Robbery Suspect Recaptured At Fallsgrove

In the wee hours this morning (12/16/09) the Fallsgrove area had some excitement. According to police, robbery suspect Jose Melton, who had been apprehended for an alleged robbery of the Exxon station on Crabbs Branch Road, was under treatment at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital. He had intentionally hit his head, police say, in order to be taken there.

Melton escaped from the hospital at 2:00 am this morning after assaulting the three guards overseeing him — wearing hospital clothes and a handcuff.

He was apprehended about three hours later in the Fallsgrove shopping center, just across the street from Shady Grove.

According to WBFF:

[Police say] he was taken into custody without incident. Police say Melton will be charged with armed robbery, three counts of second-degree assault and second-degree escape.

Hard to imagine Melton did not go further in his escape. Perhaps he was waiting around for Krispy Kreme to open!

Debit Card Fraud In Rockville by Temperance Blalock

I’m passing along this information in case it happens to anyone else around Rockville. Sharing information is a way to create awareness and protect each other from such crimes.

Yesterday afternoon I received a phone call from my bank’s fraud department informing me that someone had drained my checking account using my ATM card number. This was alarming on a number of levels, the main one being that my ATM card wasn’t lost, and that I am hyper-vigilant about shielding the keypad when I type in my PIN number. I’m also vigilant about checking my online balance almost every single day, but these transactions were done over the weekend so they didn’t show up in my account until Monday, at which point the damage had been done.

Fortunately, the transactions were “flagged” as suspicious by the bank, due to their being out-of-state and for the maximum daily amounts, and the bank alerted me. However, I was dismayed to learn that, had they not informed me right away, and had I not noticed it for more than 24 hours, I would have forfeited many of my legal consumer rights, or at least made it a lot more difficult to resolve the situation in my favor.

At this point now the bank appears to be expediting this so that I can eventually get my money back. However, I don’t know how long it’ll be until I can actually get my funds, and meanwhile I have overdue bills that are going to be delinquent. I’m lucky that I delayed bill-paying from last week, when I was scheduled to do that, otherwise I’d be dealing with a lot of NSF charges that might, or might not, have been excused.

I feel so vulnerable, mostly because I wasn’t lax or careless. I didn’t loan my debit card out, I’ve never given anyone the PIN number, and I only use the card at “legitimate” places like grocery stores and gas stations and ATM machines. All of my transactions were done in downtown Rockville. However, crooks no longer need the PIN number to do their fraud, and it’s difficult to tell whether a monitoring or “skimming” electronic device is watching a transaction.

I’m not quite sure what I could have done to avert or avoid this, other than to refrain entirely from using the debit card. Every transaction is a potential opportunity for the crooks to steal the information. When I do receive my new replacement card, I’m going to review my spending habits and make changes. I was depending on my debit card as a way of being “financially responsible”, of not charging to credit cards and not putting myself under the burden of paying interest on unpaid balances, but that’s possibly not the best strategy.

One other noteworthy thing: a lot of “phishing” scams are predicated under the fraud of scaring or frightening the consumer, using a crisis as a pretext. My first reaction, on receiving such an alarmist voicemail, was to attribute it to an actual attempt at fraud. The first thing I was asked was for my card number and my PIN number, so it was an internal battle that I should even provide that information for verification, since doing so would have opened me up to an entirely different type of fraud than was actually perpetrated on me.

Here’s a link to more details about exactly what the consumer’s liability and rights are when there’s debit card fraud.

PIRG: ATM Debit Cards

Several sobering facts:

“If the thief drains your checking account, you have to fight with the bank to get your own money back.”

“The law limits consumer liability for credit card fraud to $50. For debit card fraud, your liability is $50 if you notify the bank with 2 days of learning of the fraud, and $500 or more after two days, up to the entire amount stolen under certain circumstances.”

Here’s a link to information on exactly how the “skimming” devices’ hardware works:

How To Spot ATM Skimming and PIN Capturing Devices

Temperance Blalock

This is a contributor submission. Rockville Central encourages readers to submit pieces for consideration on all sorts of things — the more voices the better. 

Rockville Police Aid In Bringing In Man Following Threats At Montgomery College

This from the City of Rockville:

Police helped bring a 22-year-old man into custody this morning at Universities of Maryland at Shady Grove, following a call that he was armed.

At about 9:30 a.m., Montgomery County Police located Dan Dadem Le (05/13/87), of the 18000 block of Lost Knife Circle in Montgomery Village, at the Universities of Maryland at Shady Grove on Gudelsky Drive. He was taken to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville for a psychiatric evaluation. He had no weapon on him.

The incident began about 5:30 a.m., when Rockville City Police received a call from Montgomery College-Rockville Campus that a student was trying to enter college buildings and offices that were closed.

