Councilmember Jim Graham has generally kept quiet on the taxicab bribery case that has so far snared his right-hand-man Ted Loza. But at a recent Kalorama Citizens Association meeting, Graham apparently couldn't help himself. According to sources in attendance, he blasted federal law enforcement for busting Loza.

Recalls one source who was there: “[Graham] basically said Ted was entrapped by the FBI. The gentleman Kamus…He said he and Ted were very, very good friends. I thought it was a very bizarre thing to say."

Says another: “He talked a little bit about the investigation. He went back and forth from sort of defending Ted and throwing Ted under the bus a little bit. He talked about how Kamus was a really good friend of the office and a good personal friend of Ted’s.…That’s when he came up with the FBI entrapment….It’s a close friend of Teddy’s who got caught up in the investigation.” [See pictures of Loza and Kamus].

And finally, here's one more source from the KCA meeting: "I heard him talk about the taxicab investigation and how tragic everything was....It gets you paranoid. You don’t be expecting to be talking to someone and thinking you are talking to the FBI."

Pretty deep insights from the Grahamstander.

When we asked the councilmember to confirm or deny his comments, a staffer offered up a very unique retort.

Brian DeBose, Graham's new spokesperson, replied via e-mail: "It was an off-the-record meeting. That means you want him to verify something. He wants to know what you want him to verify before he talks to you." (This item initially misspelled DeBose's last name)

I replied that there's no such thing as an off-the-record public meeting. DeBose replied: "Incidentally, I know a community meeting is by definition not off the record. However, Dennis James assured the Councilmember it would be."

Denis James did not return calls seeking comment.

Bryan Weaver, an ANC Commissioner in Adams Morgan, says the meeting was not advertised as off-the-record. “I don’t know how you can have public meeting be off the record," he says. "It’s impossible. They had probably a 100 signs up in the community featuring Jim Graham as the speaker…It was the only thing on the poster.”

Eventually, Graham agreed to be interviewed. Yesterday, I was told that he would be calling. He never did. This afternoon I got another, final response from DeBose: "The councilmember was unavailable for comment by press time."

*photo by Darrow Montgomery.

The District lost.

The implications of the ruling are narrow but sharp: It pretty much puts the kibosh on any attempts, short of congressional action, to expand the Office of the Attorney General's prosecutorial bailiwick beyond the smattering of low-rent misdemeanors it already handles.

As Scarcella noted in his original story back in June, the dispute pitted Attorney General Peter Nickles and his congressionally castrated office against the federal Department of Justice, which prosecutes the vast majority of District crimes, in a "rare public turf battle."

The conflict is rooted in the misdealings of Emerson Crawley, a D.C. Public Schools employee who stuck the city with $7,400 in bills for fancy meals that turned out not to be work-related. His bosses found out, told the U.S. attorney's office about it, but the federal prosecutors decided in 2007 not to bring charges---apparently the offense was too piddling to warrant the feds' valuable time.

OAG decided they wanted a crack at Crowley anyway, and filed charges against him under the District's "false claims" statute. Back in 1997, when the D.C. Council passed that law, making it illegal to defraud the D.C. government, they mandated that OAG prosecute those offenses.

But Crowley had a very good lawyer who happened to have once run the city legal shop---Fred Cooke, noted for his representation of Marion Barry, was in charge back when it was called the Office of Corporation Counsel---and Cooke questioned whether OAG had the authority to press the case.

After all, under the District's home-rule charter, the feds are entitled to prosecute all crimes, save for violations of "police or municipal regulations, where the maximum punishment is a fine only or imprisonment not exceeding one year." Moreover, the D.C. Council, Scarcella notes, is "specifically prohibited from enacting any law 'relating to the duties or powers' of the U.S. attorney's office."

So Crowley's trial judge sent the matter to the appeals court. In a hearing there last June, Scarcella reported, the District argued that the restrictions on the local AG's authority ran only to laws in place prior to home rule. After that, the council can make new crimes and let OAG prosecute them. The U.S. attorney's office "argued that Congress never meant to give the D.C. Council free rein to create new crimes and assign a prosecutor."

The court didn't buy the District's arguments. If the city wants more local prosecutorial power, it's going to have to go to Congress to get it.

