Silver Spring

One Dead After Shooting Tuesday Night

By Patrick Herron

One person has died following a shooting Tuesday night near the Avery Park Apartments on Hampshire Green Lane in Silver Spring, on the border of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. According to police, “at approximately 9:02 p.m., 3rd District officers and Montgomery County Fire Rescue personnel responded to the 1800 block of Hampshire Green Ln. for the report of a shooting.

Upon arrival, officers located an adult male suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.  There is no one in custody.  This is an active and ongoing investigation.”

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Crime

Teenager Arrested for Food Truck Armed Robberies

By MCS Staff

Chief Antonio DeVaul from the Takoma Park Police Department announces the arrest of a 16-year-old male juvenile from Hyattsville, Maryland, for armed robbery.  The defendant was involved with food truck armed robberies in Takoma Park and Montgomery County.  The defendant has been charged as an adult.

During January and February 2023, investigators from Takoma Park and Montgomery County Police Departments have been investigating several commercial armed robberies of food trucks.  During the course of the investigation, detectives developed the defendant as the suspect responsible for the armed robberies. During the first week of March 2023, Takoma Park Police detectives and Montgomery County Police detectives obtained an arrest warrant charging the defendant with the armed robberies of:

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Education

Board of Education Receives Presentation From MCPS Staff Highlighting 2021-2022 School Year and Factors Driving Change in the School District

By MCS Staff

The Montgomery County Board of Education received a presentation from Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) staff and held a discussion on the district’s interactive online 2021-2022 Annual Report to the Community. The Annual Report to the Community includes highlights from the 2021-2022 school year and the factors driving change in the district. The report provides the community with information about the district—student performance data, operational performance data, and the steps the district has taken to fulfill the vision and mission of MCPS.

The report is designed to be an easily accessible digital compendium of information and key system, student, and staff data points for the 2021–2022 school year. It aggregates the information to view the 2021–2022 school year comprehensively. Key sections of the Annual Report are:

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MoCo Government

Council Unanimously Passes Resolution Calling for Emergency Rental Assistance Funding

By Patrick Herron

Per Montgomery County: On Tuesday, the Montgomery County Council unanimously passed a resolution calling on Governor Wes Moore and the Maryland General Assembly to allocate $175 million in the FY24 budget. The funding would help an estimated 17,000 Maryland families avoid eviction and remain in their homes.

Governor Moore announced a $5 billion state surplus in this year’s budget. Montgomery County residents, along with all Marylanders, are facing an end to local rental assistance, in addition to reductions in SNAP benefits, imposing hardship on many families.

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Gaithersburg

Police Respond to Shooting at Bohrer Park Near Gaithersburg High School

By Patrick Herron

Police responded to reports of shots fired on Tuesday afternoon in Gaithersburg. According to Gaithersburg Police, “On Tuesday, March 7, 2023 at approximately 2:47 p.m., officers from the Gaithersburg Police Department, Montgomery County Police – 6th District and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 500 block of S. Frederick Avenue for the report of shooting that just occurred. Preliminary investigation revealed that a group of unknown individuals were at the pavilion located to the rear of the Water Park when a shooting occurred. At this time, there are no victims of a shooting and there is no suspect information. This remains an active and ongoing investigation.”

Gaithersburg High School was briefly placed under a shelter-in-place around 3pm (the incident occurred after school had been dismissed and the majority of students had already left.) Earlier on Tuesday, five schools in Montgomery Village were placed in a shelter-in-place after Montgomery County Police responded to the 9900 block of Lake Landing Rd. in Montgomery Village around 12:30pm and located two males that were suffering from non-life threatening gunshot wounds. A suspect in connection to the Montgomery Village shooting is currently in custody.

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Crime

Guilty Plea in Rape of Teenager in Rockville

By MCS Staff

Defendant, Caden Riley, 19, of Rockville, has pleaded guilty to the charge of second-degree rape for an attack on a 16-year-old girl who was a stranger to him. Riley entered his guilty plea on Friday, March 3, 2023, in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, before the judge John Maloney. He faces up to ten years in prison when he is sentenced on July 28th, 2023.

This stems from an incident on April 16th, 2022. The defendant was 18 years old at the time and assaulted the victim after encountering her on a pedestrian bridge along Glenmore Terrace in Rockville. Featured photo, courtesy of Google Maps, shows Glenmore Terrace.

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North Bethesda

Police Investigating Double Fatal Collision; Identity of 19-Year-Old Victims Released

By Patrick Herron
Courtesy Cordell Pugh

Per MCPD: Two young women have died following a single vehicle collision in the early morning hours of Saturday, March 4, 2023. At approximately 4:07 a.m., a black 2012 Infiniti G37 with possibly four occupants crashed into a utility pole on Montrose Road near Hitching Post Lane. For reasons still under investigation, the Infiniti lost control, struck the center median, left the roadway, hitting a fire hydrant, electrical control box and several other fixed objects, before crashing into the utility pole.

19-year-old Leslie Kristin Ventura of Germantown was pronounced dead on scene. A second passenger, 19-year-old Kailey Briana Vigil of Rockville, was transported to an area hospital in critical condition, where she succumbed to her injuries and died on Monday, March 6. A third passenger left the location before officers arrived.  The driver was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries.

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Events

BMX Racer/Olympic Coach Tony Hoffman to Lead Community Talk on Opioid Prevention Wednesday Night at Gaithersburg High School

By MCS Staff

The City’s Community Services Division, in partnership with the Montgomery County Goes Purple Initiative, Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, and Montgomery County Public Schools, is hosting a parent & community talk focused on opioid prevention on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, at 6 p.m. at Gaithersburg High School, 101 Education Boulevard. The community talk will be led by Tony Hoffman, former professional BMX racer, U.S. Olympic coach, and person in long-term recovery. Hoffman has dedicated his life to bringing awareness around the country, describing how dangerous prescription pill and heroin abuse is and advocating for a shift in thinking towards current addiction-recovery processes. He will speak on teen mental health and substance use connections and resilience.

The event will also include the Community Opioid Prevention Education (COPE) Trailerand youth enrichment and support information through Identity, Inc. and the City. Interpretation support will be available in Spanish. Register for the free event here. In conjunction with the parent & community event, Hoffman will lead assemblies for middle and high school students throughout the week of March 6. A special session will also take place at The Landing, an adolescent recovery program located in Gaithersburg.

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Gaithersburg

City of Gaithersburg Launches Strategic Plan Public Dashboard

By MCS Staff

Through a collaborative process involving elected officials, employees, and stakeholders throughout the community, the Strategic Plan was designed to reflect the City’s collective long-term goals and the actions needed in order to achieve them. Each Outcome Area consists of one or more actionable strategies that reflect numerous activities, programs and projects that are carried out across all City departments. View the current Plan here.

 

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