiting for one to two hours for the mayor's cycling team to arrive for their training rides.

Thanks to Fenty, Lanier is now forced to offer some kind of lame quote. This past summer, Lanier had to defend her officers' zany response to that Fenty traffic accident. Now comes her weak defense of her department's escort service for Fenty's bike team.

Lanier told WTOP:

"For the mayor to have a security team when he's out riding his bike is not unusual. It's not uncommon. I don't look at their daily agenda of where they go or what they do. I don't know about running stop signs and stop lights and things of that nature."

There are few officials who are more prepared, more media savvy than Lanier. She rarely offers up an "I don't know" response when getting grilled before the D.C. Council. She almost always has an answer and the stats to back her up. This is a chief that lives the job. For her to not know where the mayor is or what her officers are doing is laughable. Can we blame the mayor for Lanier's sudden drop in I.Q. points?

Friends told the Hatchet that Gethers wasn't the type of guy to just disappear. He was always texting, etc. When he failed to meet up with a friend on Sunday, and didn't text in an apology, people got worried.

Friends started a Facebook group. Others planned to fly to D.C. to help with the search effort. Flyers started going up.

"Jazz Hayes" wrote into the Facebook group:

"GOODMORNING TEAM. LETS BE PRODUCTIVE AND PRECISE TODAY. FLYERS GO OUT, AND LOCAL NEWSTATIONS ARE CONTACTED. I WILL PAPER THIS ENTIRE DAMN CITY."

And this from Hayes: "SEARCH TEAM POST YOUR TWITTERS SO WE MAY STAY UPDATED AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER!"

And then, um, Gethers showed up on campus Monday morning.

He explained to the Hatchet that he had simply gone to Virginia with a woman.

The Hatchet reported:

"Gethers said Monday evening that he had gone with a girl to Virginia, but that he stopped at a friend’s house in Maryland and left his phone there.

The senior said he is 'remorseful' about the situation and is sorry he put his friends through a traumatic experience this weekend, but said 'right now it’s kind of hysterical,' referring to his experience seeing himself on the front page of Monday morning’s Hatchet.

'It’s fine, I love them,' Gethers said referring to his friends who began the search for him. 'Even though when I saw the paper today I started busting out laughing, but at the same time I thought I had great friends on my side.'"

Those friends now are giving him major shit on that now-unnecessary Facebook group.

From "Ally P.": "hes about to get his ass handed to him!"

From "Jazz Hayes": "still upset at u boy"

"I have the fortunate task of progress monitoring at least three-quarters of the students in my classroom. To progress monitor a student in the intermediate elementary school grades, the assessment takes approximately thirty minutes to complete. And here's the cherry on this hot-mess sundae -- for students identified as high-risk, I have to perform the assessments every two weeks and for the students identified as some-risk, I have to perform them every three-weeks. YIKES!"

Greater Greater Washington goes deep into the archives for a history lesson on Carroll Row.

And Now, Anacostia notes that the Salvation Army building has finally opened.

In Bloom sorta responds to a listserv post asking for Bloomingdale to become a gated community. Someone is fed up with crime! The blogger writes:

"Frankly, if neighboring LeDroit Park couldn't do it from the start, it's a fair bet to say that it's not going to happen here and now. With several major thoroughfares running through the area (First Street, North Capitol Street, and Rhode Island Avenue, just to name a few), it would wreak havoc on traffic as well."

The Georgetown Metropolitan calls off Ginkgogate 2009:

"While the wretched threat of their putrid load still hangs menacingly over our heads or lies under our feet, GM is now confident that a full-blown Ginkgogate 2009 has been avoided.

This time last year we we’re under a deluge of foul smelling berries. The city had switched to a new concoction to stem the growth of the ginkgo berries. It was a total disaster. We had berries straight through the spring."

Frozen Tropics factchecks a WaPo piece on H Street.

Prince of Petworth notes that there will be a community meeting this Wednesday to discuss the recent spike in violent crime in the neighborhood.

"MPD is reporting a sinkhole at 295 & Pennsylvania Area. Delays in area; avoid if possible."

A call to MPD's press office put me on hold for longer than I care to admit. Maybe the public information officer fell in the sinkhole.