The weird part about all this is that the feds can allow the District to prosecute cases it doesn't want to handle. They didn't do that in this case---meaning at DOJ made an affirmative decision that Crowley shouldn't be prosecuted by themselves or anyone else.

Nobody knows why, Scarcella writes: "Federal prosecutors have not stated their reasons for declining to file charges against Crawley."

UPDATE, 5:05 P.M.: Asked why he hasn't been able to reach an agreement with the feds to prosecute the case, Nickles says, "As best as I can fathom, it's a matter of establishing jurisdictional prerogatives."

Nickles points out that the District has a pointed interest in prosecuting crimes against the government itself and seems perplexed that there would be a dispute over doing so: "It seems to me awfully strange. It seems part and parcel of the whole home rule idea."

In the wake of today's decision, by a three-judge appeals panel, Nickles says he's considering either an appeal to the full appeals court, an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, or lobbying Congress to change the law.

"We're not just going to accept it, that's for sure," he says. "To me, this is serious."

The D.C. Police Department has heralded its latest All Hands On Deck weekend with a press release. This AHOD took place between the early morning hours of July 10 to the early morning hours of July 12. The all gambit produced 519 arrests and one closed homicide case.

As all AHOD scholars know the bulk number doesn't quite tell the story of what the officers really achieve during these weekends. More detailed breakdowns show that much of the arrests are ultimately tossed out by the U.S. Attorney's Office. We posted the numbers of previous AHODs here and here and here.

The latest numbers provided by the U.S. Attorneys' Office show a similar stack of flimsy arrests.

Here are the stats from the July 10 to July 12 AHOD via prosecutors:

July 10 Cases:

Felonies: 7

Misdemeanors: 48

Fugitive: 4

No papered cases: 22

July 11 Cases:

Felonies:  21

Misdemeanors: 41

No Papered cases: 38

Fugitive: 3

July 13 Cases:

Felonies: 20

Misdemeanors: 74

No Papered cases: 40

Fugitive: 7

Total cases tossed out: 100

Total felony cases: 48

Photo By Darrow Montgomery

At a little after 9 p.m., Councilmember Marion Barry spokesperson Natalie Williams began another hastily scheduled press conference in front of the Wilson Building by thanking the U.S. Attorney's Office for dropping the stalking charge against the councilmember. Prosecutors had announced three hours earlier that they would not press on with the stalking case. "Our hearts are full tonight with thanks," Williams said. "We are grateful that the U.S. Attorney's Office has seen fit to not charge Mr. Barry."

Barry had been charged with stalking Donna Watts-Brighthaupt over the July 4 weekend. The arrest had since provoked a series of press conferences and embarrassing disclosures concerning Barry's troubled relationship with Watts-Brighthaupt. The disclosures included bizarre hotel fights and audio tapes showing how obsessed Barry had become with his ex-girlfriend. Yet to be clarified is how Barry came to secure lucrative contract work for Watts-Brighthaupt. 

Williams stated that Barry would answer questions about the the payments tomorrow. She also said that they would be able to provide the documents (contracts, e-mails, etc.) proving that the councilmember had acted properly. She insisted that the nothing Barry had done was illegal. 

After Williams finished reading from her prepared text, she took a few questions from reporters. The first question concerned the audio tapes. 

"This is over," Williams declared. But it wasn't. She went on to argue that the tapes only proved that Barry and Watts-Brighthaupt were in a romantic relationship. 

Williams later added that "Barry is not disappointed" by his behavior heard and referenced on the audio tapes. She refused to address Barry's actions at the Democratic National Convention when he kicked Watts-Brighthaupt out of his hotel room after she claims she refused to give him a blowjob. "They're two adults," she'd only say.

As to how Watts-Brighthaupt got the contract work from Barry's office, Williams isn't quite clear on all the details. She says she doesn't know if the ex-girlfriend even went through any interview process. "I have no idea how that transpired," she admitted. 

Earlier this evening, City Desk interviewed Watts-Brighthaupt on the U.S. Attorney's Office decision. 

*photos by Darrow Montgomery.

“I’m relieved it’s over," Watts-Brighthaupt says. "It’s a large price I’ve had to pay. I didn’t ask for this. I’ve learned such a large lesson in dealing with Marion. I’m not invincible. It’s unbelievable the type of person he is. But I wish him well. And I wish him good health. I’d really like him to do the best he can, do what he can for Ward 8 from this day forward.”

