Crime

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Not his blood.

thisisbossi

Memorial for Mohammed, outside DC9

This seems significant, since that photograph of blood on white crosswalk paint is what I think about, as soon as someone mentions “DC9″:

Images published on TBD.com and on the Washington Post’s website that purported to show a bloody crosswalk in the vicinity of the DC9 nightclub do not depict the blood of Ali Ahmed Mohammed, according to authorities with knowledge of the case.

The photographs first surfaced on Oct. 15, when reporters descended on the scene near 9th and U streets NW. Mohammed died early that morning following an altercation with five men who worked at the bar. The men were accused of chasing, tackling and beating Mohammed after he allegedly threw one or two bricks through the front window of the bar. Charges of aggravated assault in the case have since been dropped, though the investigation is ongoing, and charges could be re-filed at a later date.

The incident…took place on a sidewalk on 9th Street NW, north of U Street, while the images depict a bloody crosswalk on the south side of U Street, authorities say. In other words, the bloody scene was not the same location where Mohammed was allegedly tackled and restrained by the DC9 employees. [TBD]

Supporters of Ali Ahmed Mohammed March, Rally at City Hall

@mjb

City Hall

After charges were dropped against the five DC9 employees who may have been involved with Ali Ahmed Mohammed’s death, TBD is reporting that over 100 of his family and friends marched to City Hall today, demanding justice:

The amount of anger and frustration among the protesters was at times overwhelming. After addressing the vocal crowd in Amharic, his native language, Mohammed’s father, Ahmed Goltchu Mohammed, became too emotional and had to be escorted away by the family’s attorney. The protest then continued for at least another hour. “We have to work with the system,” the elder Mohammed urged the crowd to remember…

At issue for those gathered was a deep concern that the case might have been dismissed for good. In a statement released Friday accompanying the court filing explaining why the charges had been dropped, however, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen made plain that the investigation is ongoing, and that charges could be re-filed after an autopsy report and any additional evidence becomes available…

While the crowd didn’t hear from any of the three politicians they had hoped to engage (Mayor Adrian Fenty, Mayor-elect Vince Gray or Council member Jim Graham), Mayor-for-life Marion Barry and Council Chairman-elect Kwame Brown addressed Mohammed’s supporters:
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A Good Family Makes All the Difference

The City Paper said it, so I won’t (note the parenthetical observation):

The lawyer for one of two college students arrested for manufacturing DMT, G. Allen Dale, points out that the accused aren’t “thugs.” He tells City Desk: “We’ve got some very young kids from good families, who’ve done some good things.” (Which, clearly, means they shouldn’t be treated the way most other accused drug dealers in D.C. are.) Dale points out, for instance, that his client, John Perrone, is an honor student who has worked at a homeless shelter, and has participated in a walk against hunger for the last ten years. So, he explains, “Our first step is to get them out.”…Pointing out Perrone’s youth and small size, he calls his current incarceration a “criminal hell.”

Race and Class, everywhere.

At some point between Sunday evening and Monday morning, the body of American University Professor Sue Marcum was discovered by a friend who had been concerned about her. Professor Marcum had taught at the business school since 1999. This morning, police got a major break in her case when Marcum’s stolen jeep was noticed by a “a license plate recognition sensor” (more on those, here):

Police went to Benning Road and attempted to stop the Jeep, Bonilla said, then gave chase when Hamlin allegedly tried to drive away. The Jeep crashed into a crosswalk signpost at the intersection of New York Avenue and M Street NW. Hamlin, who police said lives in Northwest Washington, was taken into custody and charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and felony fleeing.

I learned everything I know about Professor Marcum’s death through the Washington Post; after feeling shock and sadness over this violent, awful crime, what struck me about this story yesterday was how quickly readers turned to race, when discussing the murder. Seven of the first eight comments are solely about race, class and the Post’s coverage of homicide. Here are the first two:


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103

…is a sad number (via the Washington Examiner):

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier’s likes to talk about keeping the city below the 100 annual homicide mark. It’s the chief’s benchmark; a “tipping point” for the city’s safety that she just can’t seem to reach. As of Monday, D.C. police are reporting 103 homicides for the year.

