Northeast
Armed off-duty cop sends suspected carjackers fleeing as crime spirals near nation's capital
An armed, off-duty Maryland police officer sent two suspected carjackers fleeing when he fired his weapon as they forced his family out of a vehicle near a large shopping mall outside of Washington, D.C., police say.
“Continue to remain diligent. Be aware of your surroundings,” Prince George Assistant Chief Vernon Hale III said during a press conference last week. “As you can see, if this can happen to an off-duty officer, it can certainly happen to a family. So, we want to make sure that everybody remains diligent, take care of one another, and keep your eyes open.”
Hale said an unidentified off-duty police officer with the department was assisting two of his family members as they got into their personal vehicle at about 5 p.m. Thursday in Oxon Hill when they were approached by at least two suspects, Fox 5 DC reported. The family was in a parking lot that serves office buildings, including dental and medical offices, and is located across the street from the Tanger Outlets National Harbor shopping center.
The off-duty cop and his family were forced from the vehicle, Hale said, calling the incident an “apparent carjacking.”
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Prince George Assistant Chief Vernon Hale III during a press conference. (Prince George’s County Police Department )
The off-duty officer fired his weapon, causing the suspects to flee in the vehicle. The family members were not injured during the incident and police do not believe any shots hit the suspected carjackers.
“The officer was able to get his family safely out of the vehicle, discharge his weapon and the suspects escaped including his personal vehicle,” Hale said.
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The officer used his department-issued firearm during the incident, police later said.
The Tanger Outlets National Harbor shopping center in Maryland, near Washington, D.C. (Google Maps )
Police issued a “be on the lookout” for a black GMC Acadia shortly after the incident, according to NBC Washington.
Police on Friday located one of the suspects, who was identified as Washington, D.C., resident Anthony Stewart, 19. He was found in D.C., arrested and will be extradited to Maryland. He is facing charges of carjacking, robbery, theft, and additional charges, police said.
Anthony Stewart, 19, of Washington, D.C., is accused of carjacking an off-duty cop. (Prince George’s County Police Department )
The second suspect is still at large, according to police.
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Prince George’s County Police Department are asking for any tips on the identity of a second suspected carjacker. (Prince George’s County Police Department )
The carjacking is just one of hundreds this year that have plagued areas of Maryland, as well as Washington, D.C. There have been 500 carjackings as of last week in jurisdictions overseen by Prince George’s County Police, which is an 18% spike over data from last year, WJLA reported.
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In nearby D.C., which is located roughly 11 miles from the site of Thursday’s carjacking incident, such crimes have more than doubled over figures from last year. The outlet found there were 952 carjackings in the city as of last week, compared to 475 during the same time period in 2022.
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Crime in the city has even affected political leaders and their families, including in October when Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar was carjacked by three armed attackers near the U.S. Capitol.
The Prince George’s County Police Department was still investigating the carjacking Thursday and calling on members of the public to come forward with any tips on the second suspect’s identity The off-duty officer was placed on administrative leave until the investigation is concluded.
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Boston, MA
Boston City Hall intruder who stole from employees nabbed by police, after shoplifting arrest: BPD
Boston Police said they have nabbed the masked suspect who entered private office suites in City Hall during work hours and stole wallets stuffed with cash and credit cards from multiple employees.
The Boston Police Department identified Darrin O’Neil, 60, of Lowell as the suspect involved in the City Hall thefts, which occurred last month, on Dec. 1.
O’Neil was already being held after a prior shoplifting arrest at DICK’s House of Sport on Boylston Street when he was identified as the alleged perpetrator of the City Hall crime, following what the cops described as an “extensive investigation,” Boston Police said on Wednesday.
Three City Hall employees reported that their wallets, which contained cash, credit cards, health savings account cards, and personal ID were stolen from their offices, per Boston Police reports.
One woman who had her wallet snatched out of her purse with two credit cards, her City Hall ID, Massachusetts driver’s license, insurance and library cards, and $100 in cash told police two of her coworkers saw an unknown man “in the area who was wearing a brown beanie, dark jacket, sweatpants, and a blue face mask.”
Two other employees told police that not only were cash and credit cards stolen from their offices, but the thief used the cards to rack up hundreds of dollars in unauthorized purchases — totaling $1,500 at Macy’s and Walgreens.
