Update: Richard Hyatt Underwood has been located safe and unharmed.

Per MCPD:

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Gaithersburg, MD – Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 5th District Investigative Section are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a 52-year-old man who went missing from Clarksburg.

Richard Hyatt Underwood was reported missing on Wednesday, February 9, by his family, from the 22900 block of Turtle Rock Terrace in Clarksburg.

Underwood is approximately 5-feet, 10-inches tall and weighs 190 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes.

Underwood could be driving a red colored Chevy Cruz, with MD tag #JZA402.

Police and family are concerned for his welfare.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Richard Hyatt Underwood is asked to contact the 5th District Investigative Section at 240-773-6237 or the police non-emergency number at 301-279-8000 (24-hour line).

A pad site is available for a restaurant at the Clarksburg Premium Outlets to be built in the near future, according to the klnb website.  The pad site offers up to 8,164 square feet as well as a fairly large outdoor patio. It will be located at the Clarksburg Road entrance to the outlets, just off of I-270.

Currently, Clarksburg Premium Outlets dining options include Auntie Anne’s, Charley’s Philly Steaks, Day and Night Cereal Bar, Rise Pies, Guaca-Mole, and Texas BBQ Factory, in addition to the La Pote-ria food truck.

This pad site would offer a standalone full-service restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. What would you like to see open up at the outlets?

Some may have noticed a familiar face on television when Luka Van Herksen appeared on Law and Order: SVU last night. Luka was born in Mozambique and lived across the world before moving to Montgomery County- first to Bethesda and later Clarksburg.

Last night he had a role in TV’s longest running primetime drama, Law & Order: SVU, where he played a young teen who was questioned for his involvement in a spree of hate crimes that occurred in the city. The episode was introducing one the NYPD’s new unit, Hate Crimes, which is also the newest spinoff of the Law & Order series. Luka said he enjoyed his time on set and thought highly of his co-star, Ice-T, who would talk to Luka during breaks and give him tips.

Below you’ll see a couple screen captures of Luka’s appearance on the show, courtesy of MCPS teacher Grace Lovelace Guishard.

We spoke with Luka’s mom, Melissa Vigues Van Herksen, who is an MCPS substitute and told us more about Luka’s MoCo history. The Van Herksens bought a house in Clarksburg after they resigned as diplomats, and Luka spent 5th grade in the area and all of middle school at Rocky Hill Middle School. Luka credits his middle school choir teacher at Rocky Hill, Mr. Paul Heinemann, for being extremely  supportive and helping him grow.

While in Montgomery County, Luka got involved with Young Artists of America, a group that operates out of Strathmore in North Bethesda. Luka says he got his passion and inspiration from YAA, which trains young performing artists in collaboration with leading, professional artists to present fully-orchestrated productions at state-of-the-art venues including their home stage at the Music Center at Strathmore.

Last year, Luka was the only child Toby’s Dinner Theater’s production of Elf the Musical in neighboring Howard County. Luka and his family recently moved to Frederick County, where he is enrolled at Linganore High School.

Luka has gone to New York a few times to film PSAs and commercials for grocery store chain, ShopRite. He is hoping for more episodic work like his role in SVU in the future. We wish him the best of luck!

CLARKSBURG, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Robotic Research, a global leader in autonomous mobility and robotics solutions, today announced a $228 million funding round—the first outside capital the company has raised. This funding will drive further innovation and expansion of Robotic Research’s commercial division, RR.AI, which is focused on delivering comprehensive autonomous driving solutions for commercial truck, bus, drayage and logistics vehicles. Investors in the Series A round include SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Enlightenment Capital, Crescent Cove Advisors, Henry Crown and Company, and Luminar Technologies, Inc.

“This investment reflects our success in developing autonomous solutions for our U.S. government customers, and will provide the resources needed to meet our growing commercial customer demand and the expansion of our commercial efforts,” said Alberto Lacaze, CEO, Robotic Research. “Our long history and experience has enabled us to develop a proven solution that is not only rugged, safe, and reliable, but also versatile and ideal for operating across a variety of environments, weather conditions, and use cases.”

Robotic Research has successfully deployed autonomous and robotics solutions on roadways around the globe as well as in the industry’s harshest, unstructured environments. The company’s vehicle-agnostic autonomy kit, AutoDrive^®, has already been integrated in a variety of vehicles including North America’s first automated heavy-duty transit bus, Class 8 trucks, and yard trucks. AutoDrive^® can be used on-road, off-road, or in the yard, making it uniquely suited to provide a 360° autonomous driving solution that spans a variety of complex operational design domains (ODDs).