Rockville Police responded and issued the student a no trespass order. Around 5:45 a.m., the student began calling campus security and staff members. Then just before 8 a.m., a call was made to the college, stating that “someone was going to be there for an interview and it’s going to make national news.”

Then at 8:42 a.m., 911 dispatchers received a call in which the caller said an Asian male, age 18-19, and wearing a black shirt and red pants was walking and waving a gun near the Counseling Advisory Building at Montgomery College-Rockville, looking nervous.

Approximately 22 officers from Rockville City Police, Montgomery County Police and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office responded to Montgomery College-Rockville Campus, secured the building and evacuated it. About 30 staff and faculty were evacuated from the building. There were only a few students on campus. School is not currently in session.

As police were securing the building, 911 dispatchers tried numerous times to call the cell phone caller back, but were unable to reach the caller. By 9:12 a.m., the building was secured and evacuated, and it was determined that no armed person was there.

While officers were securing the building, 911 dispatchers were able to track the original call and determined it came from a cell phone on the grounds of Universities of Maryland at Shady Grove. Montgomery County Police responded and located a man matching the description given to police of the student at Montgomery College. Police discovered that Le had made the calls to 911, describing himself.

Le had attended Montgomery College-Rockville Campus last semester, but withdrew from classes.

Man Charged With Soliciting Minor (UPDATE)

[UPDATE: It turns out the man in question is not from Rockville. The original police report gave as his address the location of the MCFRS executive offices. Thank you to Nathan Carrick for spotting it.]

The Montgomery County police reported last night that, as a part of the department’s ongoing effort to combat human trafficking, a Rockville man was arrested for alleged solicitation of a minor for sexual purposes. From the report:

During the course of the investigation an internet advertisement was posted for prostitution on July 15, 2009, by a female police officer posing as a 16-year-old girl. On July 17 an e-mailed response was received from an adult male interested in arranging a meeting with the believed-to-be 16-year-old girl. A meeting was arranged for the morning of July 20 at the Holbrook Shopping Center located at 437 S. Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg. The suspect acknowledged that he knew the ad was for a 16-year-old and that he agreed to pay for sexual services received from her. When the suspect arrived at the location, vice and Intelligence officers took him into custody and charged him with soliciting a minor for sex.

The report lists the man as living in Rockville and working for the Montgomery County Department of Fire and Rescue Services. The full report is here.

On a personal note, human trafficking is an issue that I feel very deeply about. It is an uncomfortable issue but a significant problem across the globe and here at home. There are more slaves now than at any time in human history. Many are children and women in impoverished nations. But there are also reports of human trafficking in Montgomery County. The Not For Sale Campaign is a good place to start for more information. Slavery Map is an interactive map of reported incidents of trafficking.

Shooting On Calvin Lane; Two Injured

Last night (7/3/09) just after 10:30 Rockville city police, responding to a call on the 500 block of Calvin Lane, found two men, an eighteen and seventeen year old, suffering from gunshot wounds at a house party. The victims were taken to Suburban Hospital.

Witnesses on the scene said that the shooting was the result of an argument between the victims and a group of three or four others at the party, one of whom did the shooting. The group left the party in what was described as a black Honda.

Anyone with information should call Rockville city police at 240-314-8900.

View Shooting On Calvin Lane in a larger map

Violent Incident Overnight In King Farm; One Shot, Another Stabbed

WUSA9 is reporting that Montgomery County Police were called to the 400 block of Elmcroft in King Farm early this morning around 3:30 am. At the scene they found one person shot and another stabbed.

The shooting victim fled and was found nearby.

From the report:

Officers have taken six men and three women who have been labeled “persons of interest” into custody. [Police say] it is unclear whether or not these people are suspects or merely witnesses.

No word yet on motive, and witnesses are asked to call (301) 279-8000.

View Larger Map

Armed Robbery Report

Our friends at the East Rockville Civic Association have passed along word of an armed robbery earlier this week in the 1700 block of Crawford drive.

From the police:

June 2, 2009 — At approximately 1900 hours this date Rockville City Police units responded to the 1700 block of Crawford Drive for the report of an armed robbery of a citizen.

Once on the scene the victim advised responding officers that a black male, approximately 20 years of age, with a thin goatee, entered the residence via an unlocked front screen door. The suspect confronted the victim, born in 1932, and said he knew the victim owned a .38 revolver. The victim denied owning a gun and was struck in the head with a black semi-automatic handgun which the suspect had with him.

The suspect then demanded the victim take him to his bedroom where he believed the victim kept the gun. The victim repeatedly denied owning a gun and was struck at least two additional times. Once in the bedroom the suspect made the victim open a safe. There was nothing in the safe. At this time the suspect demanded money and obtained the victim’s wallet. The suspect left the residence through the front door where he dropped the wallet. Nothing was missing from the wallet. The suspect then ran through the backyard.

