A $50,000 winning Pick 5 ticket was recently sold at the Liberty Gas Station (26250 Ridge Rd) in Damascus. Details below courtesy of the Maryland Lottery:
Montgomery County resident wins with 12345
Known to his U.S. Postal Service buddies as “Jumper” for his basketball skills, a Damascus retiree who won a $50,000 Pick 5 prize often jumps at the chance to play his favorite numbers in the Pickfamily of games.
The Montgomery County man has favored 12345 as his Pick 5 number of choice ever since the digits hit on a significant date in February. “Jumper” missed a win on his birthday when he got a haircut instead of placing a $1 straight bet on 12345. His other favorite number is 8, which leads him to buy Lottery games with 8 in the name as well as 888 in Pick 3 and 8888 on Pick 4.
“I like 8s, period,” he said. The $50,000 Pick 5 prize that the married father just won in the Aug. 19 drawing is his biggest prize to date, well exceeding a $15,000 prize won over a decade ago.
“Jumper” said he has several favorite Lottery retailers and frequents Damascus Liberty because he can buy both gas and games. The 69-year-old pulled in there one day recently and was surprised to see a Lottery employee hanging a big banner proclaiming that the store had sold a $50,000 Pick 5 winning ticket. “Jumper” asked the employee about the date of the winning drawing and wondered about the unchecked stack of Pick 5 tickets he had at home.
“I had bought tickets straight and boxed,” said the winner, who returned home. “I looked at my tickets and said, ‘That might be me.’” Indeed, a scan of the tickets turned up his $50,000 win! He played a $1 straight ticket with 52134 for both the midday and evening drawings on Aug. 19, and the midday drawing did the trick.
“Jumper” plans to pay off a few bills with his prize. Joking that his wife already had the prize spent before he arrived at Lottery headquarters to claim it, the loyal player said eliminating or reducing debt is his top priority. He plans to keep playing Lottery games, too, in hopes of a return to the Winner’s Circle some day.
Per MCPD:
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Collision Reconstruction Unit (CRU) are investigating a collision involving a pedestrian that occurred on Monday, June 20, 2022. At approximately 6:24 p.m., 5th District officers and Montgomery County Fire Rescue personnel responded to the intersection of Woodfield Rd. and Clearspring Dr. for the report of a pedestrian struck.
The investigation by detectives determined that the pedestrian exited a northbound Ride-on bus and immediately crossed Woodfield Rd. at the rear of the bus. As the pedestrian entered the southbound lanes, he was struck by a silver 2003 Honda CRV traveling southbound.
The juvenile male pedestrian was transported to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries. CRU detectives continue to investigate this collision. Anyone with information regarding this collision is asked to contact CRU at (240) 773- 6620.
Feature image courtesy of Google Maps.
Per MCPD:
For Immediate Release: Friday, May 20, 2022
Detectives from the Montgomery County Police – 5th District Investigative Section continue to investigate the April 21, 2021, vandalism to farm equipment in Damascus. The owner of the farm equipment is now offering a reward for information that identifies the subjects in this case. Tipsters providing information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible in this case are eligible for a reward of up to $50,000.
On Wednesday, April 21 at approximately 9:30 p.m., a suspect was observed driving onto a storage yard area of a farm located on Long Corner Road. The suspect climbed to the top of a tanker truck used to fertilize fields. The next day, the owner of the farm discovered that the liquid fertilizer in the tanker truck had been contaminated with an herbicide, but not before the truck was used to apply fertilizer to approximately 1000 acres of corn. One week later, employees on the farm discovered additional contamination of fertilizer in another piece of farm equipment.
Anyone with information regarding the person(s) responsible for this vandalism and is interested in the reward, should call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS(8477). To speak to investigating detectives directly, please call the 5th District Investigative Section at 240-773-6273.
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Per Montgomery County:
For Immediate Release: Friday, April 29, 2022
The Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) participated in the financing to create affordable housing for seniors in Damascus on property adjacent to St. Anne’s Episcopal Church. The new apartment property will include 76 apartment units for residents ages 62 and over, all priced affordably. A groundbreaking ceremony was recently held for the project.
The affordable housing property will be located at 25100 Ridge Rd. in Damascus.
“So many of our older residents are on fixed incomes and we must continue to produce affordable, and deeply affordable, housing options for them,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. “In working with St. Anne’s, and with other faith-based efforts, we will help leverage available land to support housing for people who earn about $30,000 to $50,000 per year—that is, 30 to 50 percent of the area median. Similarly, we are offering County land parcels to be dedicated for housing that is affordable to people with lower incomes. With 20,000 households in Montgomery County earning less than $31,000 per year and paying more than half their income on rent, we must continue creating and preserving housing that is affordable to people at lower income levels.”
