Approximately 15 years after the death of American University professor Sue Ann Marcum, her alleged killer is arguing Montgomery County jurors shouldn’t learn that he spent 12 years in Mexico on the FBI’s “Most Wanted List,” and that he changed his name.
Approximately 15 years after the death of American University professor Sue Ann Marcum, her alleged killer is arguing Montgomery County jurors shouldn’t learn that he spent 12 years in Mexico on the FBI’s “Most Wanted List,” and that he changed his name.
Jorge Rueda Landeros is charged with first-degree murder in Marcum’s 2010 death in her Maryland home on Massachusetts Avenue, located between Goldsboro Road and Westmoreland Circle, on the border with D.C.
Jury selection is set to begin Oct. 10, in what is expected to be a five-day trial in Montgomery County Circuit Court.
Montgomery County prosecutors have said Landeros, who had dual citizenship, fled to Mexico after Marcum’s death. He spent a dozen years on the FBI’s “Most Wanted List,” before he was arrested in Guadalajara, Mexico, in December 2022 and extradited to the U.S.
In a motion filed this week, public defenders Meghan Brennan and Tatiana David asked the judge to exclude any suggestion from prosecutors that Landeros fled to Mexico to avoid being prosecuted in Marcum’s death. And, they argued that prosecutors should not be allowed to mention Landeros changed his name, because it would suggest he had something to hide.
The defense said Landeros had traveled freely between the U.S. and Mexico for years, including after Marcum’s death.
However, on March 2, 2011, Landeros was stopped at the border, and signed a release form to provide a buccal swab, in which DNA was taken from the interior of his cheek.
In this week’s motion, the defense said, according to charging documents in the case, the scene of Marcum’s killing initially bore signs of a robbery. A rear window appeared to have been pried open, and the house was partially ransacked. However, several expensive items were left behind and investigators said evidence of a struggle indicated Marcum possibly knew her attacker.
The defense said several electronics items of value were stacked in the home, and that the facts are consistent with the modus operandi in approximately 60 to 80 homes that occurred in the Northwest quadrant of D.C. and in Bethesda, within several months of Marcum’s death.
“Despite these facts, the state still alleges that Mr. Landeros killed Ms. Marcum,” according to this week’s defense motion.
The defense said it will challenge the prosecutorial argument that by not making himself available to Maryland officials, Landeros was demonstrating consciousness of guilt. The defense said four factors must be present to make a consciousness of guilt argument, and that prosecutors haven’t reached that standard.
“There are a number of reasons why Mr. Landeros would avoid turning himself in to the authorities, including potential Internal Revenue Service penalties, that exist completely independent of the murder of Sue Marcum,” wrote the defense.
Prosecutors Deborah Feinstein and Ryan Wechsler said Landeros knew since May 2011 that police had a filed an arrest warrant for him. A county police detective offered to meet Landeros at the Mexican border to facilitate his arrest. Landeros declined via email.
In its motion, prosecutors said in November 2022 the FBI got an online tip that Landeros was living in Guadalajara, Mexico, and was using the name Sadu Leon. Prosecutors said Landeros had a Facebook profile under the name “Sadu.Leon.1.”
“The evidence supports a direct connection between the Defendant’s name change and the murder of the victim, Sue Marcum,” prosecutors wrote. “The Defendant’s name change is related to his desire to avoid arrest for this specific crime and is therefore probative of consciousness of guilt.”
Suspicion eventually landed on Rueda Landeros, a yoga instructor and Spanish teacher, who developed a personal and financial relationship with Marcum sometime in the mid-2000s. Police have not detailed exactly how the two knew each other.
According to police, Rueda Landeros was the sole beneficiary of a $500,000 life insurance policy on Marcum, and the two also shared a joint investment fund.
In addition, a 1099 form in Marcum’s name from 2008 listed proceeds of over $100 million from the fund, which investigators believed to be “very unusual,” given her occupation as a university professor, according to the charging documents.
Police declined to say during the news conference whether the fund actually had $100 million in it or if the tax form was bogus.
Investigators also uncovered emails showing Marcum had become “increasingly concerned and uneasy” about the way Rueda Landeros was handling the money from the account, and spoke of “not being able sleep” over it.
According to police, Rueda Landeros’ DNA matched DNA recovered from items in Marcum’s house, including the weapon police believe was used to bludgeon her and scrapings from under her fingernails.
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Protesters at Dulles Airport, outside of D.C., called on Avelo Airlines to cancel its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to operate deportation flights.
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Protesters at Dulles Airport call on airline to cancel ICE deportation flights
Protesters at Dulles Airport, called on Avelo Airlines to cancel its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to operate deportation flights, both domestically and internationally, including to Central American countries.
Around two dozen protesters handed flyers to passengers at the airport, located in Dulles, Virginia, outside of D.C.
“We are concerned that some of the people who are being sent on these deportation flights have had no due process, or are U.S. citizens, and who belong here in the United States,” said Mike Sorohan, who co-founded the group Indivisible of Franconia, with his wife Erica.
In the permitted demonstration, with protesters holding signs outside the doors of the terminal near the west security gate, Sorohan said he hoped to spread awareness of how Avelo is utilizing its contract, even though Avelo has a small presence at Dulles.
”It’s not a big airline,” Sorohan said. “They only have two commercial flights every Thursday, to Wilmington, North Carolina, and New Haven, Connecticut,” where the airline is based.
This is the group’s first protest at Dulles, although Avelo protests have been held in other cities, including in Baltimore, Maryland.
“There’s no ICE flights coming out of Dulles, but we want to make people who fly Avelo aware of what Avelo is doing, and discourage them from making flight plans in the future,” Sorohan said.
WTOP is seeking comment from the airline about the effort to dissuade Avelo passengers from future travel.
“My hope is they will find alternate flights to the cities they want to go to,” Sorohan said. “This is a huge airport — there are flights to New Haven and Wilmington.”
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For many people, rowing is a relaxing and competitive outlet; for the Unity Boat Club, it’s a statement about the power of determination and breaking down barriers.
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Unity Boat Club: Inclusive rowing team for all abilities
For many people, being on a boat out on the water is pure relaxation; for the Unity Boat Club, it’s a statement about the power of determination and breaking down barriers.
“We’re focusing on diversity and inclusion,” said Patrick Johnson, the club’s co-founder and president emeritus. “We’re also providing opportunities for people who may not be able to afford some of the other programs.”
During a Sunday afternoon training session on the Potomac River at Thompson Boat Center, Johnson and assistant coaches led the team through a variety of drills.
Johnson said the goal of the club is to provide rowing opportunities for everyone, offering personalized coaching and support for athletes with physical, visual, intellectual or developmental disabilities.
High school rowers serve as mentors for the adaptive rowers.
“Each boat that goes out today will have one adaptive rower, and one high school rower from 10 to 12 different high schools around D.C., Maryland and Virginia,” Johnson said.
Boats used for competitive rowing, or shells, are typically only 1-foot wide.