Do you think it’s possible he can be an effective councilmember? “No comment.”

Watts-Brighthaupt says that she had kept the recordings of Barry's declarations/pleas/long goodbyes not as payback. She says that he simply called so many times that she didn't even listen to them. She only started saving them in earnest after Barry began making trouble for her ex-husband Delonta Brighthaupt.

"My heart is so heavy," she says. "I worry mainly that I've disappointed my mom, family, and people that I truly thought highly of."

She goes on to say: "I knew how he was. I mistakenly thought I was invincible or that I could take the Barry machine….I think it’s a joke – the Barry Machine. But it’s not something I thought I’d have to deal with publicly. These things went on for a year privately. It strengthened me. It helped me to know what the worst person could be…..I’m now prepared. I’m going to take this as a life lesson.”

Watts-Brighthaupt says that she has no plans to file a civil suit against Barry. "Why bother?" she explains. "He doesn't have any money."

What would you do if Barry called again? “I guess he’d have to leave another voice mail."

"I cannot confirm or deny the existence of an on-going investigation."

The U.S. Attorney's Office has announced that it will not be pursing the stalking charge against Councilmember Marion Barry. The office just released a statement:

Following a review of the evidence relating to stalking allegations against Marion Barry and a careful analysis of the relevant factors, including the elements of the offense and the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has decided not to pursue stalking charges in this matter.

Barry is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow morning in D.C. Superior Court.

The third D.C. Police All Hands on Deck effort recently took place at the end of June. The D.C. Police have not released any numbers on overall arrests. But they did put out a handy press release promoting the program which puts all available D.C. cops on patrol. Chief Lanier (pictured) loves AHOD.

The latest AHOD went from June 26 to 6 a.m. on June 28.

The U.S. Attorney's Office provided their own stats for AHOD-related arrests. These do not include the minor stuff handled by the Office of Attorney General. The stats still show a significant number of no-papered cases i.e. cases tossed out by prosecutors due to a lack of evidence.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office:

On June 26 there were 11 felony cases, 30 misdemeanor cases, seven fugitive cases, and 20 no-papered cases.

On June 27, there were 30 felony cases made, 42 misdemeanor cases, and a whopping 50 no-papered cases.

On June 29, there were 20 felony cases, 64 misdemeanor cases, 29 no-papered cases, and eight fugitive cases.

Total felony cases: 61 cases

Total no-papered cases: 99 cases.

Effectiveness of AHOD: That's a question for all of us. You can check on the results from the previous AHODs here and here.

*photo by Darrow Montgomery.

Marion Barry appeared in front of cameras this morning for the first time since his Saturday-night arrest, but that's about all he did. Longtime lawyer Fred Cooke did virtually all the talking, while Barry stood behind him in a gray suit, fedora, and paisley tie, remaining mute save for an occasional whisper in Cooke's ear.

In contrast to yesterday's presser, where spokesperson Natalie Williams spent most of the time attacking the credibility of the alleged stalkee and glorifying Barry's munificence, Cooke stuck mostly to the confines of the legal case against his client.

"Mr. Barry specifically and vehemently denies stalking anyone," Cooke said. "We believe that the charge is baseless. We believe that the charge stems from a personal relationship that has gone horribly wrong in a lot of ways and has resulted in one party to that relationship striking out at Mr. Barry and repaying him for some of his kindnesses."

OK, so maybe Cooke didn't lay completely off the smear campaign, but he mentioned the name of the woman, Donna Watts-Brighthaupt, only once, in response to a question about her name.

Instead, Cooke emphasized the possibility that this will all go away very soon: "It is our hope that a careful review of the facts and circumstances by the Office of the United States Attorney will lead that office to conclude that no charges should be formally filed or lodged against Mr. Barry," he said, adding, "It's clear there was no stalking, no coercion....These are all facts that make it very difficult for the prosecutors to have a successful prosecution for stalking."

Cooke did entertain a few questions on the details of the relationship between Barry and Watts-Brighthaupt, saying the liaison "had run its course," having lasted "at least a year, maybe 18 months" and ended "within the last month or six weeks."

