Patrick Herron, Author at The MoCo Show

Neighborhoods Across Montgomery County Will Celebrate National Night Out on Tuesday, Aug. 1

Published July 30, 2023 at 10:16PM

Per Montgomery County: Neighborhoods throughout Montgomery County, including many in the cities of Gaithersburg and Rockville, will join in the celebration of National Night Out on Tuesday, Aug. 1. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and Police Chief Marcus Jones will be among those joining police and fire department representatives and local leaders stopping by events that will include block parties, community cookouts and activities for all ages.

Neighborhood events will start at various times. Most start around 5 or 6 p.m., although some enthusiastic communities will get started as early as 3 p.m. Residents should check with their neighborhood or civic associations for details on events that may be happening in their communities.

MoCo Government

Wheaton Mosaic Mural Created by Students and Montgomery Housing Partnership Residents Working with Wheaton Arts Parade Dedicated

By Patrick Herron

Published July 30, 2023 at 10:14PM

Per Montgomery County: A community mosaic mural that was created by families living in Montgomery Housing Partnership (MHP) apartments in Wheaton working with artists from the Wheaton Arts Parade organization was formally dedicated on Thursday, July 27. The mosaic panels were created in 2019, but installation was delayed due to the COVID-19 health crisis. The Wheaton Arts Parade “Community Mosaic” was supported in part by a grant from the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County.

The mosaic mural is installed on the wall of the Pembridge Square Apartments at 2319 Blueridge Ave. and is visible from the side facing Elkin St. in Wheaton. Residents from nearby Amherst Gardens also participated in its creation. Among those at the dedication were Montgomery County Councilmember Natali Fani-González, MHP representatives and mosaic artists Edwin Salmeron and Ge’Vonna Keyes. Dan Thompson of Wheaton Arts Parade led the ceremonies.

MCPD

Update: Detectives Investigate Veirs Mill Road Fatality; Victim’s Identity Released

By Patrick Herron

Published July 30, 2023 at 6:02PM

Per MCPD : Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Collision Reconstruction Unit (CRU) are investigating a fatal collision that occurred on Saturday, July 29, 2023. At approximately 5:49 a.m., 1st District officers and Montgomery County Fire Rescue personnel responded to the area of Veirs Mill Road and Twinbrook Parkway for the report of a single vehicle collision.

The preliminary investigation revealed that a black 2012 Honda Civic Hatchback was traveling eastbound on Veirs Mill Road when, for reasons unknown it left the roadway and collided with a guardrail.

Bethesda

Concern for Missing 81-Year-Old Man Last Seen Driving Chevy Impala

By Patrick Herron

Published July 30, 2023 at 2:13PM

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Sam James is asked to call Montgomery County Police Non-Emergency (301) 279-8000 (24-hour line).

Concern for Missing Bethesda Man https://t.co/yDsWRKIiEE #mcpd #mcpnews #missing #missingperson pic.twitter.com/A9BXsRqGl8

Bethesda

Trader Joe’s Recalls Items Due to Possible Insect and Rock Contamination

By Patrick Herron

Published July 29, 2023 at 3:17PM

Trader’s Joe’s has removed a broccoli cheddar soup and falafel from its shelves after learning that the products were possibly contaminated with foreign objects. The grocery store is telling its customers that they should return the items to any Trader Joe’s location for a full refund. The company issued the following two announcements:

Last week Trader Joe’s recalled its Almond Windmill and Dark Chocolate Chunk & Almond Cookies due to the possibility that the products were also contaminated with rocks. Trader Joe’s has MoCo locations Bethesda, Rockville, and Silver Spring.

MCPD

One Dead, Two Injured After Single Vehicle Collision Early Saturday Morning

By Patrick Herron

Published July 29, 2023 at 10:30AM

Montgomery County Police are investigating a fatal collision that occurred this morning, Saturday, July 29, 2023. According to MCPD, “At approximately 5:49 a.m., 1st District officers and Montgomery County Fire Rescue personnel responded to the area of Veirs Mill Road and Twinbrook Parkway for the report of a single vehicle traffic collision.