“We believe that autonomous vehicle technology has the potential to reshape how goods and people are moved around,” said Akshay Naheta, Senior Vice President of SoftBank Group Corp and former Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “Robotic Research has a track record of operating in the commercial sector and has built a differentiated autonomy solution by focusing on tangible, revenue-generating opportunities. We are thrilled to be a financial partner and provide resources needed to accelerate the commercialization of Robotic Research’s solutions.”

This is the first strategic equity investment to date by Luminar, a global leader in automotive-grade lidar hardware and software technology. Robotic Research is working alongside Luminar on strategic opportunities to advance autonomy and has selected Luminar as its long-range lidar provider.

UBS Investment Bank acted as financial advisor and placement agent for Robotic Research. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP acted as legal advisor, and Covington & Burling LLP acted as special counsel to Robotic Research.

About RR.AI

RR.AI is the commercial division of Robotic Research––a global technology company that has delivered autonomous mobility and robotics solutions to the defense sector for two decades. RR.AI’s vehicle-agnostic, full-stack autonomy kit (AutoDrive®) is a proven autonomous driving system for both on and off-road environments and is trusted by industry-leading OEM partners. It is uniquely suited to provide an end-to-end, 360° autonomous driving solution for commercial transportation that spans across complex operational design domains (ODDs). To learn more about RR.AI, visit www.rr.ai.

Montgomery County officially broke ground today at the site of the of the new Clarksburg fire station that will be located at 23420 Frederick Road in Clarksburg.

Per MCPD:

For Immediate Release: Friday, December 3, 2021

On Friday Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich joined Montgomery County Council Vice President and Public Safety Committee member Gabe Albornoz, Montgomery County Councilmember and Chair of the Public Safety Committee Sidney Katz, Director of the Montgomery County Department of General Services (DGS) David Dise, Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) Chief Scott Goldstein, and other officials to celebrate the start of construction of the Clarksburg Fire Station with a groundbreaking ceremony.

“This fire station has been a long-awaited addition to the Clarksburg community,” said County Executive Elrich. “Clarksburg is an area that has grown tremendously over the past decade. This station’s service area now generates more than twice the amount of emergency responses since 2005. The Clarksburg fire station provides our firefighters and paramedics a permanent home in this community and will help strengthen critical emergency services to our residents in this area. I appreciate the work, partnership and coordination of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services along with our Department of General Services to design this station with a ‘sustainability lens’ that minimizes impacts to natural resources.”

The new facility will be located at 23420 Frederick Road in Clarksburg. The fire station will provide a permanent home for first responders to meet the needs for the growing Clarksburg community. The new station will be constructed in accordance with a Class I Fire Station and be approximately 24,600 gross square feet.

“Today’s groundbreaking of a new fire station in Clarksburg is a testament to the incredible sacrifice made by our first responders and the critical importance of their service to our County residents,” said Council Vice President Albornoz. “This state-of-the-art facility will include a training and decontamination center to best support our first responders as well as providing space for our Upcounty Regional Services Center that provides essential services to those in need. This fire station will truly meet growing needs and build trust within the Clarksburg community.”

“As the Chair of the Council’s Public Safety Committee, I am especially pleased that we were able to break ground on the long-awaited new station #35 in Clarksburg,” said Councilmember Katz. “This station will provide enhanced services to the growing population in Clarksburg. Thank you to my Council colleagues, as well as our executive branch partners in DGS and especially to our first responders.”

The facility will provide:

• Four drive through apparatus bays
• Administrative, training, and living quarters for up to 22 firefighters
• Gear, equipment, and personnel decontamination facilities to support best practices in cancer risk reduction among firefighters
• Space for the UpCounty Regional Services Center
• A police satellite office
• Onsite parking

“Delivering outstanding, world-class fire and rescue services is our highest priority,” said MCFRS Chief Goldstein. “The new Clarksburg community fire/rescue station will allow the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service to continue this vital role in the Clarksburg greater area for generations to come.”

The predominantly brick exterior was designed to provide a timeless civic presence. The site design was developed to provide safe operations while minimizing impact to natural resources.

The project has been designed to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver through the incorporation of systems which reduce energy and water consumption, sustainability responsible materials, and improved indoor air quality. The project construction cost is $12,287,220.

As part of this project the County previously extended the public sewer to historic Clarksburg and the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) is designing a new pump station. The project removed residents and businesses from dependency on individual septic systems. The nearly half mile of underground sewer main will drain into the pump station to be constructed by WSSC. The station is located on the Miles/Coppola property, within the Ten Mile Creek Watershed.