He referred to "verbal confrontations" between Barry and the woman's ex-husband in the past---which is what, he says, led Barry to have him banned from a Wilson Building event last Friday. "That individual had been confrontational with Mr. Barry in the past," Cooke explained, "and Mr. Barry thought that the decorum of the event required that that sort of behavior not reoccur."

As far as the events of Saturday, Cooke confirmed that the two planned to travel to Rehoboth Beach together, but they turned back to D.C. after having a late lunch in Annapolis. "I don't know what caused her to charge her mind," he said. "I know that she changed her mind." As to what happened afterward, the few details Cooke provided seemed to be mostly consistent with the sequence of events Watts-Brighthaupt described yesterday to LL---though Cooke insists that Barry was not following her when the arrest happened: "Mr. Barry was traveling on public streets on his way home," he said. "He was not following anyone." (He did contradict Williams' assertion yesterday that Watts-Brighthaupt's car was actually following Barry's when they entered Anacostia Park.)

Notably, Cooke declined to criticize Park Police on Barry's behalf, except to raise the question of what Barry could have possibly done during the traffic stop to justify a stalking charge---one that requires establishing a pattern of behavior: "I don't know how the officers decided that an offense happened in their presence that would allow them to arrest rather than investigate."

Asked about the charge might affect Barry's probation for federal tax offenses, Cooke said that given his expectation that charges would be dropped, it would have "zero effect." A source in the U.S. Attorney's Office confirms that in most cases, charges that are not pursued by prosecutors generally don't affect a preexisting probation agreement.

Concluded Cooke: "This is unfortunate, but it's not a distraction of such a proportion that would keep Mr. Barry from attention to the business of the council and the District of Columbia."

On his way down the Wilson Building steps to the microphones, Barry's arm was held by his spiritual adviser of late, Bishop Glen Staples of Ward 8's Temple of Praise. Also standing behind him were chief of staff Bernadette Tolson, confidante Anthony Mohammed, Williams, and two other gentlemen.

A reporter asked Cooke why Barry couldn't speak for himself: "Because he's a got a lawyer who's a pain in the butt," he said. "It would be malpractice if I allowed him to do that."

Video courtesy of WRC-TV

On Nov. 6, 2008, David Kerstetter was shot and killed inside his home by D.C. police officers. Despite the decision of the U.S. attorney's office not to prosecute the officers involved, Kerstetter's family has filed a notice with the District that it plans to sue the city over their son's death. The family's attorney, Douglas Sparks, notified Mayor Adrian Fenty in a letter dated May 1 [PDF].

We have written about the Kerstetter shooting here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here---not to mention the cover story linked above. The Sparks letter is based on the lawyer's interviews with witnesses, the autopsy report, and an exhaustive scene analysis. It provides the first counter-narrative to law enforcement's public account that Kerstetter had lunged at the officers with a knife---that Officer Frederick Friday shot and killed the Logan Circle resident in self defense. The new evidence appears to point to excessive force.

On the morning of Nov. 6, Officers Friday and Christian Glynn responded to the Kerstetter home after receiving a radio report for a suspicious door. The two met with the condo complex's maintenance man and a concerned neighbor. Sparks writes:

The maintenance man nudged the door open further and yelled upstairs to David, asking if he was home and whether the maintenance man could go upstairs. David replied that he was home, but that he did not want the man to enter or come upstairs because he had seen the police officers standing behind him. David said they should just go away and just leave him alone. The police officers then stood just outside David's front door for twenty to forty minutes while they spoke further with the maintenance man and neighbor, communicated via radio with police supervisors, and discussed David's known mental illness...and his history of depression following the death of his partner one year earlier.

Sparks states that the officers were unsure about what to do next. Kerstetter had made it clear that he did not want them in his home. Soon, though, they became "impatient" and announced, "We're going in." Sparks says the officers had no "reasonable belief" that a crime was in progress. The two cops drew their guns, went inside, and walked up the stairs to the second-floor living room and kitchen area.

It is unclear what Officers Friday and Glynn found on the second floor. They must have noticed that the furnishings were immaculate, that everything was perfectly in place.

Officers Friday and Glynn eventually made their way up to the third floor.

