Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Samar Hammad is asked to call the police non-emergency number at (301)279-8000 (24-hour line) or the Special Victims Investigations Division at (240) 773-5400. Callers may remain anonymous.
On Saturday, December 17, 2022, at approximately 8:04 a.m., Montgomery County Police 2nd District officers were dispatched to Walt Whitman High School on Whittier Blvd in Bethesda, for the report of anti-Semitic graffiti spray painted on the school’s sign board.
The case has been assigned to an investigator and they are working to obtain any images of possible suspects. There is currently no suspect in custody.
Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating, Justice Navarro, a missing 17-year-old from Potomac. Navarro was last seen on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, at approximately 3 p.m., in the 7800 block of Scotland Drive.
Navarro is approximately 4-feet, 11-inches tall and weighs 102 pounds. She has brown eyes and black hair that is currently shaved in the back and dyed brown and gold. Police and family are concerned for her welfare.
Montgomery County Police responded to reports of shots fired on Thursday evening in Wheaton. According to MCPD, “On Thursday, December 15, 2022, at approximately 9:27 p.m., 4th District officers responded to the 1100 block of University Blvd. for the report of a shooting. Upon arrival, officers observed a bullet hole in an apartment unit. No injuries were reported. No suspect is in custody at this time.
SHOTS FIRED IN WHEATON/KEMP MILL: ~9:25PM Thursday in The Warwick Apartments (University Blvd West/Montgomery County, MD). Shot(s) fired in an apartment on an upper floor; at least one round reportedly travelled into a neighboring apartment. H/T @RealTimeNews10
Montgomery County Police have announced that 50 people were arrested by the Alcohol Holiday Task Force between December 7 and 11. The task force arrested 28 people in week one, 38 in week two, 31 in week three, and 40 in week four. Earlier this week we reported that over the past five weeks, four police cruisers have been hit while conducting police related activities. In each case, it was determined that the drivers of the striking vehicles were impaired.
Per MCPD: “Members of the Montgomery County Police Alcohol Holiday Task Force will be devoting their full time and attention to detecting alcohol-related offenses this holiday season. During the week of December 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, task force officers arrested 50 people for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs (DUI).
Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Major Crimes Division have identified the body of a pregnant woman discovered in a White Oak apartment. 26-year-old Denise Middleton was allegedly killed by Torrey Damien Moore sometime in October of this year. Middleton’s body was discovered on Friday, December 9, 2022, while Montgomery County Police were executing a search warrant for a homicide committed by Moore on Thursday, December 8.
Officers had obtained a search warrant for Moore’s apartment, located at 11235 Oak Leaf Drive, following the shooting death of 61-year-old Ayalew Wondimu, an employee of the Dash In Convenience Store, located in the 11100 block of New Hampshire Ave. Middleton was found in the bedroom, in an advanced stage of decomposition and transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) for autopsy. The OCME determined that Middleton was approximately 38-weeks pregnant at the time of her death and that the fetus, a boy, would have lived had Middleton delivered at that time. The autopsy also revealed that Middleton had been shot multiple times.
Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Major Crimes Division have arrested 19-year-old Junior Francisco Del-Cid, 23-year-old Elmer Lopez-Cortez, 24-year-old Jonathan Adonys Leon-Chacon and 18-year-old Elvin Manuel Guzman-Machato in connection with a Wednesday, November 9, 2022 homicide that occurred in the 100 block of Colony Road in Piney Branch. On November 9, 2022, at approximately 3:58 a.m., 3rd district officers responded to the location for the report of shots fired. Upon arrival, officers initially located three adult males suffering from gunshot wounds. Two males were taken to area hospitals, in serious but stable condition.
The third male, later identified as Willians Anderson Alberto Cruz, was found in a wooded area towards the back of 100 block of Colony Road suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Montgomery County Police Officers and Montgomery County Fire Rescue personnel immediately performed life-saving measures, however Alberto Cruz was pronounced dead at the scene. A fourth male victim was located uninjured at the scene.