“We also have recreation boats, which allows for a lot of different levels to be able to row who maybe couldn’t before,” Johnson said. “We have safety pontoons that can go on there, so all levels can row.”
Johnson said the teamwork and comradery required to row in unison benefits athletes and volunteers, in and out of the water.
“You have to learn how to work with somebody else,” Johnson said. “If the boat isn’t moving together, then it’s not going to move well at all.”
The club has meetings and training sessions in a variety of locations, including Fort Belvoir Marina, Anacostia Community Boathouse, as well as indoor sessions at CrossFit Adaptation in Arlington.
“It’s just rewarding to see people doing things that they never thought they’d be able to do,” Johnson said.
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Trying to choose “the most memorable moment in RFK Stadium history,” since it opened in 1961, is as fruitless as trying to choose the best meal ever. WTOP is breaking it down into more manageable chunks.
Trying to choose “the most memorable moment in RFK Stadium history,” since it opened in 1961, is as fruitless as trying to choose the best meal ever.
Rather than an attempt an impossibly subjective task, WTOP is breaking down some of the memories into four more manageable groups, and talking about those memorable events with people who remember them well.
So, without further ado …
Memorable moments on the football field
The first sporting event at what was then D.C. Stadium was Oct. 1, 1961, when Washington’s Burgundy and Gold took on the New York Giants. Washington lost, 24-21 in front of a crowd of 36,767, including President John F. Kennedy.
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Relive RFK Stadium’s greatest moments, from the gridiron to Beatlemania
Frank Herzog was the play-by-play voice for Washington’s radio broadcasts from 1979 through 2004, teaming with Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff.
“RFK had an atmosphere that was it’s own,” Herzog told WTOP. “The tradition was rich, and it was just a very special place to be.”
Asked for his most vivid memories, Herzog barely hesitated: “Darrell Green, Darryl Grant and the seat cushion game.”
In the fourth quarter of the 1987 NFC Championship Game against the Minnesota Vikings, with the winner going to the Super Bowl, Vikings quarterback Wade Wilson threw a pass in the left flat.
“Darrell Green dove in front of the receiver, knocked the ball away, and bang, Washington was in the Super Bowl,” said Herzog. “I recall Joe Gibbs on his knees in prayer.”
Another memorable moment for Herzog was the 1982 NFC Championship game against the Dallas Cowboys.
“Late in the game, Dexter Manley slaps a pass away from the quarterback, and it falls into the hands of Darryl Grant at the 3-yard line, and he rolls into the end zone for the game winning score,” said Herzog.
This was Grant’s only career touchdown.
“The place went nuts,” said Herzog. “On that play, I was afraid that our radio booth was going to fall to the ground, the stadium shook so hard.”
Grant’s interception and return for a touchdown propelled Washington to Super Bowl XVII, where they defeated the Miami Dolphins.
And then there was the seat cushion game.
On Jan. 4, 1992, during the NFC Divisional Playoff against the Atlanta Falcons, fans had been given gold seat cushions as promotional giveaways.
“Their coach had made some comments about the team and about the fans,” said Herzog.
With about six minutes left in the game, Gerald Riggs scored a 1-yard touchdown to extend Washington’s lead to 23-7.
“When it looked like (the team) had it wrapped up, suddenly the seat cushions flew out of the stands. And as the first ones flew out, there came a flood. It was like a shower, it was unbelievable, and it was delightful.”
Herzog said he hopes the team’s owners will place a chunk of RFK’s foundation somewhere within the new stadium, “In hopes that some of that atmosphere and the ghost of the old RFK will spill over.”
With YouTube and other digital platforms, many memorable moments at RFK can be replayed on demand. But for a lot of people, who witnessed Joe Theismann’s career-ending injury on Monday Night Football, once was enough.
On Nov. 18, 1985, during a game with the New York Giants, Washington tried a flea-flicker play, with John Riggins tossing the ball back to Theismann, to set up a deep pass.
Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor’s horrified reaction after slamming Theismann to the ground made it clear this wasn’t a typical sack.
Theismann suffered a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula in his right leg. It ended his NFL career at age 36.
President George W. Bush throws out the ceremonial first pitch at D.C.’s RFK Stadium on April 14, 2005. The game between the Washington Nationals and the Arizona Diamondbacks was the first regular-season baseball game in the nation’s capital in 34 years. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
‘Before there were soccer moms’ and baseball’s return to D.C.
Given D.C. Stadium’s multisport, or cookie cutter design, what eventually became RFK Stadium was made for sports other than football.
The Washington Senators 2.0 played from 1962 through 1971, more than a half-century after baseball writer and humorist Charles Dryden famously wrote in 1904, “Washington — first in war, first in peace, and last in the American League.”
Even with slugger Frank Howard, and manager Ted Williams, after the 1971 season the franchise moved to Arlington, Texas, and became the Texas Rangers.
Thirty-three years later, after decades without the nation’s capital having a team playing the national pastime, the Montreal Expos relocated to D.C. in April 2005, and became the Washington Nationals — this time playing in the National League.
For three years, as a new stadium was being built, the Nats called RFK Stadium home. President George W. Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch in the April 14, 2005, game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Soccer got several big boosts at RFK.
“We didn’t have soccer moms, minivans weren’t invented yet,” remembers Dave Johnson, longtime WTOP sports director, and the voice of D.C. United since the club’s inaugural season in 1996.
“It was 1975, and Pele was coming to Washington to play the hometown Washington Diplomats at RFK Stadium,” said Johnson. When Pele and the New York Cosmos played in D.C., it was the largest crowd ever at the time for the original North American Soccer League.
“And pregame, Pele’s at the White House with President Gerald Ford at the time, and he’s juggling the ball,” on his feet and head as Ford watched in appreciation, Johnson said. “This game that we barely knew about, suddenly it was part of the White House.”
A quarter-century later, women’s soccer became a phenomenon.
“April 2001, RFK Stadium was the launching pad for the first professional women’s soccer league in the world, when Mia Hamm and the Washington Freedom played the first-ever game in the league,” said Johnson. “Mia Hamm, from Lake Braddock High School in Fairfax, Virginia, the best player in the world, making history in her hometown.”
In 2002, the parking lots and roads near RFK were converted into a 1.66 mile street race circuit for the American Le Mans Series. Despite plans for a 10-year contract, it was the only year the Grand Prix was held at RFK, because of noise complaints.
The British pop group, The Beatles, are seen holding a news conference at the District of Columbia stadium in Washington before their concert on Aug. 15, 1966. Pictured, from left to right, are: Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison. (AP Photo/Harvey Georges)
The second and final time The Beatles played in Washington
With far less hoopla than when The Beatles played their first U.S. concert on Feb. 11, 1964 at the Washington Coliseum, the Fab Four played one of their final concerts in Washington, at what was still called D.C. Stadium.
“It was Monday, Aug. 15, of 1966,” said Russ Lease, Beatles historian and CEO of BeatleSuits.com. “In the ’66 tour’ they did 14 cities, and D.C. was the fourth stop.”