Sparks notes in his letter:

The officers apparently knew of no standard protocol to follow when responding to calls involving persons in crisis or persons known to suffer from mental illness---whether from a lack of standards, or a lack of training to carry out existing standards. Nor did they seek assistance from specialists at the District's Department of Mental Health who were available to assist with these types of matters.

Officers Friday and Glynn found Kerstetter in his bedroom.

Even law enforcement officials are unsure as to what exactly happened inside that bedroom.

Immediately following the shooting, D.C. police issued a press release which stated: "The officers were suddenly confronted by an adult male...reportedly wielding a knife. Reportedly, a struggle ensued as the officers repeatedly ordered the man to drop the weapon. It was at that time that the police in the face of apparent imminent danger fired upon the subject."

The U.S. attorney's office tells a different account of the exchange between Kerstetter and Officers Friday and Glynn. Spokesperson Channing Phillips omits the struggle narrative in an e-mail to Washington City Paper:

Mr. Kerstetter threatened to take his own life and held a knife to his own throat. Despite reasonable efforts to avoid taking Mr. Kerstetter’s life by repeatedly telling him to drop the knife, Mr. Kerstetter instead lunged toward the officers with the knife and ultimately left the officer who had his weapon drawn with no choice but to use deadly force to protect himself and others from death or serious bodily injury.

Sparks says the shooting appears to be plain overkill. He points to the autopsy report [PDF] and his scene work. The bloody scene suggests that Kerstetter had been effectively caged in, that he had been trapped in the far left corner of the room between his bed and the bathroom door. So far there has been no evidence cited which supports a struggle between the cops and Kerstetter. The pictures on the bedroom walls remained untouched. A blood-stained vase next to the bathroom door hadn't been knocked over.

Kerstetter bled out in his bathroom.

According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner's autopsy report, Kerstetter was shot five times. There were two gunshot wounds to the torso. The track of each bullet was front to back and downward. There were three shots to the lower extremities hitting knee, femur, bladder, and so on. The track of each bullet was back to front and upward. "It's consistent with a man in a sitting position and falling backwards," Sparks says in an interview.

Sparks writes that the cops fired at least eight rounds at Kerstetter. The three allegedly missed bullets were found in the bathroom floor, the floorboard in front of the bathroom, and in a bathroom wall.

"The trajectory of the rounds that hit David, as well as those that missed him, establishes that the officers fired downward," Sparks writes. "Blood spatter patterns along baseboards, trim work and elsewhere demonstrate that most, and perhaps all, rounds were fired while David was down and incapacitated."

In an e-mail sent this afternoon, Phillips says that the U.S. attorney's office did not conduct blood-spatter analysis in this case, "but it's my understanding that it wouldn't have been necessary in this instance given the other corroborating evidence that was available."

Phillips says the evidence included the knife, shell casings, audiotaped witness statements, and toxicology report.

"Shell casings---we all know they shot him. No surprise they found shell casings. They found a knife. What does that establish? The issue in question is where were the officers and where was [Kerstetter] when they fired off eight rounds," Sparks says. "Had they done a blood-spatter analysis, they would have discovered that it contradicts the police assertions and is far more reliable and scientific."

"We did a thorough forensic examination through a combination of highly respected experts in a variety of disciplines," Sparks adds. He says that he would want to see law enforcement's forensic examinations. "What was the available forensic evidence they relied upon? We'd sure like to see it. Not just we. When homicides are committed in our name with our money, the public has a right to know the facts on a basic moral level."

Sparks notes that police missed at least one bullet during the course of their examination of the Kerstetter home. The family found the bullet when they went through their son's bedroom. The bullet was found in a floor board:

"If there's something that's justified let's find out. If there's something that's not, let's fix it," Sparks explains.

In the aftermath of the Kerstetter shooting---and the shooting death of Osman Abdullahi---the police department has decided to completely overhaul how it deals with mentally-ill residents.

Photographs courtesy of Douglas Sparks

The U.S. Attorney's Office has declined to prosecute Officer Frederick Friday for the shooting death of David Kerstetter in early November of last year. Friday had shot and killed Kerstetter in the Logan Circle resident's bathroom entrance. Friday, and his partner Officer Christian Glynn, had responded to the home after a report of an open door. Kerstetter suffered from a mental illness and had pleaded for the police to leave him alone. The police went in anyway to investigate. Officer Friday claimed Kerstetter came at him with a knife before he opened fire. Kerstetter was shot multiple times.