To support the construction, the County provided a $2.5 million HOME loan and a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement. The loan and PILOT support affordability, with five units available at 30 percent of Area Median Income (AMI), five units at 50 percent of AMI, 63 units at 60 percent of AMI, and three units at 70 percent of AMI.
Other project financing includes $10 million in Freddie Mac Financing; $8.7 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit proceeds; $2.5 million in State Rental Housing Works; and $3.7 million in Mission First Loan/Deferred Developer Fee/Seller Financing. The total project development cost is $27.4 million.
The 76-unit apartment property is located next to a Ride On Route 90 stop. When complete, the building will include a community and sitting room, fitness room, library/meeting room and bike storage. It will be developed with Energy Star HVAC systems; Energy Star windows; energy efficient lighting and plumbing fixtures; and compliance with National Green Building Standards.
The developers for the apartment community are St. Anne’s Community Development LLC and Mission First Development Corporation.
“DHCA continues working with affordable housing developers to increase the supply of affordable housing and preserve our existing affordable housing,” said Aseem K. Nigam, director of the Department of Housing and Community Affairs. “This effort includes much-needed affordable housing for seniors and I am glad that we could help provide the financing to achieve that here.”
Montgomery County is applying every available policy tool and financial resource to help reduce housing cost burdens by increasing the number of affordable, rent-regulated housing units; providing rent supports; and preserving current affordable housing while protecting tenants from displacement.
For other recent news about affordable housing properties for seniors, see Montgomery County Supports Affordable Housing for Seniors at Silver Creek Senior Living Apartments and Montgomery County Supports Innovative Transformation of Office Complex Into ‘Sandy Spring Village’ Affordable Housing for Seniors.
For more information on Montgomery County’s housing program, see the DHCA Annual Report.
A Damascus Maryland man has pled guilty to distribution of controlled dangerous substances and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in Maryland and West Virginia, Montgomery County Police reports.
According to a press release, from May 2016 through July 2018, 38-year-old Adebowale Ojo distributed crack cocaine, cocaine and heroin to users and street level dealers in Montgomery County, Frederick County and West Virginia.
Full details from the United States Department of Justice
Greenbelt, Maryland –Adebowale Ojo, age 38, of Damascus, Maryland, pleaded guilty late yesterday to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and to distribution of controlled substances, after eight days of trial. Ojo admitted that he distributed cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin, in Maryland and West Virginia.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department.
According to his guilty plea, during the course of the conspiracy from about May 2016 through July 2018, Ojo distributed controlled substances, including crack cocaine, cocaine, and heroin, to both users and street level dealers in Maryland, including Montgomery and Frederick Counties, as well as in West Virginia. At times, Ojo used other individuals to turn over the drugs to his customers after Ojo arranged the sale of the substances and to drive him to conduct sales and to meet his sources of supply.
As detailed in the plea agreement, between January and March 2018, an individual purchased drugs from Ojo on four separate occasions, at the direction of law enforcement. Ojo met the individual at a restaurant in Gaithersburg to conduct the transactions. Ojo admitted that he sold the individual a total of 25.66 grams of crack cocaine, 5.82 grams of cocaine, 2.16 grams of heroin, and four grams of heroin/fentanyl mixtures. Another individual purchased crack cocaine and heroin from Ojo in July 2018, at the direction of law enforcement. That individual went to Ojo’s apartment in Martinsburg, West Virginia, where Ojo cooked the crack cocaine, then sold 2.88 grams of crack cocaine to that individual, as well as 1.64 grams of heroin.
On November 28, 2018, Ojo was a back seat passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by a Maryland State Trooper near Frederick, Maryland. Ojo did not provide the Trooper with any identification, but did give his name. A query of the name revealed an outstanding warrant for his arrest. The Trooper also requested a drug detecting K-9 to scan the vehicle. The K-9 scan was positive. A subsequent search of Ojo’s person resulted in the discovery of a bag containing 13.82 grams of MDMA, also known as Molly and Ecstasy. Ojo admitted that he intended to distribute the MDMA.
Ojo and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Ojo will be sentenced to between 11 and 20 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel has scheduled sentencing for Ojo on August 4, 2022, at 10:00 a.m.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI and the Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Maryland State Police for its assistance. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica C. Collins and Kelly O. Hayes, who are prosecuting the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach
Per MCPD:
For Immediate Release: Friday, March 25, 2022
Gaithersburg, MD – Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigation Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing juvenile from Damascus.
Joseph Loethen, age 15, was last seen on foot on Thursday, March 24, 2022, in the 9800 block of Main Street.
Loethen is approximately 5-feet, 3-inches tall and weighs 120 pounds. He has medium length brown hair and hazel eyes.
Loethen was last seen wearing black athletic shorts, a black hoodie with a basketball design on the front, and royal blue and black sneakers.
Police and family are concerned for his welfare.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Joseph Loethen is asked to call the Montgomery County Police SVID at (240) 773- 5400 or police non-emergency number at (301) 279- 8000. Callers may remain anonymous.
