WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – One for the record books in Washington, D.C. as 40 chefs broke the Guinness World Record for largest pupusa.

Pupusas are a traditional dish from El Salvador. The previous world record was an 18-foot pupusa in El Salvador.

The chefs undertook the challenge during Fiesta DC — a street fair celebrating latin food and culture.

The prep and cooking process for the 20-foot dish took several hours.

Chef Ben Velasquez said there is an official process for certifying the giant pupusa.

“There is an inspector for Guinness World Record certifying that we are using first, all of the international ways of sanitary conditions, the way the food is, safe to eat, etcetera,” Velasquez said.

Velasquez said their final product can serve more than 2000 people.

The project took more than 3 months of planning.

Copyright 2024 Gray DC. All rights reserved.

A former Prince George’s County, Maryland, elementary school teacher who was arrested on assault charges in Virginia and indicted for allegedly attacking people with pepper spray in a D.C. park was found not guilty.

Years after Michael Thomas Pruden, 50, was hit with seven federal assault charges related to “bias-motivated assaults” on men from 2018 to 2021 in Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park, a jury of his peers in Washington D.C. acquitted him of all charges.

Initially, prosecutors argued before a grand jury that Pruden attacked victims because of their perceived sexual orientation, targeting a park known for cruising, or “a meeting place for men seeking consensual sex with other men,” according to charging documents.

The indictment identified a total of five victims who were assaulted during evening activities at the park in D.C., claiming Pruden pretended to be a member of law enforcement and attacked unsuspecting men.

“Before spraying the men, Pruden pretended to be a Park Police officer, shined a flashlight in the victims’ faces and gave the victims police-style directives,” the department said in a July 2022 press release.

Prosecutors also brought forth digital evidence from Pruden — “text or social media messages or profiles that reference ‘cruising,’ Meridian Hill Park or Malcolm X Park,” and social media activity on platforms like Jack’d and Grindr ahead of this week’s jury trial. Jurors began deliberation Thursday and reached their decision Friday afternoon.

Pruden’s acquittal comes more than two years after his arrest in Norfolk, Virginia, due in part to significant delays in the trial. Notable issues included changes in representation and motions to bifurcate the trial — separating the question of whether Pruden committed the offenses charged from deliberation on the reason being the victims’ espoused or assumed sexual orientation.

The jury’s decision also followed charges for attacks on two people at Daingerfield Island in Alexandria, Virginia, in 2021. The Alexandria case also concluded with Pruden being found not guilty verdict in both incidents.

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

WASHINGTON – Are there fake Special Police Officers working in Washington, D.C.? 

FOX 5 has been checking with various officials on the matter after multiple whistleblowers and concerned community members raised these concerns with FOX 5.   

One whistleblower who asked not to be identified, spoke on camera, alleging they were hired to work security at the Columbia Heights Village apartment complex, and named two companies that are not legally licensed to operate in the District. 

The whistleblower named one company as “Off Duty Protection,” claiming this company was an alleged subsidiary of “USEA Protective Services, LLC.” The whistleblower says they left after learning of alleged legal issues.  

This whistleblower is an actual licensed SPO, who claims one of the owners was working as an armed SPO at the Columbia Height Village apartment complex and others without a legal SPO license.

“I saw a lot of unethical processes or procedures such as the use of excessive force – essentially kidnapping. Because if someone is not a law enforcement officer, and they’re processing arresting people, that is kidnapping,” the whistleblower said.

In the District, special police officers are essentially private officers hired to work security. They have similar powers to D.C. police, but those powers normally only extend to the property they’re protecting.

When FOX 5 reached out to management offices for the Columbia Heights Village apartment complex regarding the claims against both companies, we received this response from Spokesperson Ed Cafasso via email: 

“Columbia Heights Village became aware of the company’s licensing issues on April 23, 2024. Their contract to provide security to the community was terminated the next day, on April 24, 2024. Their contract to provide security on the property began November 20, 2023.”

Cafasso would not name the company Columbia Heights Village held the contract with. He did confirm that a fake insurance certificate was used to obtain the contract and that they are currently working with a new security company, now identified as, PChange Protective Services.

The whistleblower who went on record told FOX 5 they filed claims with the DC Office of the Attorney General, the FTC, and the Department of Labor – also alleging that more than one SPO performed the security work but was not paid for their services.

D.C. police tell FOX 5 they are still investigating serious allegations made.

USEA Protective Services, LLC last held a license with D.C. in 2017, according to a city license search.

The city’s Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection Spokesperson Charles Basham III wrote in one of multiple emails previously sent to FOX 5:  

“The Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) aims to ensure all business entities in the District maintain accurate and up-to-date licenses. Off Duty Protection is currently not a registered or licensed agency in the District. On June 6, 2024, a complaint concerning Off Duty Protection was lodged with our agency; our policy is not to comment on matters under review.”

Since airing a September 27th report, FOX 5 was contacted by the man who claims to be the owner of “Off Duty Protection.” He says his company was never affiliated with USEA’s contract and is denying having any part with any of the allegations made involving Columbia Heights Village or their security contact.  

John Ayala, owner of Archangel Security and Training.

Separately, FOX 5 asked John Ayala, a long-time licensed D.C. SPO license and conceal carry instructor for the city, about the matter regarding concerns raised. 

Ayala responded that he was not surprised.

Ayala owns his own security company, Archangel Security and Training. 

He said there are likely more SPOs than current police officers working in D.C. and that he feels there needs to be more individual responsibility.

 “That’s concerning because if they go out here and make an arrest and hurt somebody, then the city might even get sued, besides that person. So we have to, the companies themselves have to make sure if they’re going to hire people, they have to make sure they’re fully licensed. You can’t just bring them in because they want a body – and that’s what happens a lot of time,” Ayala said in part of his conversation with FOX 5. 

Ayala says he warns his students to stay away from any security companies that require the SPO to have their own (personal) firearm because that’s not allowed in D.C.

Anyone can look up a license status on the District’s professional license search page here.

Whether there are any safeguards to prevent non-licensed contracts or non-licensed SPOs from operating, FOX 5 learned MPD has a very small branch that responds to SPO matters, when requested to do so. That branch is called the Security Officers Management Branch or SOMB.

D.C. police told FOX 5 there’s no real entity that patrols these issues – and that this is something they’re now working on with the city’s licensing department as the investigation into what happened at the Columbia Heights Village apartment complex continues.  

This is a developing story. Check back with FOX 5 for updates.