"We’ve closed it out," wrote  Channing Phillips, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office, an e-mail. "After a thorough review of the matter, we declined to bring charges after determining that it was a justifiable shooting.  We have since sent the matter back to MPD for whatever action it deems appropriate."

Phillips went on to state: "There was no evidence that the officer violated the law when he used deadly force in this case.  Beyond that, I can’t comment."

Today, Phillips wrote another e-mail explaining further the office's decision.

Phillips writes:

“Our decision not to file charges in this matter was the result of a thorough investigation, which included an examination of the autopsy report, all available forensic evidence, radio communications, and witness interviews.  In this tragic incident, the officers arrived at Mr. Kerstetter’s home and discovered that his door had been kicked in and that nobody was responding from the residence.  The officers worked with Mr. Kerstetter’s neighbors and attempted to contact several third parties in order to resolve the situation peacefully.  When these efforts failed, and the officers reluctantly entered his residence, Mr. Kerstetter threatened to take his own life and held a knife to his own throat.  Despite reasonable efforts to avoid taking Mr. Kerstetter’s life by repeatedly telling him to drop the knife, Mr. Kerstetter instead lunged toward the officers with the knife and ultimately left the officer who had his weapon drawn with no choice but to use deadly force to protect himself and others from death or serious bodily injury."

The Kerstetter shooting may have played a role in the D.C. Police Department's recent decision to change how they train officers on dealing with residents in crisis. The prosecutor's decision is not all that shocking.

In the last 10 years, according to Phillips, the U.S. Attorney's Office has not prosecuted a single cop for shooting a citizen.

Last week, the Washington Post wrote an editorial asking why it took a civil suit to reveal new facts in the Rawlings shooting. Maybe it's because prosecutors just don't go after cop shooters. The bar is significantly higher to get a conviction in a criminal court.

In a cover story, a very, very old cover story, prosecutor Deb Sines broke it down: "All the cop has to do is take the stand and cry and look at a jury with tears in his eyes, and say, 'I lost it. I'm trying to do the right thing. I'm trying to be a good cop. People spit on us. People shoot us. They have no respect. I lost it. I'm so sorry.' Not one juror will convict him."

I went on to write of one example of some seriously bad policing:

D.C. cops have offered far worse testimonials. After getting stabbed by an unknown assailant on June 20, 1998, at the intersection of 14th Street and Park Road NW, Officer Edward Miller fired his Glock, hitting unarmed suspect Jose Joya several times. When later asked why he fired his weapon, Miller told a prosecutor: "I knew I had to get a shot off because I would get teased back at the station by the guys at 4D for not getting a shot off." Joya won a $500,000 civil-suit settlement in 2000.

Kerstetter's family has hired veteran attorney Doug Sparks. "On behalf of the family, we have conducted an investigation at least and likely far more thorough than the investigation described in the U.S. Attorney's statement," Sparks says in an interview this afternoon. "The results of our investigation paint a far different picture of the events leading to David's death. In particular, I haven't heard a word from law enforcement authorities about any ballistics tests in terms of bullet trajectories or any analysis of blood spatter patterns. In my view, that's probably because they didn't conduct these forensic analyses. We did. They show at least eight rounds were fired at David and five hit him. Our expert forensic analysis shows that the officers fired downward....Most if not all of the rounds were fired while David was down and incompacitated."

Sparks goes on to say: "At the end of the day, the issue for the Kerstetters is far more about police training when responding to matters of this nature than they are about whether the police officers should face criminal charges. That's the difference between the role of the U.S. Attorney's Office and the civil justice system."

We heard reports that cyclists were getting ticketed. One colleague told me that his neighbor got stung with a drinking-in-public arrest. The evidence against him: an empty cup that at one point had booze in it. His case was tossed.

So what of 377 arrests were for real stuff? It appears that D.C. Police made a good amount of solid cases. You be the judge!