The incident led to calls from two city councilors, Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy, for the city to tighten up security protocols in light of the intrusion and theft, which occurred during work hours and was described by both as a “security breach.”
Mayor Michelle Wu’s office said a day later that steps have already been taken to increase security after the incident, which involved unauthorized access to “several” office suites that are restricted to authorized personnel only.
Municipal Protective Services, which provides security for city buildings, has increased internal patrols throughout City Hall as a result of the incident, the mayor’s office said.
O’Neil was arrested on shoplifting charges on Dec. 27 at 760 Boylston St., after he was seen inside DICK’s House of Sport concealing merchandise, police said.
Police said they had responded to the store at 11:39 a.m. for a report of a theft in progress.
While police approached, O’Neil was seen exiting the sporting goods store. The cops “were able to quickly stop the suspect and could see clothing with tags affixed to them inside of a bag,” police said.
During a search, about $408 of stolen merchandise was recovered, police said.
For the shoplifting incident, O’Neil was arrested and charged with larceny under $1,200 and being a common and notorious thief, police said.
After further investigation, police said they determined that O’Neil had seven active warrants for his arrest for charges of four counts of larceny from a building, three counts of receiving stolen property under $1,200, two counts of larceny of a credit card, shoplifting by asportation, credit card fraud under $1,200, and shoplifting by concealing merchandise.
After O’Neil was identified as the alleged City Hall thief, police said they sought additional criminal complaints in Boston Municipal Court on charges of two counts of larceny from a building, two counts of credit card fraud under $1,200 and being a common and notorious thief.
O’Neil is expected to be arraigned at Boston Municipal Court at a later date.
Following BPD’s announcement on Wednesday, Flynn said “larceny and retail theft must be a top priority for our city.”
“We must have zero tolerance for any type of theft and those arrested must be held accountable in our court system for their criminal behavior,” Flynn told the Herald.
Murphy said, “This incident was unacceptable, and I am glad the individual responsible has been arrested. My focus throughout has been on employee safety and securing City Hall offices. City Hall must be a safe workplace, and this incident underscores the importance of secure offices and prompt action.”
Mayor Wu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on police identification of the alleged City Hall larceny suspect.
Pittsburg, PA
2 Pittsburgh business owners charged in EBT fraud scheme
Connecticut
Justice Department sues Connecticut and Arizona as part of effort to get voter data from the states
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Officials in Connecticut and Arizona are defending their decision to refuse a request by the U.S. Justice Department for detailed voter information, after their states became the latest to face federal lawsuits over the issue.
“Pound sand,” Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes posted on X, saying the release of the voter records would violate state and federal law.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced this week it was suing Connecticut and Arizona for failing to comply with its requests, bringing to 23 the number of states the department has sued to obtain the data. It also has filed suit against the District of Columbia.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the department will “continue filing lawsuits to protect American elections,” saying accurate voter rolls are the ”foundation of election integrity.”
Secretaries of state and state attorneys general who have pushed back against the effort say it violates federal privacy law, which protects the sharing of individual data with the government, and would run afoul of their own state laws that restrict what voter information can be released publicly. Some of the data the Justice Department is seeking includes names, dates of birth, residential addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.
Other requests included basic questions about the procedures states use to comply with federal voting laws, while some have been more state-specific. They have referenced perceived inconsistencies from a survey from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
Most of the lawsuits target states led by Democrats, who have said they have been unable to get a firm answer about why the Justice Department wants the information and how it plans to use it. Last fall, 10 Democratic secretaries of state sent a letter to the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security expressing concern after DHS said it had received voter data and would enter it into a federal program used to verify citizenship status.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, a Democrat, said his state had tried to “work cooperatively” with the Justice Department to understand the basis for its request for voters’ personal information.
“Rather than communicating productively with us, they rushed to sue,” Tong said Tuesday, after the lawsuit was filed.
Connecticut, he said, “takes its obligations under federal laws very seriously.” He pledged to “vigorously defend the state against this meritless and deeply disappointing lawsuit.”
Two Republican state senators in Connecticut said they welcomed the federal lawsuit. They said a recent absentee ballot scandal in the state’s largest city, Bridgeport, had made the state a “national punchline.”
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