The “Revolver” album had just come out, but The Beatles didn’t play any songs from the groundbreaking album during the tour. “The music had gotten a little more complicated, with more sound effects, and would have been more difficult to reproduce on stage, so they went with the basic 12-song rock ‘n’ roll set,” said Lease.
Did fans who bought tickets realize this would be The Beatles’ last tour?
“No, nobody knew that this was going to be their last one,” said Lease. “And I’m not even sure that they had definitely made up their mind.”
The Beatles arrived at National Airport in the early afternoon, and headed toward the Shoreham hotel, where they had stayed during their first visit, said Lease.
“On the way to the Shoreham, right after getting off the plane, they actually stopped by the White House,” Lease said. A member of the promoter’s staff got out of the car “and asked if they could get a White House tour, and they were immediately told no, because nothing was set up in advance,” said Lease.
After relaxing at the hotel, the band held a news conference at RFK Stadium in the Senators locker room. Many of the questions were directed at John Lennon, who had recently made his “The Beatles are more popular than Jesus,” remark.
“John was trying to deflect it, and was saying that it was taken out of context,” said Lease. When asked to comment on a report that said his comment had been a publicity stunt, Lennon scoffed: “Well, that is one of the most stupid versions of it. That wasn’t a publicity stunt at all. We don’t need bad publicity.”
While The Beatles fielded questions about Lennon’s quote, “Outside the stadium that night, the Maryland chapter of the KKK had a three-member demonstration,” said Lease.
Two weeks after playing at RFK, The Beatles final concert was Aug. 29, 1966, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
‘It was crazy:’ Odd happenings at RFK
The largest mass wedding in U.S. history was held at RFK Stadium. On Nov. 29, 1997, Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church married approximately 7,000 couples in a combination of arranged marriages and reaffirmations of vows.
On the other end of the spectrum, RFK Stadium played a role in the largest mass arrest in U.S. history. During 1971, May Day protests against the Vietnam War resulted in more than 12,000 arrests over the course of three days, starting on May 3.
With jails and court cells filled, hundreds were bused and trucked to RFK Stadium, where a makeshift outdoor detention facility was established.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a class suit, seeking to expunge the arrest records, saying that the Nixon administration, anticipating civil disobedience deployed thousands of police and military personnel, who arrested not only protesters, but bystanders.
According to the ACLU, only 79 people were convicted.
After presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was killed on June 5, 1968, there was a groundswell of support to rename D.C. Stadium in his honor. However, after President Lyndon Johnson announced he would not seek reelection, those close to the then-president said he wanted D.C. Stadium to be named for RFK as he left office.
Days before Richard Nixon was sworn in, since D.C. Stadium was on National Park Service land, Interior Secretary Stewart Udall, a JFK appointee, signed-off on renaming D.C. Stadium as Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, without LBJ’s knowledge.
A few years before the final regularly scheduled event at RFK — the Oct. 22, 2017 regular season soccer match between D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls, and the series of “Goodbye RFK” events in 2022 and 2023, one of the strangest images ever seen at RFK was captured.
In this July 4, 2015 file photo, The Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl performs with a cast at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Nick Wass/Invision/AP, File)
Foo Fighters were scheduled to perform at RFK on July 4, 2015, as part of the band’s 20th anniversary celebration, but that concert was thrown into jeopardy when singer/guitarist Dave Grohl was injured.
“He fell off the stage somewhere in Europe and broke his leg.,” said Seth Hurwitz, whose I.M.P. Productions was the promoter of the show.
Hurwitz tells WTOP that shortly after learning of the severity of Grohl’s injury, “He was in the hospital when I texted him, and he said, ‘We’re playing the gig.’”
Foo Fighters canceled several shows on the tour, yet every time he texted, Grohl, who grew up in Springfield, Virginia, assured Hurwitz the show would go on.
“It’s his hometown. I guess he told his people, ‘I was to do this show, so make it so,’” Hurwitz said.
While Hurwitz was impressed by Grohl’s determination, it wasn’t clear how the former drummer of Nirvana would be able to play guitar and sing with a broken leg.
“I’d heard that they were building him this throne,” said Hurwitz. “I went to the sound check the day before, and there it was — it was crazy.”
The following night, Grohl performed the sold-out show in a custom-built, motorized throne that he had sketched while in the hospital.
“He’s sitting in a chair, in front of 50,000 people, and he’s rocking the house,” marveled Hurwitz.
While images of Grohl on the throne have been widely shared, for the first time you can see video of the contraption Grohl and Foo Fighters decided not to use at RFK.
“He had this thing where he was going to be suspended by wires and go over the crowd,” Hurwitz said. “But he tried it out, and that was just a little too risky, so they said ‘Nah, never mind on that one.’”
Hurwitz shared video he took during the sound check, in which drummer Taylor Hawkins test-drove the device, while Grohl, lying on the stage with his leg. in a cast, enjoyed the moment.
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A federal judge in San Francisco could rule Monday on an emergency request from unions representing government employees, seeking to block immediate layoffs threatened by the White House amid a government shutdown.
We want to know your thoughts on the government shutdown. How are you and your family affected? Share your story — Send us a message or a voice note through the WTOP News app on Apple or Android. Click the “Feedback” button in the app’s navigation bar.
A federal judge in San Francisco could rule Monday on an emergency request from unions representing government employees, seeking to block immediate layoffs threatened by the White House amid a government shutdown.
The White House senior economic adviser Kevin Hassett told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that layoffs could begin as early as Monday, “if the president decides that the negotiations are absolutely going nowhere.”
Saturday, unions representing federal workers filed a motion for a temporary restraining order, asking Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to block President Donald Trump’s administration from taking immediate action.
Last week, the court received a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
The temporary restraining order request follows the AFGE and AFSCME suit.
The unions’ lawsuit focuses on a memo the White House budget office sent to agency leaders in late September to prepare for large-scale firings if the federal government shut down.
The memo from OMB said agencies should consider a reduction in force for federal programs whose funding would lapse next week, are not otherwise funded and are “not consistent with the President’s priorities.”
President Donald Trump has said on social media that he and budget director Russell Vought would determine “which of the many Democrat Agencies” would be cut.
The unions argue the White House doesn’t have the legal authority to permanently shed workers during a lapse in appropriations, and that after the shutdown, furloughed employees who worked without paychecks would receive back pay.
As of Monday morning, Chhabria’s docket doesn’t reflect that the case has been scheduled for argument Monday.
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Lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia say the Constitution demands his habeas corpus lawsuit must go on, and that he should be placed on home detention during the government shutdown.
Lawyers for Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia say the Constitution demands his habeas corpus lawsuit, challenging his current detention and potential deportation, must go on during the U.S. government shutdown — and, that he should be placed on home detention.
Lawyers for the Department of Justice filed a motion Wednesday requesting a stay in all aspects of the case, saying government attorneys “are prohibited from working, even on a voluntary basis, except in very limited circumstances, including ’emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property.’”
However, in a motion filed late Thursday, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers argued the government failed to mention the habeas corpus law “expressly instructs that in the event of a lapse of appropriations, this Court will continue to ‘hear and dispose of pending cases.’”
As of Friday morning, U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis had not issued an order on whether the scheduled Oct. 6 evidentiary hearing will go on.
With the status of the case uncertain, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers also note the government doesn’t have the right to detain him indefinitely.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers suggest Xinis impose the same conditions a Tennessee judge earlier ordered when releasing him before a trial for human smuggling — third-party custody, electronic monitoring, home detention, and regular reporting to Pretrial Services.
“If this Court orders Petitioner’s release from immigration custody, he would remain under these strict supervisions requirements, ensuring both his appearance at future proceedings and addressing any alleged public safety concerns, however misplaced those may be,” Abrego Garcia’s lawyers wrote.
A U.S. immigration judge in Baltimore denied a bid for asylum on Wednesday, rejecting an application to reopen Abrego Garcia’s 2019 asylum case. He has 30 days to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Outside of court, officials with President Donald Trump’s administration have repeatedly referred to Abrego Garcia as a member of the MS-13 gang, among other things, despite the fact he has not been convicted of any crimes.
Lawyers for the government have yet to respond to Abrego Garcia’s filing that the case should move forward, and that he should be on home detention in the interim.
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A Gaithersburg, Maryland, accountant has been sentenced to three years in federal prison, followed by six months of home confinement for conspiring to commit wire fraud by submitting fraudulent loan applications for various COVID-19 relief benefits.
A Gaithersburg, Maryland, accountant has been sentenced to three years in federal prison, followed by six months of home confinement, for conspiring to commit wire fraud by submitting fraudulent loan applications for various COVID-19 relief benefits.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Maryland, 54-year-old Harold Dotson was part of the scheme that filed more than $24 million in phony CARES Act loan applications between 2020 and 2022. He was sentenced earlier this week by U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett.
During the pandemic, several economic assistance mechanisms were established to keep businesses afloat: the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, the Paycheck Protection Program, and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan.
Citing Dotson’s plea agreement and other court documents, prosecutors said Dotson “used his accountant expertise to assist with preparing numerous false and fraudulent EIDL and PPP applications for purported businesses that did not exist in any legitimate capacity.”
The duplicitous loan applications included false information about the fake businesses’ number of employees, monthly payroll costs and revenue. Prosecutors said he also routinely created fraudulent IRS tax forms.
In his sentencing memo, Dotson’s lawyer said his client was an addicted gambler, with his family on the brink of economic disaster, when he was approached by co-conspirator Ahmed Sary, 47, of Brooklyn, Maryland, who ran a credit repair company.
While Dotson originally believed his helping small businesses apply for PPP loans was aboveboard, he eventually realized Sary was sending him paperwork for businesses that didn’t exist “or that grossly overstated their payroll and assets,” according to his attorney.
“The influx from the fraud was like gasoline on the fire of his addiction,” wrote Dotson’s lawyer. “He returned to the casino four to five times a week, gambling (and usually losing) thousands of dollars per session.”
According to prosecutors, Dotson’s conspiracy with Sary resulted in the disbursement of more than $14 million in PPP funds in connection with more than 85 fraudulent loans. Dotson’s conspiracy with another co-conspirator resulted in the disbursement of fraudulent PPP loans valued at more than $6 million, prosecutors said.
Additionally, prosecutors said more than $3.5 million was funded and disbursed in connection with Dotson’s submission of fraudulent EIDL applications.
In addition to the prison time and probation, Bennett ordered Dotson to pay $24,807,432 in restitution.
In June, Bennett sentenced Sary to seven years in federal prison for his role in the conspiracy.
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Circuit Court Judge James Bonifant stated that Hoggle should not be sent to a group home and must be held at a secure medical facility, where she can receive ongoing treatment.
A Montgomery County judge is ordering Catherine Hoggle back to a Maryland state-run medical facility, instead of being held in the Montgomery County jail in Clarksburg. The decision came after a 45-minute hearing Tuesday.
Hoggle sat quietly in the courtroom, only saying a few words to her attorney, wearing a jail jump suit and leg irons, with a bailiff sitting nearby.
Her lawyer, David Felsen, argued that Hoggle remains incompetent to stand trial, and he said that during her time in the Montgomery County jail, there have been some issues relating to her medical treatment, specifically with her daily medications.
The state, after obtaining a new indictment on the two murder charges earlier this summer, argued Hoggle is competent to stand trial for the deaths of her two children in 2014. Sarah was 3-years-old when she was last seen and Jacob was 2. The bodies of the two children have never been found.
Since 2022, when Hoggle’s original indictment was thrown out, Hoggle had been held at the Clifton Perkins Hospital Center in Jessup, Maryland, and for a brief period of time at a group home. She was reindicted in July.
Under Maryland law a person charged with a felony can only be held for five years if they are declared incompetent to stand trial. In September 2017, three years after the children were reported missing, Hoggle was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder. But two months later, she was ruled incompetent to stand trial, and the murder charges were dropped in November 2022, after a judge maintained she was mentally unfit to stand trial.
It is likely that Hoggle will be sent back to Perkins, but the judge it’s not clear when that will happen, due to ongoing issues at the facility.
“It could be today, it may be later in the week,” Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge James Bonifant said. “We’ll keep you informed.”
In his ruling, Bonifant said Hoggle is not to be sent to a group home and must be held at what he called a secure medical facility where she can receive ongoing treatment. When Hoggle was rearrested this summer, she was living at a group home in Chestertown, Maryland, after being discharged from Perkins.
The judge has scheduled a two-day competency hearing for Dec. 8 and 9, when medical professionals, along with the defense and prosecutors, will be able to present their case regarding Hoggle’s competency.
After the court hearing, the Hoggle children’s father, Troy Turner, spoke with WTOP. Turner was critical of the county’s judicial system, which he said has allowed the women who killed his children to avoid justice.
“We’ve had three judges since July alone, somewhere in the neighborhood of 13 total judges on this,” he said. “You’re hearing things that are being stated, restated, stated, restated, and then being even taken differently by different judges. So, I don’t feel like the system is giving this, or the courts are giving this the attention it deserves. I don’t feel like it’s being taken that seriously.”
Turner said he is still looking for answers as to where the remains of the two children may be and more than 11 years after their deaths, he said he believes Hoggle knows where they may be.
“My primary thing is I want to find my kids. In the end, she’s not that important to me,” Turner said. “We’ve spent 11 years looking for my kids, and we will find them or die looking for them. It hurts; it never gets better with time.”
WTOP’s Neal Augenstein contributed to this report.
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Two former Maryland police officers have been convicted of plotting to torch a truck for insurance money, and falsely claim money from their bank accounts was stolen.
Two former Maryland police officers have been convicted of plotting together to torch a truck for insurance money, and falsely claim money from their bank accounts had been stolen.