According to Channing Phillips, the spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office, here is its breakdown of cases so far (there may still be others left to prosecute). These figures do not include AG cases which are usually for extremely minor stuff like drinking in public; I have yet to hear back from the AG. Anyway, here are the serious cases:

On 4/24, we had 59 lockups.  Of the 59, 9 were no papered.  The breakdown of the remaining cases were as follows:

Misdemeanor cases: 18

Felony cases :    3

Domestic cases:   17

Outstanding bench warrant returns:  3

Fugitive from justice cases:  9

On 4/25, we had 98 lockups.  Of the 98, 11 were no papered. The breakdown of the remaining cases were as follows:

Misdemeanor cases: 37

Felony cases:    23

Domestic cases: 12

Outstanding bench warrant returns:    13

Fugitive from justice cases:  2

On 4/27, we had 122 lockups.  Of the 122, 34 were no papered. The breakdown of the remaining cases were as follows:

Misdemeanor cases: 41

Felony cases:      23

Domestic cases: 20

Outstanding bench warrant returns:  1

Fugitive from justice cases: 3

On March 30, 2008, Harris went to Hart Middle School with a loaded shotgun. The press release states:

"The school was being used as a church that day. The defendant saw his estranged wife sitting in a vehicle, ran over to the vehicle with the shotgun, pointed the shotgun at his wife, and demanded that she open the vehicle. The estranged wife (who had previously been assaulted at gunpoint by the defendant five months earlier) refused to open the door.

"At that point, [Harris] walked over to the pastor of the church, pointed the shotgun at the back of the pastor's head, and walked the pastor at gunpoint to the vehicle. The defendant demanded that the pastor open the door to the vehicle and threatened to kill the pastor if the pastor did not open the door. When the pastor explained that he was unable to open the door, the defendant stepped back, racked the shotgun, ejected a round, and pulled the trigger. Fortunately, the weapon did not fire.

Thereafter, the defendant struck the pastor in the head with the shotgun, causing him to collapse to the ground. After striking the pastor, the defendant pointed the shotgun at two additional church members, as well as at a visitor, before fleeing the scene."

Police recovered in his path multiple rounds of ammo, the shotgun as well as Harris' clothes. Police also found a roll of duct tape and a duffle bag that held a bullet-proof vest. In the wake of Erika Peters, we should remember this case as well.

Pelote, according to the release, "led a heroin distribution ring that operated in the Langston Terrace" housing project. Pelote's "lieutenant," Edward T. "Bootsy" Farley, 47, also entered a guilty plea on the conspiracy charge.

The release goes on to state that four of Pelote's street-level dealers also pled guilty to a conspiracy charge: Charles "Black" McRae, 57, Gerald "Orleans" Anderson, 40, Dannie "Smiley" Jones, 54, and Cornelius "Chuck" Farley, 40.

The defendants will be sentenced on March 18, 2009. Pelote and Farley face sentences of 17 years and 15 years.

"According to the evidence the government would have presented at trial, between at least April 2007 and April 2008, Pelote controlled an organization that was responsible for smuggling heroin into the District of Columbia, processing and packaging that heroin, and selling it in Langston Terrace, NE," the release states. "Edward Farley assisted Pelote in distributing the drugs to various runners for street-level distribution."

Evidence recovered in various stash house included secret drug containers ("false-bottom cans"), hundreds of small, empty ziplock bags, thousands in cash, and "numerous bags of heroin."

The U.S. Attorney's Office notes that law enforcement was prepared to present audio and video evidence of multiple drug buys from various members of the conspiracy. "A court-ordered wiretap revealed telephone conversations between Pelote and his co-conspirators in which they coordinated their extensive drug trafficking activities," the release states.

In a release, the U.S. Attorney's Office states that Nicolas Proctor, 28, had been found guilty of possession and intent to distribute the crack. The guilty verdict was returned in U.S. District Court on Monday. Proctor's sentencing date has been set for March 13. He faces a possible sentence of 20 years to life.

The release goes on to give the background story of Proctor's arrest:

"On February 29, 2008, at approximately 6:35 p.m., Metropolitan Police Department officers executed a court authorized search warrant at the defendant's resident, located in the 1800 block of Frederick Douglas Place, SE, Washington, D.C., where he lived with his mother and brother. The residence is located in the phase I portion of the new development called Henson Ridge. During the search, the officers recovered crack cocaine weighing approximately 268.3 grams hidden in a closet in the basement of the townhouse, where Proctor was living."

Wow.