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He Was 17 When Morgan State Homecoming Erupted In Gunfire; Now He Knows His Fate He Was 17 When Morgan State Homecoming Erupted In Gunfire; Now He Knows His Fate
He Was 17 When Morgan State Homecoming Erupted In Gunfire; Now He Knows His Fate He was 17 when bullets started flying at a Maryland homecoming celebration. Now 20, Marquis Brown will be pushing 100 if he ever finishes the sentence handed down in Baltimore for his role in the mass shooting that wounded five people at Morgan State University nearly three years ago. Brown, a District resident, was sentenced to 85 years in prison after being convicted in May of five counts of attempted second-degree murder and related offenses. It was the latest chapter in a case that began with chaos on Morgan State's campus on Oct. 3, 2023. That night, students were spilling out of a c…

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by Zak Failla
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Here's Why 440 Pounds Of Seemingly Harmless Cotton Was Seized At Dulles Airport Here's Why 440 Pounds Of Seemingly Harmless Cotton Was Seized At Dulles Airport
Here's Why 440 Pounds Of Seemingly Harmless Cotton Was Seized At Dulles Airport This was no ordinary baggage claim. A family flying into Virginia with plans to make their own bedding instead landed in the middle of an unusual airport seizure when federal agriculture specialists discovered more than 440 pounds of raw cotton packed inside their luggage at Washington Dulles International Airport. And it wasn't the cotton itself that raised the biggest red flag. It was what was still hiding inside. The family arrived at Dulles from Afghanistan and was referred by US Customs and Border Protection officers for a secondary inspection, according to the agency. They were…

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by Zak Failla
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He Hit A Homemade Pipe Bomb With A Hammer, Then His Maryland Home Exploded He Hit A Homemade Pipe Bomb With A Hammer, Then His Maryland Home Exploded
He Hit A Homemade Pipe Bomb With A Hammer, Then His Maryland Home Exploded Robert Stojinski Jr. learned the hard way what happens when a homemade explosive meets a hammer. The 43-year-old Gaithersburg man was sentenced to 54 years in prison, with all but 25 years suspended, months after a pipe bomb exploded inside his Montgomery County home, blasting a hole between floors and sending pieces of metal shrapnel flying through the house. Robert Stojinski, Jr. Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office And that was only the beginning of what investigators found inside. The explosion happened at Stojinski's home on Empress Court in Gaithersburg on Oct. 24, 202…

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by Zak Failla
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Maryland Grandma Drove 11 Miles Before Realizing 7-Year-Old Grandson Was Gone: Prosecutors Maryland Grandma Drove 11 Miles Before Realizing 7-Year-Old Grandson Was Gone: Prosecutors
Maryland Grandma Drove 11 Miles Before Realizing 7-Year-Old Grandson Was Gone: Prosecutors A 68-year-old grandmother in Maryland is facing time behind bars after her grandson fell out of her vehicle and was killed. She never noticed he was gone. Hagerstown resident Lorraine Marie O'Neill was found guilty following a four-day trial of neglect of a minor in connection with the death of her 7-year-old grandson in November 2024. On Nov. 24, 2024, prosecutors say O'Neill was driving north on I-97 through Millersville in a 2011 Mazda 3 with her grandson riding in a car seat in the back. As she was traveling near I-97 and Benfield Boulevard, the child fell out of the vehicle’s rear pa…

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by Zak Failla
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Gone Fishing, Then Disaster: Rogue Wave Sends Virginia Man Into Boat Cleat Gone Fishing, Then Disaster: Rogue Wave Sends Virginia Man Into Boat Cleat
Gone Fishing, Then Disaster: Rogue Wave Sends Virginia Man Into Boat Cleat One rogue wave changed everything. TJ Hartney was heading out to fish for cobia with friends in Virginia on Saturday, Aug. 8, when their boat hit the wave, throwing him off balance and sending him sliding down the gunwale, according to his family. Then came the impact. Hartney was impaled by a cleat on the boat, causing a severe injury to his right arm, his family said. The fishing trip was over. A much longer journey was just beginning. Because of the severity of his injuries, Hartney was rushed to the emergency room at Virginia Beach General, where he has already undergone one surgery,…

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by Zak Failla
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Firefighters Pushed Through Heavy Smoke Then Came An 8-Foot Surprise At Virginia Middle School Firefighters Pushed Through Heavy Smoke Then Came An 8-Foot Surprise At Virginia Middle School
Firefighters Pushed Through Heavy Smoke Then Came An 8-Foot Surprise At Virginia Middle School Firefighters battling a classroom blaze in Virginia early on Thursday had to deal with one very large wrinkle. An 8-foot python. Crews were called to Forest Middle School in Bedford County at approximately 12:45 a.m. after a fire alarm sounded, according to fire officials. The fire in Virginia. Forest Fire Department Crews arrived to find water pouring from the second floor, flames visible inside, and smoke showing through the windows. Then things got a little wild. Firefighters secured a water supply and began forcing their way inside as additional crews arrived and stretched ho…