In 2018, Philip James Dupree was a Fairmount Heights police officer, while Mark Ross Johnson was an officer with the Prince George’s County Police Department.
Federal prosecutors said Johnson’s Ford F-450 pickup truck was having mechanical and electrical issues. Dupree claimed to have “discovered” Johnson’s burning truck while on patrol, then filed an impound report containing false statements about the recovery of the vehicle.
After Johnson submitted a claim with his insurance company, investigators for the company determined that Johnson and Dupree had held a 16-minute conversation just before Dupree supposedly spotted the burning vehicle.
Further investigation found the fire had been set in the passenger compartment of the pickup.
In 2019, prosecutors said Dupree, Johnson and others conspired to defraud three financial institutions. They coordinated the withdrawal of money from their banks’ ATMs to claim their money had been stolen.
The officers coordinated submitting police reports to Prince George’s County Police, saying their debit cards had been stolen, then used to withdraw money from ATMs without their permission.
Prosecutors said one report included the name of a non-existent police officer as the preparer.
A federal jury in Greenbelt found each man guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, arson, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. The statutory maximum for all of the crimes is 70 years in prison.
Autumn apple picking this year might be more challenging than usual, due to a late frost this past April.
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Late April frost could challenge apple pickers in Virginia this fall
Autumn apple picking this year might be more challenging than usual, due to a late frost this past April.
“All of the growers in this area suffered from that frost, and as a result, they have a much lighter crop of apples than they normally would,” said Cheryll Green, who works at the family-owned Hartland Orchard in Markham, Virginia.
The unexpected frost in the last week of April damaged apple crops in Fauquier and Loudoun counties.
“It happens when the apple trees are in bloom; it kills the blossom — the part that becomes the apple,” Green said.
While supply was down for apples that are picked and eaten earlier in the season, late-season varieties, including Fujis, should be plentiful.
“We’re seeing that with more Granny Smiths on the trees, as a result of them coming on maybe a little later,” Green said. “From now on through November, they probably will be good apples to pick.”
The orchard is open daily, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Apples are $20 for a half bushel, cash or checks only. The farm market also offers freshly made apple cider doughnuts and caramel corn.
“Families have a limited number of things where every member of the family will have a good time, from a toddler up through a teenager,” she said. “This is one of those things.”
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The state highway historical marker would be placed in the northernmost portion of Loudoun County at Point of Rocks to tell the story of 25-year-old Page Wallace.
Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors has voted to authorize a feasibility study to install a historical marker recognizing the third of three documented lynchings of Black men in the Virginia county.
The state highway historical marker would be placed in the northernmost portion of the county, across the Potomac River from Point of Rocks, Maryland, near the Potomac River, to tell the story of 25-year-old Page Wallace, a Black man, who was killed in February 1880.
This past July, a marker memorializing the 1902 lynching death of 25-year old Charles Craven was installed in Leesburg. In 2019 the county dedicated a memorial, also in Leesburg, to 14-year-old Orion Anderson, who was killed in 1889.
“Page Wallace — we know there was probably more than three — who were lynched within the boundaries of Loudoun County,” said Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall, during a Sept. 16 meeting, before the vote to approve the study. “For the other two people, there’s already a marker up, so this is the last of three markers we will put up for that purpose.”
Staff from the board will work with the Heritage Commission, Loudoun Freedom Center and the Loudoun branch of the NAACP to determine the feasibility of a marker commemorating Wallace’s lynching.
What happened to Page Wallace?
According to the staff proposal, “In February 1880, a Black man named Page Wallace was lynched in northern Loudoun County, Virginia, without due process in a court of law — without trial to deliver a verdict or the ability to defend himself.”
Research of archived news coverage, compiled by James Madison University, shows Wallace broke out of the Leesburg jail in January 1880, where he was serving time for raping a Black woman the previous fall.
Two days later, he allegedly raped a married, white woman. Approximately a week later he was seen in a Maryland saloon, where he allegedly confessed to the crime, before being taken to jail by bystanders.
Virginia’s governor requested Wallace be returned to the Commonwealth to stand trial.
According to the Daily Dispatch, when Wallace was transported across the Potomac River, a crowd of more than 100 masked men wrestled Wallace way from the Loudon County sheriff.
In the JMU summary of archived news coverage, “The mob took Wallace and dragged him for three hundred yards to the spot where he allegedly assaulted (the victim) and then hanged him to a sycamore tree.”
The woman, who had identified Wallace as her attacker when he was seized by the mob, “was accorded the privilege of firing the first shot at his swinging and almost lifeless body,” before 15 to 20 other shots riddled his body.
To “address the history of racial violence, the Board has supported significant efforts to educate the public about this history of injustice,” according to the staff report. An approximate location and draft language for the historical marker will be provided to the Board as part of the recommendations and findings of the feasibility study.
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At Madison’s Trust Elementary School in Ashburn, Virginia, students are swapping screens for strategy at the Silver Knights Chess Academy’s after-school club.
Children in the after-school chess club run by the Silver Knights Chess Academy. (WTOP/Neal Augenstein)
Children in the after-school chess club run by the Silver Knights Chess Academy. (WTOP/Neal Augenstein)
There wasn’t a phone or gaming device to be seen when dozens of students at Madison’s Trust Elementary School in Ashburn, Virginia, gathered for their after-school chess club.
And that’s kind of the point, according to Adam Weissbarth, founder of the Silver Knights Chess Academy, during WTOP’s visit to the after-school club.
Parents sign up their children, then Weissbarth’s Fairfax-based company provides coaches to teach the game in the first half of the session and the equipment so the children can play chess after the lesson.
“A lot of parents don’t want their kids on devices all day, and that’s a battle they’re often fighting,” Weissbarth said. “Chess, with a real board, and a real group of kids and a real coach, is a great way to use your brain to do something that’s fun that doesn’t involve a screen.”
At Madison’s Trust, younger children sat on the library carpet, surrounding coach Angela Hoffman, who explained the moves each chess piece can make. The older children sat at tables, fielding questions from Rachel Middleton, whose coaching involved more advanced strategies.
Weissbarth said Silver Knights Chess Academy teaches the games at approximately 350 elementary schools in the D.C. area.
‘It looked really fun to me’
“It’s fun, it’s a game,” Weissbarth said. “Kids do like playing sports and they do like running around and playing, but this is also a form of playing — they’re just using their brains instead of their bodies.”
Braden, a fifth grader, initially asked his father to teach him to play chess after watching his dad play with his sister. “It looked really fun to me.”
Like most kids his age, Braden also plays video games: “Roblox is more for fun. With chess, you can learn strategy.”
Part of being successful in chess is anticipating an opponent’s moves. Braden said it’s hard to predict those when children are just learning the game: “I usually see what my opponent does first, and then I make my move.”
Weissbarth added that he’s been obsessed with chess since he was 5 years old.
“The beauty of chess is that it’s relatively simple to learn the rules, but there’s infinite complexity to it,” Weissbarth said.
“I think what both kids and adults love about the game is that it’s hard,” he added. “And when you win a game, it really feels good and you’ve accomplished something.”