Last year, Lanier boasted much more loudly about keeping the District’s homicides below the 100 mark, but it only lasted until September. The goal lived on for an extra month this year, and the city’s homicides are still down nearly 6 percent when compared to the same time in 2009

“Expressing dissent through murder”

Kevin H.

Bryan Weaver has a powerful post up at Greater Greater Washington regarding Jamal Coates, gun violence and how such tragedy seems to replay itself on an endless loop.

Public officials will tell you that the crews have moved on to other parts of the city… so don’t believe your lying eyes. We have been here before, a high profile killing that grabs the up and coming part of the city. But then like collective amnesia we move on and forget.

The point being made in article after article is that last week’s murder happened in the rapidly gentrifying part of the city. But we can’t coffee-shop and bike-lane our way out of this tragedy. There are still numerous people in DC who have degenerated to the point of expressing dissent through murder and haven’t learned to disagree without becoming violently disagreeable, no matter where they live. But my hope is that the people who use those coffee shops and bike lanes can and will be the change — if they care enough to do so….

More:
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“L Street SE” is one of the “Most Dangerous Neighborhoods” in U.S.

L St SE: one of America's "Most Dangerous" nabes.

It’s number nine on a list of the “25 most dangerous neighborhoods 2010“!

For the second year in a row, using exclusive data developed by Dr. Andrew Schiller’s team at NeighborhoodScout.com, and based on FBI data from all 17,000 local law enforcement agencies, WalletPop reveals the top 25 most dangerous neighborhoods with the highest predicted rates of violent crime in America…

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When “you fight for them” and they still lose.

ANC Chair Bryan Weaver on U street shooting victim, Jamal Coates, who struggled to get away from the gang culture he had participated in, in his youth:

“You know somebody for 10 years, and you fight for them to move away from a certain lifestyle,” said Bryan Weaver, 40, a neighborhood activist who ran unsuccessfully this year for Ward 1′s seat on the D.C. Council.

He said Coates, who had an arrest record, belonged to the “1-7″ crew, based around 17th and Euclid streets NW in Adams Morgan. In the summer of 2009, he was among 30 young people who spent six weeks in Guatemala teaching basketball to local children with Hoops Sagrado, an organization Weaver founded that aims to encourage peaceful coexistence by exposing District youths to foreign culture.

“You have this kid by the neck, and you’re trying to wrestle him out of that lifestyle, and then suddenly something like this happens,” Weaver said.

Protect yourself, put your phone away.

Beware: these phones make you a target.

Two weeks ago, we alerted you to a disturbing rise in robberies of smart phones and mp3 players on Metro; people who were playing with their toys by the doors of trains were relieved of their iPhones and iPods as thieves jumped out of the closing train doors. If you felt safe as long as you avoided metro doors, I have bad news for you. People have been jumped for their phones in Georgetown, Dupont and Shaw. TBD has details, as well as this harrowing account from a LeDroit Park Listserve (I’m posting the whole version):

On Saturday evening at 7pm en route to Shaw metro north entrance, I was jumped from behind and wrestled to the ground by a teenage thief trying to steal my iphone. Rather than risk being stabbed, I let go of the iphone. What is disturbing is that this is a busy road with many pedestrians walking by, yet not one person stopped to help, including the shopkeepers stood on the doorsteps. When I asked for assistance, I was told to use the payphone on the corner of 7th and T which is where the gang of teenagers preying on their victims hang out in the evening – including the evening I was attacked. There were 10 or 12 on the corner of 7th and T and all fled after I was robbed. A good Samaritan let me use his cellphone to call the police who arrived in under two minutes. They said they are aware of the gang on 7th and T and have been monitoring them, yet the brazen robberies and attacks in broad daylight continue unabated.

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Take Metro? Step Away from the Door, Hide your iPhone.

B.Romain

Well, that's one way to keep your iPod safe.

WTOP reports that Metro Transit Police are concerned about the rise in robberies of phones and mp3 players:

From Jan. 1 to June 30, 2010, there were 540 robberies on trains and buses, according to Metro statistics. (See Slide 14) That’s about 160 more compared to the same point last year, and almost double compared to 2008.

Many robberies involve smartphones or iPods that are simply snatched right off riders.

Much like real estate, location is everything: Continue reading