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by Zak Failla
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$98K THC Haul Uncovered During Raids At Three Southern Maryland Smoke Shops, Sheriff Says $98K THC Haul Uncovered During Raids At Three Southern Maryland Smoke Shops, Sheriff Says
$98K THC Haul Uncovered During Raids At Three Southern Maryland Smoke Shops, Sheriff Says Nearly $100,000 worth of illicit cannabis and THC products just disappeared from Maryland store shelves. More than 4,600 THC products and 1,263 grams of cannabis flower were seized on Tuesday, Aug. 11, when investigators raided three tobacco and smoke shops across St. Mary's County as part of a crackdown on unlicensed cannabis sales, the sheriff's office announced Thursday. The combined retail value of the haul: $98,072.23. And investigators weren't looking in just one place. Search warrants were executed at Point Lookout Tobacco in Callaway, Cloud Smoke Shop in California, and a Tobacco …

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by Zak Failla
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Daycare Teacher Accused Of Assaulting 3-Year-Old Boy In Reston: Police Daycare Teacher Accused Of Assaulting 3-Year-Old Boy In Reston: Police
Daycare Teacher Accused Of Assaulting 3-Year-Old Boy In Reston: Police A teacher at a Northern Virginia daycare facility is facing charges for allegedly assaulting a young child, police say. Jaspal Bharaj, 61, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge following an investigation into the abuse of a 3-year-old boy in Reston, the Fairfax County Police Department announced on Thursday, Aug. 13. Last week, detectives from the department were called to Bright Horizons Daycare in the 11400 block of Commerce Park Drive in Reston to investigate reports of an assault. Detectives determined that Bharaj, while working as a teacher at the facility, assaulted a child …

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by Zak Failla
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DC Man Learns His Fate After Brazen Robbery Spree Targeting USPS Carriers: Feds DC Man Learns His Fate After Brazen Robbery Spree Targeting USPS Carriers: Feds
DC Man Learns His Fate After Brazen Robbery Spree Targeting USPS Carriers: Feds A District man is going to spend nearly two decades behind bars after a jury found him guilty earlier this year of a violent robbery spree targeting mail carriers across Maryland and the DC area. DeAngelo Lewis, 30, was convicted following an eight-day federal trial in Greenbelt on Friday, April 24, tied to a string of armed robberies involving seven USPS workers in 2022. On Thursday, Aug. 13, authorities announced that Lewis has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for the scheme. The scheme stretched across Maryland, Virginia, and DC, where Lewis and his crew tracked down carriers, pulle…

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by Zak Failla
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Tick Tock: $50K Powerball Ticket In Virginia Is Days Away From Becoming Worthless Tick Tock: $50K Powerball Ticket In Virginia Is Days Away From Becoming Worthless
Tick Tock: $50K Powerball Ticket In Virginia Is Days Away From Becoming Worthless Check the glove box. Empty the junk drawer. Turn those pockets inside out. Somewhere in Virginia, a $50,000 payday is days away from becoming a worthless piece of paper. The unclaimed Powerball ticket was sold at Quik-E Foods at 4380 Waterlick Road in Forest and has been sitting unclaimed since the Saturday, Feb. 21 drawing, according to the Virginia Lottery. Now the clock is ticking. The ticket expires at 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20, exactly 180 days after the drawing, the deadline set by Virginia law. If nobody comes forward by then, that $50,000 is gone. The mystery winner came tantalizi…

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by Zak Failla
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Stray Bullet Tears Through Home As Illegal Gun Arsenal Is Uncovered, Sheriff Says Stray Bullet Tears Through Home As Illegal Gun Arsenal Is Uncovered, Sheriff Says
Stray Bullet Tears Through Home As Illegal Gun Arsenal Is Uncovered, Sheriff Says What started as an investigation into shots fired led to the seizure of what investigators described as an "arsenal of illegal firearms."  In late June, deputies were called to the 400 block of Patrick Avenue in Salisbury to investigate reports of gunshots in the area, according to the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office. What came next was unexpected. First responders determined that a bullet had penetrated the wall of a neighboring residence, traveled through the kitchen, ricocheted off a table, passed through the ceiling and attic, and exited through the roof. No injuries were r…

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by Zak Failla
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17-Year-Old Arrested In Quinceañera Shooting That Killed Virginia Teen Samuel Ojeda 17-Year-Old Arrested In Quinceañera Shooting That Killed Virginia Teen Samuel Ojeda
17-Year-Old Arrested In Quinceañera Shooting That Killed Virginia Teen Samuel Ojeda The hunt for the person accused in the deadly shooting of a Virginia 16-year-old at a quinceañera is over. A 17-year-old boy from Dumfries was arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 12, in connection with the killing of Samuel Ojeda, who was shot four days earlier during an altercation at a quinceañera near Catlett, the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office announced. Ojeda, of Triangle, was killed on Saturday, Aug. 8, at a rural property on Bowery Lane, where what began as a milestone celebration suddenly turned deadly. Deputies were already there. They had responded at around 9:30 p.m. to complaints ab…

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by Zak Failla