"The City Council uses only rhetoric to denounce the pairs' actions; remember when Vincent Gray caved and restored the school funding he originally cut? The Washington Teachers Union has been utterly useless in the struggle between 825 and teachers' rights; George Parker continues to cancel meetings and overall, has not been proactive in addressing the layoffs. With the Mayor's reelection looming within a year, there are no candidates that pose a serious threat to him. And while the protests and sit-ins are a start, I seriously doubt Chancellor Rhee or Mayor....o until someone with a better vision and a stronger hand comes along, I think Chancellor Rhee is here to stay, despite what you think of her."

In Bloom wonders what's going on with Baraki: "After an flurry of construction activity earlier this spring—including the appearance of an outdoor seating area—Baraki has since sat quiet. Its highly visible location at the intersection of First Street NW and T Street NW meant that many folks in Bloomingdale and beyond went past it every day wondering what was (or wasn't) going on."

Life In Mount Vernon Square wonders if pepper spray is illegal: "I am told on the one hand you can have it and it needs to be registered;  then I was told you cannot own it.  Which is the case?"

Frozen Tropics posts about a recent shooting on 10th Street.

Time to get involved! There's a meeting today about the new dog park at 17th-and-S. On Wednesday, there's a meeting for ANC 6C (see draft of the agenda). And finally...the Downtown Neighborhood Association is meeting tonight---guests reportedly includ AG Peter Nickles and Councilmember Phil Mendelson!

If you happen to like cruising down Parker Street NE looking for hookers, here's a warning: The D.C. police department could end up sending you an embarrassing letter.

Some time ago, ANC Commissioner Tony Richardson complained to the mayor's office that Parker Street, which is amid the H Street NE corridor, was being overrun by prostitutes. Results ensued: The department declared the vicinity a prostitution-free zone for ten days and then increased patrols. The streetwalkers migrated elsewhere.

But these days, Richardson has reason to complain again: "We were very successful for like eight or nine months," he says, "but then they came back." Starting in June, Richardson claims, sex workers began reoccupying his block.

Since then, he and other residents have met with police to brainstorm tactics. One plan that's been agreed upon, offers Richardson, is for neighborhooders to start exposing johns by jotting down the license plate number of any car that seems to be in the area looking for paid sex. The police department will then send the owner some mail: "The letter would say your vehicle was seen at this time-- in a high prostitution area," informs Richardson. "it's been done before," he says. "They used it in Logan Circle a few years ago."

Commander David Kamperin of the department's First District cautions via e-mail that the plan is just in the beginning stages. "They are working with it," he writes. Kamperin also makes the letter seem more courteous than exposing. "The concept was to provide a list of tag numbers cruising the area--an informational letter would be sent to the owner saying their car was observed in a high crime area ensuring that they were aware of its whereabouts etc."

Photo courtesy of Oran Viriyincy

First, this just came in from one of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Yahoo groups: Beware of the telephone shysters posing as sales reps for the FBI. No, silly! Not the real Federal Bureau of Investigation. This one's an alleged alarm company peddling “free” security systems. The pitch starts off saying "you live in a high crime statistics area" and offers a free home alarm system in exchange for letting the company put an FBI sign on your lawn. It’s the latest twist in alarm system scams.

AFTER THE JUMP: More on D.C. confidence schemes and Obama's plans to take down abusive consumer lenders.

For weeks, reports of shady looking traveling salesmen have been burning up neighborhood listservs.  More than a few residents reported unnerving visits from alleged alarm company reps going door to door. These guys demand to be let inside homes to see if the systems needed upgrading. Needless to say not too many street-smart District residents have fallen for this one (um, or perhaps we've only heard from the folks who told the grifters to clear off.)

Well, anyway, those ruses are in no way unique. It turns out the country is awash confidence schemes. The Federal Trade Commission says thousands of people have been swindled out of millions of dollars since the economic downturn began. 

Today, the agency announced a crackdown on scammers who have hoodwinked consumers with get-rich-quick plans, imaginary government grants, and fraudulent debt-reduction opportunities, among other things.

The enforcement crackdown involves dozens of cases brought by the FTC, the Department of Justice and law enforcers here in the District and at least 13 states. At today’s press conference, officials even trotted out “a Washington, D.C. job seeker who was conned by a company that made false promises of maintenance and janitorial work.”

I missed the webcast, so I have no more details on our very own District victim. But it sounds like he or she may have been duped by Wagner Ramos Borges, one of several alleged criminal masterminds picked up in the nationwide sweep, officially dubbed: “Operation Short Change.”

Ramos Borges allegedly advertised janitorial jobs in area newspapers and online sites. But once applicants responded, he would trick them into paying $98 apiece for bogus “certified registration number” cards. Those cards were supposed to land them jobs with one of the front companies he operated. But the jobs didn’t exist, officials say.