Jimmie Cone, which has been serving soft serve ice cream and frozen yogurt in Damascus since 1962, opens today for its 60th season! One of the reasons Jimmie Cone’s soft serve ice cream is loved by many could be because it is made with 10 percent butterfat, which is approximately twice as much as in McDonald’s and Dairy Queen soft serve. Cars usually pack the Damascus location on warmer days with long lines that move relatively quick.
The restaurant posted the following update/flavor report this morning:
Owners Dan and Bonnie Leiter bought Jimmie Cone in 1990 from Bill and Dorothy Harris, who are the son and daughter-in-law of the original owner. In 1997, Jimmie Cone opened its second location in nearby Mount Airy. The Mount Airy location is a bit larger than the original Jimmie Cone
The two locations, 26420 Ridge Road in Damascus and 1312 S Main Street in Mt Airy, both offer chocolate, vanilla, and twist every day. Strawberry, Black Raspberry and Orange flavors rotate weekly, and are also available twisted with vanilla. Frozen yogurt is also offered—one fat free and one fat and sugar free—changing weekly.
The menu can be seen below:
Per MCPD:
For Immediate Release: Saturday, March 5, 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 missing 21-year-old-man from Damascus.
Martins Ugochuwu Opara was last seen leaving his residence on Carlyn Ridge Rd., at approximately 4:00 p.m., on Thursdays, March 3, 2022.
Opara is approximately 6 feet, 3-inches tall and weighs 175 lbs. He was last seen carrying a black Nike backpack and wearing a maroon sweatshirt, gray North Face sweatpants and black athletic shoes.
Police and family are concerned for his welfare.
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Martins Ugochuwu Opara is asked to call the police non-emergency number at 301-279-8000 (24-hour line) or the 5th District Investigative Section at 240-773-6237.
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Per MCPD:
For Immediate Release: Monday, February 28, 2022
Gaithersburg, MD – Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Collision Reconstruction Unit (CRU) are investigating a fatal collision that occurred on Friday, February 25, 2022 at the 24300 block of Ridge Rd. in Damascus.
At approximately 4:39 p.m., an off-duty Montgomery County Police Officer came upon a collision involving three vehicles at the location and requested additional units.
The investigation by detectives has determined that the driver of a white 2014 Toyota Corolla was traveling southbound on Ridge Rd., approaching Kings Valley Rd., when he crossed the center line and sideswiped a silver 2004 Honda Pilot that was traveling northbound on Ridge Rd. The driver of the Toyota Corolla then struck a tan 2004 Toyota Sienna that was also traveling northbound on Ridge Rd.
Montgomery County Fire Rescue extricated the driver of the Toyota Sienna and transported him to an area hospital where he is currently in stable condition.
The driver and the two occupants of the Honda were uninjured and remained at the scene.
Despite the lifesaving attempts from the off-duty officer, 5th District Officers and Montgomery County Fire Rescue, the driver of the Toyota Corolla succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The decedent has been identified as 29-year-old Sagar Yogeshkumar Rami from Owings Mill.
The Collision Reconstruction Unit continues to investigate this collision. Anyone with information regarding this collision is asked to contact CRU detectives at 240-773-6620.
Update: Montgomery County Police report that one person has died as a result of the collision.
Two vehicles collided in a head-on crash at Ridge Rd and Kings Valley Rd in Damascus on Friday around 5pm, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Spokesperson Pete Piringer.
MCFRS’ is evaluating two trauma patients, including one adult with life threatening injures and one adult with priority 2 injuries.
Ridge Road at Kings Valley Rd is currently shut down. Drivers should expect significant delays and seek alternate routes.
We will post an update when more information becomes available.
Today was a reminder that spring is around the corner. Another reminder for many who grew up in MoCo is that March 17th means Jimmie Cone opens for the season.
Jimmie Cone has been serving soft serve ice cream and frozen yogurt in Damascus since 1962, which make this year its 60th season! One of the reasons Jimmie Cone’s soft serve ice cream is loved by many could be because it is made with 10 percent butterfat, which is approximately twice as much as in McDonald’s and Dairy Queen soft serve. Cars usually pack the Damascus location on warmer days with long lines that move relatively quick.
Owners Dan and Bonnie Leiter bought Jimmie Cone in 1990 from Bill and Dorothy Harris, who are the son and daughter-in-law of the original owner. In 1997, Jimmie Cone opened its second location in nearby Mount Airy. The Mount Airy location is a bit larger than the original Jimmie Cone
The two locations, 26420 Ridge Road in Damascus and 1312 S Main Street in Mt Airy, both offer chocolate, vanilla, and twist every day. Strawberry, Black Raspberry and Orange flavors rotate weekly, and are also available twisted with vanilla. Frozen yogurt is also offered—one fat free and one fat and sugar free—changing weekly.
The menu can be seen below:
