Maryland

Thousands of Drivers Incorrectly Charged on ICC

By MCS Staff

According to a report released by Maryland’s Office of Legislative Audits looking into the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA), thousands of drivers were incorrectly charged by Maryland tolls between April 13, 2021, and January 30, 2022.

“Based on our data analysis for all MDTA toll facilities, we identified 82,847 customers that were potentially charged more than once for a single trip through a toll facility. The toll charges (including both potential duplicate tolls and correct tolls) for these customers totaled approximately $645,000. A majority of these tolls (80 percent) occurred at three toll facilities – the Intercounty Connector (ICC), the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial (Bay) Bridge, and the Fort McHenry Tunnel.”

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Beyond MoCo

Fugitive Roy McGrath, Ex-Chief of Staff to Former Gov. Hogan, Has Died After Being Shot During Arrest in Tennessee

By MCS Staff

Roy McGrath, the fugitive ex-chief of staff for former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, has died after he was shot during an arrest in Tennessee, according to a statement by his attorney Joseph Murtha. “It is a tragic ending to the past three weeks of uncertainty,” Murtha said. “I think it is important for me to stress that Roy never wavered about his innocence.”

FOX 5 reports that “the FBI confirmed McGrath was found Monday in the 10700 block of Kingston Pike at Lovell Road in Knoxville, and was shot during the arrest. The FBI said McGrath was wounded and had to be taken to the hospital.”

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Gaithersburg

Le Macaron in Rio Expected to Open in Coming Months

By MCS Staff

Last October we let you know that French pastry shop Le Macaron is coming to 7 Grand Corner Ave (next to BurgerFi) in Gaithersburg’s Rio. The shop is expected to open in the coming months, and is owned by MoCo residents Natalia Mejia and Camilo Beltran. Le Macaron, a Florida-based pastry shop now has more than 70 locations across the US, with more locations on the way as franchisees are opening in shopping centers like Rio, food trucks, and kiosks in malls.

Menu items at the upcoming Rio location will include macarons (available in 20 flavors), gourmet chocolates, French gelato, specialty European style coffees, classic French pastries, and homemade candies.  The store is scheduled to open in “Spring 2023”, but our best guess would be late spring based on where it’s at in the construction process. More on the history Le Macaron, per its website:

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Gaithersburg

MoCo’s Jordan Hawkins Leads the UConn Huskies Into Tonight’s NCAA Tournament Championship Game

By MCS Staff

MoCo native Jordan Hawkins leads the #4 seed UConn Huskies (30-8, 13-7 Big East) against the #5 seed San Diego State Aztecs (32-6, 15-3 MWC) at 9:20 pm tonight in the NCAA Tournament National Championship.

Jordan Hawkins averages three made 3-pointers per game for the Huskies, averaging 16.2 points per game with a 38.6% three point shooting percentage. Hawkins is a Montgomery County native who attended Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Germantown and Gaithersburg High School for his freshman and sophomore years before transferring to DeMatha. His UConn Huskies enter the game at 7.5 point favorites.

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Beyond MoCo

Update: Grandmother Arrested for Kidnapping Her Eight-Year-Old Granddaughter

By Patrick Herron

Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) have arrested 41-year-old Karla Vanessa Martinez of Springfield, TN, and charged her with the abduction of her 8-year-old granddaughter, Miriam Garcia, that occurred on Saturday, March 25, 2023.

Through the investigation, detectives identified Martinez as the suspect and determined that Martinez had taken the child to Springfield, TN. On Monday, March 27, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Martinez, charging her with kidnapping related charges. Detectives notified the Springfield Police Department of the abduction and the arrest warrant against Martinez.

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Gaithersburg

MCFRS Respond to Fire in Gaithersburg; One Cat Successfully Resuscitated

By Patrick Herron

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a fire on Prairie Rose Ln., off Muddy Branch Rd in Gaithersburg on Monday afternoon. According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS Pete Piringer, the fire originated in the basement utility room of the three-story townhouse.  All human occupants made it out of the home safely and one family is likely to be displaced.  Firefighters located two cats, one of which was successfully resuscitated, and one that did not survive. Approximately 60 firefighters responded to the scene. We will post an update when additional information is available. 