…

As for the perfectly legal scams run by banks, the Obama Administration is taking them on too. The Department of the Treasury forwarded a proposal to Congress yesterday that would establish a new agency to oversee home mortgages and other consumer lending. Click here for the press release discussing the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency. The administration says the new outfit would shield consumers from lending abuses like those that led to the financial sector’s current travails.

According to today’s Washington Post, the banking industry is in revolt over the plan, saying it would allow the government to meddle too much into its business; but lawmakers may have a hard time voting against it without looking like corporate sellouts.

New Columbia Heights notes that Wonderland's owner has no desire to cash in and allow Real World d-bags to infiltrate his bar with drama, cameras.

Carlos in DC is mad at D.C. Police for stopping and detaining a woman for selling food on the street:

"While I agree the police was trying to enforce the law, but the officers in charge were totally ignorant with people -including me- who tried to help the Spanish-speaking woman with translation into English. The two policewomen were extremely rude and threatened anyone who tried to help."

Borderstan wants to know why Dupont Circle was completely cleared for a half hour on Sunday.

And Now, Anacostia notes that historic district signs are up in SE:

"Not sure why these didn't go up years ago, but I'm happy to report that the Anacostia Historic District is finally marked with signs. It's nice to have some physical reminders of the district's boundaries, but also emphasizes our need to expand in certain areas to include some of the neighborhood's more fragile homes and commercial buildings."

Did the police get all handsy with you this weekend? During the past three days, the D.C. Police launched another one of its All-Hands-On-Deck efforts in which all available officers were required to work a patrol beat. I saw the police respond in force to several little scenes---but the buzz going around centered on police apparently stopping and ticketing cyclists.

On Sunday, a woman was found dead in her home. She was shot. Three other men were shot as well. The shootings look related. On Saturday night, there was a shooting at 14th and W. Crime must have been light in the Dupont Circle area as the ever-vigilant Borderstan last posted pictures of flowers from his garden.

And, well, the police had to deal with the IMF/World Bank jerks who vandalized those banks. Prince of Petworth spots some possible anti-General Logan graffiti that may more may not be related. But before everyone condemns those out-of-town kids, there seems to be some controversy surrounding protester-cop conflict at 20th and Pennsylvania Avenue on Saturday. DCist noted the incident with a touch of sarcasm. The jokes are hard to resist.

But there are pictures that show a more inconclusive scene that begs the question: Why did the police turn on the marchers? This wasn't a Pershing Park ambush. But it's still worth thinking about.

In a retro zero-tolerance move, the D.C. Police announced today that it will start ticketing litter bugs. The move follows the D.C. Council passing an anti-littering law last year. Don't worry, you probably can go ahead and throw your McDonald's wrappers out of your car window. There's a month-long grace period. And do you really see D.C. cops ticketing for this?

The police write in its release:

"Starting April 10, 2009 (today), the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) will begin a 30-day warning period to alert motorists of the littering violation and associated fines. Following the warning period, police will begin issuing actual Notices of Infraction (NOIs) to motorists caught littering from their vehicles. The fine for a traffic littering violation is $100 per violation.

"Litter poses health risks, harms water quality and wildlife habitat, and is an offense against communities.  Neighborhoods with a lot of litter are at risk of more serious crime and disorder."

You think you know Joseph Randolph Mays. You know that he's an ex-postal worker. You know that he's been charged with stabbing to death his girlfriend Erika Peters and her two young boys on March 21. You know that he's now another defendant awaiting trial at the D.C. Jail.

But Joseph Randolph Mays was much more. He was a poet, a spiritual counselor, and an Internet addict. On one of his more than six blogs and websites, he penned his own simple message to the world:

"My message to everyone in the world. Let’s do this and make our world a better place to live in."

Mays believed he could make the world better by blogging. While working on my cover story about the murders, I spent a good amount of time trying to figure out Mays' virtual life. I was stunned by the amount of blogs, spam-like business ventures, and personal writing he would post. He wrote tons and tons of almost unreadable material (i.e. hyping e-cards or flogging his people finder venture). In not one of the entries does he mention Erika Peters or her two sons. He'd only talk about the two-year-old daughter they had together.

But he did write a lot of poetry:

"Through this toilsome world,

Alas once and only once shall I pass.