Asked how he feels as he’s cornering an opponent during a match, Braden said, “I usually feel happy, but I try not to show it, so they don’t notice that they’re in checkmate.”
The fifth grader said sportsmanship is important in chess, as in other sports.
“You don’t brag, or having bragging rights. I just shake hands and say ‘good game,’” he said.
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A new documentary tells the story of artists who moved to D.C. after fleeing El Salvador in the 1980s and have found solace in their art forms.
Edwin dancing on Mount Pleasant Street in D.C.
(Courtesy “The Most Beautiful Deaths In The World”)
Courtesy “The Most Beautiful Deaths In The World”
Many families from El Salvador ended up in D.C., particularly in Mount Pleasant and Adams Morgan.
(Courtesy “The Most Beautiful Deaths In The World”)
Courtesy “The Most Beautiful Deaths In The World”
Aviles said the largest Latin American immigrant group in the region is from El Salvador.
(Courtesy “The Most Beautiful Deaths In The World”)
Courtesy “The Most Beautiful Deaths In The World”
Aviles believes that the art featured in the film showcases how each artist found some sort of peace.
(Courtesy “The Most Beautiful Deaths In The World”)
Courtesy “The Most Beautiful Deaths In The World”
The film documents how Aviles, and four other artists who relocated to D.C., tried to come to terms with what they’d lived through in El Salvador, and what they were experiencing in their new home.
(Courtesy “The Most Beautiful Deaths In The World”)
WTOP celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month this Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, with stories spotlighting the contributions, culture and accomplishments of Hispanic communities across the D.C. region.
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Artists who fled El Salvador for DC are focus of new documentary
When he walks down Mount Pleasant Street, in Northwest D.C., Quique Aviles is repeatedly greeted by people who know him, from his decades as a poet, performer and community activist.
Born in El Salvador, Aviles fled when he was 15, “Because of the civil war that broke out in 1980 between the leftist guerrillas and the military dictators that he been in power for more than 50 years.”
Many families from El Salvador ended up in D.C., particularly in Mount Pleasant and Adams Morgan.
“The war kind of put the migration at warp speed,” said Aviles. “When your house is on fire, you run, right? So we ran. And for some reason, a lot of Salvadorans came to D.C.”
During a WTOP interview, Aviles returned to 3045 15th Street NW, near the intersection of Irving Street and 16th Street.
“This was the Latin American Youth Center. This was my after-school place. I lived down the street. And this is where I became an artist,” Aviles recalled.
The youth center was located next door to what was known as the Wilson Center, in the basement of the Central Presbyterian Church, which became a legendary D.C. punk venue through the 1980s.
“We all had something in common,” said Aviles. “This was a hub of political activism.”
The film documents how Aviles, and four other artists who relocated to D.C., tried to come to terms with what they’d lived through in El Salvador, and what they were experiencing in their new home.
“The different types of arts that are featured in the film shows you how each one of us that came from this very troubled situation found some kind of solace, no?”
Aviles said the largest Latin American immigrant group in the region is from El Salvador.
“We thought we were just passing by, fleeing the war, and when it’s over we would go back,” said Aviles, “But you fall in love, you get a good job, you buy a house, you have kids, and all of a sudden we had roots here, and we stayed.”
Today, walking through Mount Pleasant, evidence of the Trump administration’s recent federal law enforcement surge is present in flyers posted on utility boxes and sidewalks.
“It kind of has this feel, right now, that we’re living in the same situation that made us come here in the first place,” Aviles said. “For us, seeing troops, people my age, that brings back a lot of baggage, and a lot of discomfort.”
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Loudoun County Public Schools violated Title IX and retaliated against two male students being filmed in a boys’ locker room by a transgender student.
WTOP’s Nick Iannelli discussed the DOE finding with Loudoun Now reporter Patrick Lewis
The U.S. Department of Education said Loudoun County Public Schools violated Title IX and retaliated against two male students who reported being filmed in a boys’ locker room by a transgender student who identified as a male.
The ruling, in the form of a press release, came the day after the families of the two students filed a federal lawsuit against LCPS, seeking to overturn suspensions for the two students at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia.
The decision is the latest by the Department of Education, under President Donald Trump, focused on the issue of whether transgender children should be allowed to use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity.
“Loudoun County’s adherence to radical gender ideology has repeatedly placed its students in harm’s way,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor. “Loudoun County failed to treat allegations of sexual harassment equally: it promptly investigated a female student’s complaint but quickly dismissed and failed to meaningly investigate two of its male students’ complaints of sexual harassment.”
According to the DOE release, LCPS has 10 days to voluntarily enter the Department’s Resolution Agreement, which requires the school system to take the following actions:
Rescind the suspensions imposed on the two male students;
Review its findings to determine if discipline of the male students is warranted and, if Loudoun County determines that it is, the discipline must not exceed the discipline imposed on students who engaged in similar conduct and who had comparable disciplinary histories;
Issue letters apologizing for Loudoun County’s failure to properly investigate Title IX complaints;
Notify the students and their parents that Loudoun County Public Schools will promptly investigate the formal Title IX complaints in a manner that is compliant with the requirements of Title IX; and
Provide training to all high school and Loudoun County staff who receive or respond to reports of sexual harassment under Title IX.
Contacted by WTOP for a response to the DOE findings, Loudoun County Public Schools referred to an earlier comment: “At no time would LCPS suspend a student simply because they expressed some kind of discomfort. A reading of our Title IX resources should make it clear that there is a high bar to launch a Title IX investigation and an even higher bar to determine a student is in violation of Title IX.”
What this means, what comes next
Shortly after the DOE statement, WTOP evening anchor Nick Iannelli spoke with Loudoun Now reporter Patrick Lewis. Iannelli said the facts about what happened in the boys’ bathroom aren’t clear to the public.
“We know the school’s Title IX office found the two boys guilty of sexual harassment and sex based discrimination, and we only know that boys’ lawyers and their families released that,” said Lewis. “The schools are not going to release anything at all because they’re saying its protected student records.”
While the school system’s statement provides no specifics, Iannelli posited that the statement suggests other factors led to the students’ suspensions.
“There’s a lot of bars that you legally have to hit to even initiate a Title IX investigation once ou receive a complaint,” said Lewis. “Obviously, they found them guilty of harassment and discrimination, so from LCPS’s side, they’re saying they checked a lot of boxes, which obviously the boys and their attorneys are saying they were nowhere near checking.”
In July, DOE’s Office of Civil Rights found five Northern Virginia school divisions — Loudoun, Fairfax, Prince William, Arlington, and the City of Alexandria — had violated Title IX. The school systems refused to abide by the proposed DOE resolution agreement.
While the new release from the Department of Education doesn’t specify what steps would be taken if Loudoun doesn’t comply, “Presumably the Education Department will move further in their process to withdraw federal funding from the schools,” said Lewis.
However, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares referred his investigation into the locker room filming incident to the U.S. Department of Justice. “No word from them on whether they’re even investigating that, but potentially, down the road, there could also be criminal elements to all of this, as well,” said Lewis.
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Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., said she will speak Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday against four House bills that aim to change how crime is prosecuted in the nation’s capital.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., said she will speak Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday against four House bills that aim to change how crime is prosecuted in the nation’s capital.
The House of Representatives will debate and vote Tuesday on a bill that would allow 14 year-olds to be charged as adults in D.C. Another bill would repeal that discretion that judges have in imposing sentences for people under the age of 24.
“These anti-D.C. home rule bills were introduced by members of Congress from Florida, Texas, and Louisiana,” said Norton in a news release. “These members do not represent D.C., are not accountable to its residents, and do not understand how the District operates. They have no business writing our laws.”
Currently, defendants between the ages of 14 and 17 are prosecuted by D.C.’s elected attorney general.
The Trump administration and the District’s U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro have said defendants under the age of 18 should be prosecuted in criminal court.
“The D.C. Council has coddled young criminals for years,” Pirro said on Sept. 6. “They reject mandatory minimums that the law requires, they don’t force judges to follow the law. They have something called youth rehabilitation and incarceration reduction, as well as record sealing.”
The bill to lower the age at which juveniles can be prosecuted as adults was introduced by Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas.
The other bill to be debated and voted upon Tuesday was brought by Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donald. It would amend D.C.’s Youth Rehabilitation Amendment Act, changing the age at which a court is allowed discretion to impose alternative sentences, other than for certain offenses, and to seal a defendant’s records, from 24 to 18.
On Wednesday afternoon, the House will debate and vote upon a bill from Texas Republican Rep. Pete Sessions, which would limit the role D.C. has in the selection of its local judges. And, a bill introduced by Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., would weaken the District’s limitations on police pursuits.
“The more than 700,000 people who call D.C. home are fully capable of governing themselves, just as residents of Florida, Texas, and Louisiana do. I will continue to defend that right — tomorrow, Wednesday, and always,” said Norton, in Monday’s release.
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Metro general manager Randy Clarke said the transit agency is “at an eight-year crime low, and we’re actually on pace to the lowest crime year we’ve ever had.”
Proposed platform screen doors integrated with
signal system on new automated Metrorail trains. (Courtesy WMATA)
Proposed platform screen doors integrated with
signal system on new automated Metrorail trains. (Courtesy WMATA)
Metro general manager Randy Clarke said the transit agency is “at an eight-year crime low, and we’re actually on pace to the lowest crime year we’ve ever had.”
The biggest drop was in car thefts at stations, which were down nearly 60%. Larceny cases fell by 33%, while robbery and assault each dropped by more than 20%. This continues a downward trend that began in 2023, with overall crime now down 50% compared to two years ago.
“We clearly want zero crime, society wants zero crime,” Clarke said, saying protecting passengers, employees, and property will be ongoing priorities. “The job is never going to be done.”
Clarke said improved safety against crime, “Quite frankly, its probably the indicators of why our ridership has come back so much at our system, is because people feel safe on the system.”
Meanwhile, ridership is on the rise, partially fueled by the return-to-office push in the D.C. area. Metro recorded 264 million trips over the past fiscal year, which is a 9% increase.
What can be done to improve on-time performance
The board discussed findings of recent dips in on-time performance for both Metrorail and Metrobus.
According to Tom Webster, Metro’s chief planning and performance officer, “There is a limit to our 1970s technology, and all the human factors that go into providing service,” in addition to “customer human factors as they ride our system.”
He told the board, “The next big leap in on-time performance in rail is reinvestment in Metro’s signaling system, to replace the legacy, 1970s technology — that is going to take a substantial capital investment by the region.”
On the bus side, Webster said the biggest fundamental challenge is congestion on area roads.
“The next level would be investment in infrastructure and technology to prioritize bus on roadways, particularly where we have high ridership, high frequency, high capacity service, that is competing with single-occupancy vehicles, and parked cars that slow our buses down,” Webster said.
Asked for an example of intermediate steps Metro has taken to improve bus performance, Webster cited its partnership in the District’s 11th St NW Bus Priority project, from Pennsylvania Avenue to L Street.
The painted bus lanes reduce the need of buses to merge out of and into traffic, while picking up riders.
“It’s a tactical approach that does speed up buses,” said Webster.
Other infrastructure and technology improvements would involve transit signal priority — technology that synchronizes a region’s traffic signals, to give priority to mass transit vehicles: “It allows buses to move faster through congested areas and intersections that tend to get bogged down in traffic.”
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7-Eleven has agreed to pay $1.2 million to resolve claims the convenience store violated the D.C. ban on the sale of vape devices and e-cigarettes within a quarter-mile of schools.
7-Eleven has agreed to pay $1.2 million to resolve allegations that the convenience store giant violated the District’s ban on the sale of vaping devices and e-cigarettes within a quarter-mile of middle and high schools, according to Attorney General Brian Schwalb.
In a news release, the attorney general’s office said that since the District’s ban went into effect in October 2022, a total of 16 7-Eleven stores near schools sold thousands of electronic smoking devices.
Electronic smoking devices include vaping devices, e-cigarettes and other instruments that generate vapor or aerosol that can be inhaled by the user.
In addition to paying a monetary penalty, the chain must now permanently stop all sales and marketing of the devices at its stores near D.C. schools as part of a settlement. 7-Eleven is also required to train staff and monitor franchise stores to ensure compliance with D.C. law.
“Selling vapes and e-cigarettes near schools is illegal because, particularly for young people, these nicotine products are addictive and unhealthy,” Schwalb said.
According to Schwalb’s office, in August 2022, before the ban went into effect, 7-Eleven notified 16 stores — including 10 stores owned by the chair and six franchises — of the upcoming ban.
“OAG’s investigation revealed that despite this direct notification, all sixteen stores near D.C. middle and high schools continued to sell electronic smoking devices after the ban took effect.”
Now, as part of the agreement, if a franchise store receives four notices of violations within a two-year period, 7-Eleven must terminate its franchise agreement with the store and provide notice of the termination to Office of the Attorney General.
“7-Eleven’s illegal sales threatened to reverse the progress we’ve made reducing tobacco use amongst youth,” Schwalb said. “Protecting the safety of our community is our top priority at the Office of the Attorney General, and that includes enforcing local laws designed to protect the health of our children.”
WTOP is seeking comment from 7-Eleven about the settlement.
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A former Northern Virginia choir director has pleaded guilty to sexual battery for engaging in a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student.
A former Northern Virginia choir director has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of sexual battery against a former 17-year-old student, and has received a 12-month suspended sentence.
Joel Adam Shapiro, 33, was sentenced Sept. 4 in Loudoun County Circuit Court after entering a plea to the misdemeanor. He was initially charged in 2024 with taking indecent liberties with a child while a custodian, which is a felony.