The preliminary investigation revealed that a black Honda Civic was traveling eastbound on Veirs Mill Road when, for reasons unknown it left the roadway and collided with a guardrail. The adult male driver was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. Two passengers were transported to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

MDLottery

Mega Millions Jackpot Surpasses $1 Billion

By Patrick Herron

Published July 29, 2023 at 10:11AM

Per Mega Millions: “For the fifth time in its history, Mega Millions® will offer a jackpot in excess of a billion dollars! After no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Friday night – the white balls 5, 10, 28, 52 and 63, plus the gold Mega Ball 18 – the estimated jackpot grows to $1.05 billion ($527.9 million cash) for the next drawing on Tuesday, August 1. That prize would equal the fourth-largest Mega Millions jackpot to date. The jackpot has been rolling since it was last won in New York on April 18, and Tuesday’s drawing will be the 30th in this current run.

With excitement over the rising jackpot, the number of prizes won across the other eight prize tiers keeps growing. In the July 28 drawing, there were a total of 3,157,597 winning tickets across all tiers. Of those, 586,903 included the optional Megaplier (available in most states with an extra $1 purchase), which multiplies all standard non-jackpot prizes by a factor of 2x to 5x; Friday night’s Megaplier was 5x. In the current Mega Millions matrix and Megaplier configuration, which has been in place since October 28, 2017, there has never been a Megaplier of 5x drawn at this extraordinary jackpot level. That means a lot of prizes in other tiers have been multiplied by a factor of five!

Beyond MoCo

Beyond MoCo: Five-Year-Old Girl Locked in Hot Car For Several Hours; Mother Arrested

By Patrick Herron

Published July 29, 2023 at 10:00AM

We learned the child had been inside the car for several hours while her mother was visiting at a home nearby. The 29-year-old mother from Glen Burnie, MD, will be criminally charged with Neglect of a Minor, Unattended Child Left Confined in a Vehicle and Reckless Endangerment.

Child Protective Services has been notified, per Maryland law, to investigate and determine if the family can benefit from other services. It’s never ok to leave a young child unattended but it is particularly dangerous to do so in a vehicle when there is a heat advisory. Even with a window partially down, temperatures rise quickly and can become deadly. Children, dependent adults and even pets should simply never be left alone in a vehicle during extreme temperatures. We’re heartened that someone saw something and said something and are thankful for a community that looks out for each other!”

MoCo

Multiple Homes and Cars Damaged by Fallen Trees During Friday Evening Storm

By Patrick Herron

Published July 28, 2023 at 8:26PM

A severe thunderstorm that rolled into the area around 7pm on Friday, July 28 has caused damage in several parts of Montgomery County. According to Chief Spokesperson for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) Pete Priniger, MCFRS Emergency Communications Center (ECC) is currently on ‘CONDITION RED’ due to heavy call volume. Reminder: Treat traffic lights without a signal as four-way stops.

Incidents reported include:

Uncategorized

Beyond MoCo: Maryland Physician Sentenced in Felony Medicaid Fraud Investigation

By Patrick Herron

Published July 28, 2023 at 3:54PM

Per the Maryland Attorney General’s Office: “Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today announced the sentencing of Vitalis Ohakwe Ojiegbe, 68, of Bowie, Maryland, who pleaded guilty to one count of Medicaid Fraud for writing prescriptions for controlled dangerous substances without a legitimate medical purpose in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County in June. The Honorable Judge Carol Coderre sentenced Ojiegbe to a five-year suspended sentence with three years’ supervised probation. Ojiegbe was ordered to pay $16,035.11 in restitution and is also to be excluded from participating in any federally funded healthcare program.

This case was prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Attorney General’s Office in cooperation with the Drug Enforcement Administration. Attorney General Brown thanked Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Assistant Attorneys General Lisa Marts and Cathy Schuster Pascale, Fraud Analysist Todd Sheffer and Investigator Michael Glenn for their work on the case. Attorney General Brown also thanked Special Agent James Browning of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Hillandale

$50,000 Winning Scratch-off Sold at Local Beer & Wine Shop

By Patrick Herron

Published July 28, 2023 at 3:50PM

The player, who is a cartoon fan and chose to remain anonymous, picked the nickname “Elmer Fudd” to tell the story of his win. While running errands, the 73-year-old stopped at Hillandale Beer & Wine in Silver Spring to buy beer and noticed the Corvette Cash scratch-off. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the $5 game.

Having won second-chance prizes in Lottery promotions, “Elmer Fudd” knew the game had a second-chance promotion. He added the scratch-off to his cart, purchased his items and quickly headed home. Only hoping to win a prize equal to the money he spent, the Montgomery County man scratched off the instant ticked and quickly realized it was worth much more than $5. “I couldn’t believe my eyes,” he said. “I was very surprised because I’ve never won that much money at once. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.”