Per the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office: In the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, the honorable Judge John Maloney has sentenced defendant, Zekale Long, 42, of Silver Spring, to life in prison suspend all but 15 years. Long pleaded guilty on October 27th, 2022, to Attempted First-Degree Murder and Use of a Firearm in Commission of a Felony Violent Crime.
Judge Maloney handed down the sentence yesterday. It stems from a shooting on June 12, 2022, inside of a convenience store at 14101 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring. Long entered the store, argued with a female employee and fired at a male employee, grazing him with a bullet. The investigation by Montgomery County Police revealed Long had been in a previous romantic relationship with the female employee. She had entered into a new relationship, with the victim, about two weeks prior to the June 12th incident. Long admitted to police that he used a privately manufactured firearm or “ghost gun” that he purchased online and manufactured himself. Assistant State’s Attorney Donna Fenton prosecuted this case.
Per the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office: In the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, before the honorable Judge John Maloney, a jury has convicted defendant, Abraham Douglas, 21, of Washington D.C., of First-Degree Murder for the death of Ahamdou Bamba Gueye, 23, of Takoma Park. The verdict came in late yesterday. Douglas was also convicted on charges of Use of a Firearm in Commission of a Felony and Third-Degree Burglary. He faces the potential of life in prison and a sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 27th, 2023, at 12p.m.
This stems from an incident on April 22, 2022, in broad daylight, in the parking lot of the Park Richie Apartments located at 7600 Maple Avenue in Takoma Park. Douglas can be seen on surveillance video exiting the passenger side of a vehicle, walking in the direction where a group of people were gathered off screen and then starting to run. In court, Assistant State’s Attorneys Marybeth Ayres and Lauren Turner explained that Douglas, wearing a ski mask, targeted Bamba Gueye, running toward him and shooting him in the back at close range. The bullet passed through the victim’s body, killing him, and then struck a nearby vehicle. Douglas also accidentally shot himself in the leg as he fled. He broke into a nearby apartment where he was ultimately located by responding officers with Takoma Park Police. As detailed in the charging documents, investigators recovered a 9mm pistol, a large 50 round drum magazine and red tipped bullets from the apartment.
Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police -Major Crimes Division are investigating an attempted commercial armed robbery that occurred inside Karen’s Seafood in the 13800 block of Outlet Drive. Detectives have released surveillance video of the suspect and are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying him.
At approximately 7:28 p.m., 3rd District officers responded to the location for the report of an attempted armed robbery that just occurred. The investigation by detectives has determined that an unknown suspect entered Karen’s Seafood, armed with a firearm. The suspect approached multiple patrons inside the restaurant, pointed his firearm at them and demanded money. When the patrons failed to comply with the suspect’s demands, he approached an employee at the cash register. For reasons still under investigation, the suspect fled the scene without obtaining any currency from the establishment.
Per MCPD: Over the past five weeks, four police cruisers have been hit while conducting police related activities. In each case, it was determined that the drivers of the striking vehicles were impaired. On Sunday, November 13, 2022, at approximately 12:24 a.m., a Gaithersburg Police officer, assigned to the Holiday Task Force, was outside of his cruiser conducting a traffic stop in the area of northbound I-270 and Montgomery Village Ave., when his cruiser was side swiped by a red 2021 Ford Explorer. Following the collision, it was determined the driver of the Explorer was under the influence.
On Sunday, November 20, 2022, at approximately 1:38 a.m., a Maryland State Police Trooper, assigned to the Holiday Task Force, was initiating a traffic stop, in the area of northbound I-270 and Middlebrook Rd., with all emergency lights and sirens activated, when his cruiser was sideswiped by a 2011 Nissan Maxima, in the travel lanes of the roadway. The officer attempted to stop the Nissan Maxima, but the driver did not immediately come to a stop. When the driver stopped a short distance later, it was determined that the driver was under the influence.