Per @mcfrsPIO on Twitter: “Update – Prairie Rose La, fire in basement extinguished, both occupants got out & are OK, FFs located/rescued two (2)cats, 1 survived (1 did not), likely at least 1 family displaced, @mcfrs  FFs checking for extension, ~60 FFs on scene”

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Colesville

Identity of Victim Released as Police Continue to Investigate Fatal Collision on Norbeck Road

By Patrick Herron

Per MCPD: The Montgomery County Department of Police – Collision Reconstruction Unit (CRU) is investigating a fatal collision that occurred on Saturday, April 1, 2023 in Colesville. At approximately 7:36 p.m., a white 2012 Honda Pilot was traveling westbound on Norbeck Road, just before Norwood Road, when it hit the curb and crossed the center line into oncoming traffic, colliding with a white 2019 Honda Pilot traveling eastbound on Norbeck Road.

The driver of the 2019 Honda was transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the 2012 Honda, 66-year-old Altai Khaltar of Derwood, was transported to an area hospital, where he later died. A third vehicle, a 2019 Nissan Rogue, was behind the 2019 Honda and suffered minor damages from debris caused by the collision. The driver of the Nissan was not injured. This is an active and ongoing investigation. Anyone with information regarding this collision is asked to contact CRU detectives at 240-773-6620.

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MoCo

Giacomo’s Brick Oven Pizza to Cease Operations at the End of April

By MCS Staff

Giacomo’s, a Neapolitan-style mobile brick oven pizzeria that has operated in various places across MoCo, has announced that it will cease operations at the end of this month. The pizzeria was founded by Giacomo Sciuto, an MCPS history teacher and son of a Sicilian immigrant who came to the country in 1988. According to an announcement made via social media, Giacomo’s will continue with all of its April events and will post that schedule later this week. The full post can be seen below (featured photo courtesy of Giacomo’s Brick Oven Pizza Instagram):

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Gaithersburg

$50,000 Winning Powerball Ticket Sold at Gaithersburg 7-Eleven Remains Unclaimed

By Patrick Herron

A $50,000 winning Powerball ticket sold at 7-Eleven at 3 Professional Drive in Gaithersburg remains unclaimed as of April 3.  Winners have 182 days from the date of a drawing to claim their prizes with the lottery. Other recent winners of note include a $50,000 scratch-off sold at Sunoco in Glenmont and a $10,000 Keno ticket sold April 2 at La Mexicana on Shady Grove Road.  Additional information on winners across the state of Maryland below, courtesy of MD Lottery:

Three Maryland Lottery scratch-off players claimed $100,000 prizes last week on tickets purchased in Adelphi, Glen Burnie and Hurlock. Meanwhile, six Pick 5 tickets worth a total $300,000 were sold March 28 at a Dash-In store in Upper Marlboro. In all, the seven days ending April 2 produced 46 winning tickets worth $10,000 or more that were sold or redeemed across Maryland, and the Lottery paid more than $34.4 million in prizes during that span.

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Events

Montgomery Parks is hosting Earth Month events to help residents take action

By MCS Staff

Volunteers will put on their work gloves and help beautify parks. Montgomery Parks, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is organizing teams of volunteers to help with a variety of volunteer projects for Earth Month 2023. Projects range from trash collection and maintenance in parks to removing invasive non-native plants with the Weed Warriors program.  No experience is required, and all necessary tools and work gloves are provided. There are dozens of ways to help. Individual volunteers or groups can find an opportunity by visiting:

Most volunteer opportunities are approved for student service learning hours. Registration is required to participate in all clean-ups and workdays. New projects are regularly being added to the schedule. Volunteers are advised to check back often for the latest on where help is needed, and which programs are already at capacity.

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