The new fire station is estimated to be completed within the next 18 months. For more information, visit the project website.

UPDATE: Christian Alexander Baldwin Guevara has been located safe and unharmed.

Per MCPD:

For Immediate Release: Thursday, November 11, 2021

Gaithersburg, MD – Detectives from the Montgomery County Police – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing 16-year-old male from Clarksburg.

On November 11, Christian Alexander Baldwin Guevara was last seen by his family in the 12400 block of Dancrest Dr. in Clarksburg.  He may be wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, and a black New York T-shirt under his sweatshirt.

Baldwin Guevara is 5-feet, 8-inches tall and 135 lbs. He has brown eyes and curly brown hair and both ears pierced.

Police and family are concerned for his physical and emotional welfare.

Anyone who has information regarding the whereabouts of Christian Alexander Baldwin Guevara is asked to call Montgomery County Police SVID at 240-773-5400 or the police non-emergency number at 301-279-8000 (24hrs).

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A water main break in Clarksburg headed towards the Damascus area has created a sinkhole that has closed Ridge Road.

The 24” water main on Ridge Rd is Damascus’ primary domestic water source so low water pressure or outages may occur in the area. WSSC is on scene, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue.

Featured photo sent in by Kyle Sefcik.

Emergency utility work closes Ridge Road (MD-27) between Skylark Road and Little Seneca PKWY. This could be an extended closure. Expect significant delays. Seek alternate route. #MDTRAFFIC

— MC Emergency Mgmt (@ReadyMontgomery) November 9, 2021

Water Main Break in Damascus area – a 24” water main on Ridge Rd creating a sinkhole. Ridge Rd CLOSED/BLOCKED between Little Seneca Pkwy & Skylark Rd, both directions. NOTE: Damascus primary domestic water source, expect low pressure or outage in area. WSSC is on scene. pic.twitter.com/pLQSWvOJgc

— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) November 9, 2021

Per MCPD:

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Gaithersburg, MD – Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 5th District Investigative Section are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing adult male.

On October 12, Travis Maurice Ruffin, age 26, was last seen at his residence on Skylark Rd. in Clarksburg.

Ruffin is 6-feet tall and weighs 206 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes. He has the word “RESPECT” tattooed on his left forearm.

Police and family are concerned for his physical and emotional welfare.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Travis Maurice Ruffin is asked to call the police non-emergency number at 301-279-8000 (24-hour line).

A message was sent to the Clarksburg and Quince Orchard communities, by Clarksburg principal Edward Owusu, regarding the incident that took place in the parking lot behind the Clarksburg High School stadium last night.

Fox 5 reported that MCPD officers responded to a report of a stabbing of 18-year old female victim, which was confirmed by police.

The full message can be seen below.

“November 2, 2021

Dear Clarksburg and Quince Orchard Communities,

We are writing to provide you with the facts of what transpired following the Clarksburg vs. Quince Orchard JV football game on Monday, November 1, 2021.

At 9:03 pm there was an altercation between a group of three students in the parking lot behind the stadium at Clarksburg High School. During the altercation, one female student who attends Clarksburg High School sustained an injury from a knife. The student was transported to the hospital and has non-life threatening injuries. The additional two individuals who were involved in the incident attend neither Quince Orchard nor Clarksburg High School. This event was not related to the game and does not represent any issues or concerns between Quince Orchard and Clarksburg High Schools.

Montgomery County Police were called to the school. We also had support from the Office of School Safety and Emergency Management, and the Office of Teaching, Learning and Schools.

We appreciate the support we have received and take every concern seriously. Our students and staff safety is our number one priority and we will not waiver from this commitment at any time. As we shared with students and staff today, if you see something say something. Students found to be responsible for this altercation will face consequences in alignment with the MCPS Student Code of Conduct and action from Montgomery County Police. We will continue to work in collaboration with all stakeholders to follow up on any concerns. Thank you for your support and understanding and if you have any questions about this incident don’t hesitate to call us at 240-740-3600.

Sincerely,

Edward Owusu, Principal

Clarksburg High School”

FOX 5 is reporting that a stabbing occurred at Clarksburg High School Monday night.

According to the report, at 9:07 p.m., Montgomery County Police Officers responded to a report of stabbing at Clarksburg High School (22500 Wims Rd).

MCPD located an 18-yr-old female victim who was then transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

At this time police are still searching for a suspect. We will post an update when more information becomes available.