Prosecutors said Shapiro worked from 2014 to 2017 for Clarke County Public Schools, and had sex several times with the student in his Leesburg home in 2017. He later worked as a choir director in Prince William County Schools from 2017 to 2024, which is when he resigned.
According to a Virginia State Police investigator, the young woman contacted authorities in 2023 and provided pictures, text messages and handwritten notes from Shapiro.
After the plea, Loudoun County prosecutors sought a one-year sentence for Shapiro, the maximum sentence for the Class 1 misdemeanor, according to the Loudoun Times Mirror.
However, visiting Judge Robert J. Smith imposed a 12-month suspended sentence, and ordered Shapiro to provide a DNA sample and register as a sex offender.
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Loudoun County, Virginia’s Board of Supervisors is set to approve the use of eminent domain to acquire land to build a new four-way signalized intersection, near the site of the 2017 crash that killed Erin Kaplan.
Loudoun County, Virginia’s Board of Supervisors is set to approve the use of eminent domain to acquire land to build a new four-way signalized intersection, near the site of the 2017 crash that killed Erin Kaplan, and severely injured several members of her family.
Kaplan was killed while driving along winding Evergreen Mills Road outside Leesburg, when an out-of-control, dilapidated food truck ran the stop sign on Watson Road and plowed into her station wagon. The truck was driven by Tony Dane, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and other charges related to failing to care for the bus, which prosecutors called “a ticking time bomb.”
Last year the county began acquiring land to build a new intersection, which would involve rerouting Watson Road several hundred feet up the hill from where it currently meets Evergreen Mills. After realignment, Watson Road and nearby Reservoir Road will intersect with Evergreen Mills.
Lauren Norkin is one of the homeowners who lives near the proposed new intersection, and would lose a portion of her property.
She and her neighbors say the county has ignored their concerns that the new configuration doesn’t address sight stopping distances on the winding, hilly, two-lane Evergreen Mills Road.
In a WTOP interview, Norkin said residents who live on Reservoir Road believe it would remain dangerous even with the new configuration, despite the introduction of a traffic signal at the intersection.
For drivers on Reservoir Road who are sitting at a stop sign, they can’t see cars traveling north, downhill on Evergreen Mills Road who are often going faster than the 35 miles-per-hour speed limit sign, according to Norkin.
“By the time you see that car coming over the crest, we’ve said all along there’s not enough sight stopping distance at Reservoir Road. That’s absolutely the worst possible place that you could manage to put an intersection,” she said.
Traffic signs and signals may not prevent accidents
While the plans call for the intersection to be signalized, Norkin said she doesn’t believe that will prevent crashes.
“Stop lights and stop signs don’t physically reach out and stop people. You have to rely on somebody to stop and obey them,” she said, pointing out that Kaplan was killed when Dane ran the stop sign.
Asked if she was opposed to the new configuration because she would have to lose some of her property, Norkin said her house wouldn’t be affected, but a small portion of her property would be.
“We’ll lose, maybe three quarters of an acre along Evergreen Mills Road — I don’t have any issues with that,” Norkin said. “I think this should be a four-lane road — we knew about that before we bought the property, so how can we complain?”
However, there’s little indication the county plans to widen the road now.
“The four-laning can’t happen until there’s a replacement bridge over Goose Creek — they have to go hand in hand.”
Goose Creek runs a few dozen feet from the point where Watson and Evergreen Mills currently meet. Norkin said she would gladly give up additional land to have a wider, less hilly Evergreen Mills Road.
“I’m like, ‘take more, just keep us all alive,’” she said.
When the matter is brought up Wednesday, the Board of Supervisors staff recommends adopting the resolution approving use of eminent domain to acquire the land.
County spokesman Glen Barbour said it’s unclear whether the Board will go along with staff recommendations, and would likely forward the item to the Oct. 7 business meeting for action.
Here is a map of the intersection in Loudoun County, Virginia:
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Sometimes a short drive can make a person in need of relaxation feel worlds away — Blue Door Kitchen & Inn, in Flint Hill, Virginia provides that opportunity.
The Blue Door Kitchen & Inn in Flint Hill, Virginia.(Neal Augenstein/WTOP)
The Blue Door Kitchen & Inn in Flint Hill, Virginia.(Neal Augenstein/WTOP)
This story is part of WTOP’s Small Business September coverage. Each week, WTOP will be highlighting small businesses across the D.C. region, along with financial, government and other organizations that help our small business community thrive.
Sometimes a short drive can make a person in need of relaxation feel worlds away — Blue Door Kitchen & Inn in Flint Hill, Virginia, provides that opportunity.
During a recent WTOP visit, chef and co-owner Andrea Pace, and his wife, Reem Arvid, described what led to their opening the historic inn in Rappahannock County near the Shenandoah Mountains.
Pace and Arvid’s highly acclaimed Villa Mozart, located in the City of Fairfax, closed in November 2017.
As the couple searched for a new location in Northern Virginia, Arvid said a former customer left a voicemail. “They said there’s a place in Flint Hill that has your name written all over it — you must go see it. I tell Andrea, and he’s like ‘Where is Flint Hill?’ I looked on my phone, and I’m like, ‘It’s in the boonies.’”
Since Pace had lifelong dreams of opening an inn in Vermont or Colorado, the couple decided to visit the property. They stayed a night, and spent the next day driving around.
“Of course we saw Inn at Little Washington, and were like, yeah, we’ve been here before,” said Pace. “Then we went to Sperryville, to the breweries and wineries.”
While the building itself needed a bit of upgrading, the natural beauty in rural Rappahannock County, and the secluded estate offered an opportunity Pace and Arvid were hoping for. Blue Door Kitchen & Inn opened in May 2018.
“I love being here,” said Arvid. “The peace, the beauty, it’s so relaxing to be here.”
The inn has four cozy and spacious rooms on the second floor, with views of the estate’s grounds and garden.
“If you’re feeling stressed out and overworked, all you have to do is step aside, take a deep breath, look around, and you’re relaxed,” said Arvid. “The garden is my little haven.”
Blue Door Kitchen uses local ingredients
Fusing Old World Italian cuisine with modern technique and flair, Pace’s menu at Blue Door Kitchen uses fresh and seasonal local ingredients. Signature dishes include rye ravioli with fresh spinach and mountain cheese, and flaky apple strudel.
Arvid’s favorite dish? Tuna tartare. Pace said he doesn’t have a favorite: “Today, I wake up, I feel like what I feel like.”
After seven years, what she once considered “the boonies” is now home to Arvid.
“The community embraced our place and Andrea’s food, and we have wonderful followers and regulars,” said Arvid. “We have people that are here weekly.”
With an intimate dining room, in good weather dinner can be served on the patio. Blue Door Kitchen & Inn is open for dinner from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, and only by reservation.
Arvid said a weekend getaway can be both relaxing and invigorating.
“Driving from Northern Virginia, as soon as you pass Manassas, you just feel the tension go away. There’s no traffic. It starts being beautiful. Then, you come on this winding road that leads you right up here. That’s it — you forget where you came from an hour ago. It’s really a great feeling. “
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