A K-9 track was conducted but was lost in the area of Rockcrest Park due to the number of people in the area. The victim has a small bump on the head and was not seriously injured. Investigation is being handled by RCPD Investigators.

Rockville Residents Thwart Burglar

This happened last week, but we were not able to run it and it is such a great story. It’s a terrific example of ordinary folks acting sensibly.

It also is a great example of some helpful information from Our Fair City! Note the explanation of just what sensible things the residents did, near the end of the press release from the city:

Rockville City Police arrested a 54-year-old Olney man Tuesday morning and charged him with one count each of second-degree burglary and theft under $500.

Daniel Stuart Wolford was arrested following an investigation into the burglary of an outdoor storage closet at a home in the Twinbrook area of Rockville.

Rockville City Police were called at 2:10 a.m. by the homeowners in the 1600 block of Farragut Avenue. The homeowners reported that they were awakened by noises near their home. When the female occupant of the home looked out the window, she saw a man she described as white, 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 11 inches tall with collar-length hair, wearing a baseball cap and dark shirt, near her husband’s truck, police said.

The homeowners called police and the husband went outside, where he noticed the storage closet in the carport had been entered and his leaf-blower was missing. The homeowner went to the front curb, where he saw more property, including construction tools, from the closet sitting next to the trashcan.

The homeowner took the yard equipment and tools back to his carport. He then saw a blue Chevrolet Cavalier driving on Farragut Avenue with its lights off that slowed near the trashcans, and alerted police.

Police stopped a car matching the description on Baltimore Road near Edmonston Drive at 2:15 a.m. There were two male occupants of the vehicle; the passenger, Wolford, fit the description given by the homeowner.

The vehicle’s driver, James Watson Henry, said he had picked up Wolford and he was carrying an air compressor, nail gun and chainsaw. Wolford said the items belonged to him, but would not say where he was prior to being picked up, police said.

Henry was taken into custody when Rockville City Police determined Montgomery County Police had issued a warrant for failure to appear in court.

Rockville City Police say these homeowners followed steps that led to an arrest and want to highlight important tips homeowners can follow to keep their homes and themselves safe:

• Call police when you discover suspicious activity; do not wait.
• Make a mental note of any suspicious person on your property, including height, weight, clothing, and vehicle.
• Keep outdoor sheds, storage spaces or doors to garages locked.
• Record serial numbers of valuable property.
• Establish a neighborhood watch group.

Anyone wishing to learn more about establishing a neighborhood watch group or having a free home security survey, can call Cpl. Ken Matney at 2401-314-8922.

Police Investigating Attempted Rape

News reports indicate that the Montgomery County Police are investigating the attempted rape of a 73-year-old woman near Calvin Park in Rockville that occurred Saturday morning.

WUSA9 reports that: “The victim struggled with him and was able to punch him in the face, which made him let go of her. He was last seen running away toward Baltimore Road.”

About the suspect:

Police say the suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his late teens to 20’s, 5′3″ tall, weighing 130 pounds, with very light skin with very dark, straight eyebrows. He spoke with a slight Spanish accent. Police say he may have light bruising on his left cheek. He was wearing an over-sized black or dark blue hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, and black or dark blue sweatpants.

The image is a computer-generated sketch issued by the police department.

Call the Montgomery County Police at 240-773-5070 (anonymously, if you like) if you have any information that could help.

Rockville Police Close Burglary Investigation

On Friday, Our Fair City announced good news from the police department: The investigation into a series of home burglaries in Twinbrook from November to January has been successfully closed.

This from the release:

Jason Theodore Faulkner, 34, of no fixed address was arrested and charged Jan. 14 with first-degree residential burglary. At the time of his arrest, Rockville Police found several items from the burglary in a duffle bag belonging to Faulkner. At the time, Faulkner admitted to police that he had committed 20 burglaries in the Rockville, Wheaton and Kensington communities.

Through the course of the investigation, Faulkner rode along with police, pointing out homes in those areas he had burglarized. Rockville City Police will charge Faulkner with three additional burglaries that occurred in City limits. More burglary charges could be filed pending fingerprint analysis. . . .

“The arrest of Jason Faulkner removes a career burglar from the streets,” said Rockville City Police Capt. Bob Rappoport.

Rockville City Police offer the following tips to deter thieves from targeting your home:

• Lock all doors and windows.
• Make sure exterior doors are solid wood or metal.
• Deadbolt locks should be used on all exterior doors.
• Replace locks with the double-cylinder type, which require a key on the inside, especially doors with glass panels.
• Remove all obstructions in your yard that could hide or shield a burglar trying to break into your home.
• Use exterior lighting around your home.
• Know your neighbors. Begin a Neighborhood Watch Program.
• If you think your home has been broken into, do not go inside. Call police.

  For more crime prevention tips, call Community Services Officer Cpl. Ken Matney at 240-314-8922

Great work, and great tips, from a great force!