If a kindness I may show,

If a good deed I may do,

to a suffering fellow man,

Let me do it while I can.

For it is plain,

I shall not pass this way again."

I'm still mystified by him. How can I guy write that and do what he is alleged to have done?

Photo by Darrow Montgomery.

*PRETTY SOON THEY MIGHT START REPRODUCING: After victories in Iowa and Vermont, "[gay] momentum...could spill into other states," the New York Times speculates.  Closer to home, the D.C. Council voted resoundingly to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.  Jason Cherkis has some comments on that, as well as some intriguing internal polling, here.

*Marc Fisher wants U.D.C. to "raise its game" by adopting University President Allen Sessoms' proposal to bifurcating the university into a two-year community college alongside a reinvigorated, competitive four-year college:

For too long, UDC has been a high school--even a middle school--in disguise, with college professors scrambling to teach basic algebra and even some arithmetic, as well as reading comprehension and other foundational lessons to students who were simply passed through the D.C. public schools.

Would such a reorg mean even more hikes for the four-years set? No word yet.

* D.C. Police report that James Duncan of the 2200 block of Sherman Ave. NW is missing:

Mr. Duncan was last seen at approximately 4:00 pm, on Thursday, March 26, 2009 in the 2200 block of Sherman Avenue, NW. Mr. Duncan is described as a dark complexioned black male, 5’6” tall, weighing approximately 180 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair.

*The Washinton Times blushes to report that "hundreds of students" gathered for a screening of Pirates II: Stagnetti's Revenge in UMD College Park's Susquehanna Hall on Monday, defying squeamish Maryland lawmakers who'd threatened to withdraw $424 million in state funding.  Students defended the screening, citing the film's "educational" content and the fact that Stagnetti really got a bum deal the first time around.

*Prince of Petworth just really liked this sky.

Photograph above: "Tehran Sky" by Hamed Saber

Officer Harris takes the escalator up to the third floor inside D.C. Superior Court. He then does what all officers must do every morning in the courthouse: check in on his case. He walks over to courtroom 321 and scans the printout case list taped to the door. His case is there.

It's almost 9 a.m. This morning, he skipped breakfast and coffee, and took the Green Line from Camp Springs. Officer Harris says he had to be at Superior Court by 8:30. It's his day off. "Unfortunately," Harris says, "if we don't come we get in trouble."

Harris is stuck standing outside courtroom 321 because of some other guy's troubles. This past summer, he arrested a guy for possession of PCP. One of the easiest arrests he's ever made.

"Someone was driving along and smoking PCP," Harris says. "They fell asleep at the wheel at an intersection [Alabama and 32nd Street SE]. We came on the scene. He still had the dipper. He still had it in his hand. Car still in drive. Foot on the brake."

The man didn't wake up until he was in a hospital bed, Harris says. "That's when he got combative," Harris recalls. "He didn't know what was going on. He's like 'What am I here for? I didn't do anything.'"

"It was funny," Harris says. The Sixth District officer is telling his story at the end of the long hallway, in a darkened nook just outside his courtroom. At 9:15, his cellphone rings.

"They told me it's up in courtroom 321. Yes. OK. I'll come in. No he's not here. OK. All right."

Harris hangs up. It's the prosecutor calling from inside the courtroom.

"He wants me to come in," Harris says.

Here's a rundown of the terrible news.

On Friday, just after 12:30 p.m., police "located 40-year-old Joseph Barton, of the 1300 block of Fort Stevens Drive, NW, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the body. He was subsequently transported to an area hospital and pronounced dead." Police had cruised the 1300 block of Fort Stevens Drive on reports of a shooting.

On Saturday, at 10:14 p.m., police responded to the 1600 Block of W Street over reports of gunshot sounds.

"Upon arrival, officers located two adult males suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. Both victims were transported to an area hospital where one of the victims was subsequently pronounced dead at 12:26 am. The decedent in this case has been identified as 25-year-old Carlton Hill, of Clinton, MD. The identity of the other victim is being withheld at this time, because he is a potential witness in the case," the release states.

On Sunday, just after 1 a.m., police responded to the 3900 block of 14th Street in Columbia Heights for a report of a shooting.

"Upon arrival, officers located two male victims suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. Both victims were transported to an area hospital where one of the victims was subsequently pronounced dead at 4:43 am. The decedent in this case has been identified as 23-year-old Manuel Garcia, of Northwest, DC. The identity of the other victim is being withheld at this time, because he is a potential witness in the case," the release states.