Archives for posts with tag: crime

FHFA official appears in court for allegedly threatening boss

May 15, 2014 //
0

My last assignment for The Washington Post involved going to the D.C. Superior Court to report on a federal official’s arraignment.

Federal official denies threatening to shoot ex-boss
BY DINA ELBOGHDADY AND ZACH C. COHEN Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report.
The Washington Post
May 15, 2014

A high-ranking federal official who faces a felony charge for allegedly threatening to shoot the former head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency appeared in D.C. Superior Court on Wednesday and, through his lawyer, denied the allegations lodged against him.

Richard Hornsby, 58, allegedly threatened former FHFA acting director Edward J. DeMarco after receiving a review last month for his performance as the agency’s chief operating officer, according to a court document…read more…

Online: “Federal official denies threatening to kill boss or ‘shoot him in the kneecap’”

Tags , , , ,
Categories Clips, Journalism, The Washington Post

‘After truck rams into news station, a stand-off with a man with a golf club’

May 13, 2014 //
0

Here’s an odd news story for you: A guy pretending to be God attacked the ABC affiliate in Baltimore with a stolen truck. And then ABC2 started reporting on its own newsroom as a crime scene.

So great getting to work with Baltimore crime reporting veteran Peter Hermann on this story.

Truck attack silences TV station
BY PETER HERMANN AND ZACH C. COHEN
peter. hermann@washpost.com zach.cohen@washpost.com Dana Hedgpeth contributed to this report.
The Washington Post
May 14, 2014

A man rammed a stolen landscaping truck into the lobby of a Baltimore television station Tuesday, police said, prompting a standoff that forced the building’s evacuation and knocked the ABC affiliate off the air for hours.

Authorities in Baltimore County eventually entered the building and found the man armed with a golf club and holed up in a second-floor editing room, where he was watching television accounts of the incident…read more…

Online: “Police arrest man suspected of crashing truck into Baltimore news station”

An updated story came the following day with the release of the police report and the charges, along with a little extra reporting.

Crash suspect claims reincarnation
BY PETER HERMANN AND ZACH C. COHEN Dana Hedgpeth contributed to this report.
The Washington Post
May 15 2014

A 28-year-old man charged with ramming a truck into a Baltimore television station Tuesday told police he is the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and King Tutankhamun and wanted to expose what he called the “multiverses” where bad things happen to people and they disappear, according to court documents filed Wednesday.

Police said Vladi­mir Mehul Baptiste roamed through WMAR-TV’s headquarters north of Baltimore — prompting a 41 / 2-hour standoff that knocked the ABC affiliate (Channel 2) off the air until after 5 p.m. — and was finally arrested as he watched newscasts of himself from an editing office while holding a golf club…read more…

Updated story the next day: “Suspect in Baltimore TV station crash said he was reincarnation of Jesus Christ and King Tut”

Tags , ,
Categories Clips, Journalism, The Washington Post

Crime beat on the Saturday shift

May 4, 2014 //
0

I spent Saturday manning the crime beat at The Washington Post.

Here’s what I covered:

“Police arrest Thaddeus Desean Bailey Saturday in fatal stabbing of Hyattsville man”

“Roads near collapsed building have reopened”

“Police seeking suspect in Ferndale Royal Farms convenience store shooting”

One of those stories ended up in Sunday’s print edition.

Man sought in shooting at store
— Zach C. Cohen
The Washington Post Sunday
May 4, 2014

Police are searching for the man they believe shot a 20-year-old man several times at a convenience store in Anne Arundel County, Md., early Saturday morning.

Authorities were called to the Royal Farms store in the 7200 block of Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard at 1:12 a.m. for a reported shooting. There they found a man with multiple gunshot wounds. Police said he had gotten into an altercation with a man, who then shot him before fleeing on foot from the store….read more…

Tags , , , ,
Categories Clips, Journalism, The Washington Post, Uncategorized

‘Great Falls teen party lands mother with charge of contributing to deliquency’

May 1, 2014 //
0

My latest on the crime beat for The Washington Post.

Online: “Great Falls woman charged with hosting party where 15-year-old girl overdosed on alcohol”

Tags ,
Categories Clips, Journalism, The Washington Post, Uncategorized

‘Struggling to piece together chaos at the zoo’

April 23, 2014 //
0

I got to go the Smithsonian’s National Zoo today for work. Here’s an update on Monday’s shooting across the street with eyewitness accounts of that “crazy” day.

But more importantly, I saw no fewer than three pandas.

My latest for The Washington Post, today on B1 and continued on B4 with a tease on A1.

Thanks to Peter Hermann for leading my and Harrison Misiko’s reporting, and to editor Chris Jenkins for deciding to put me on the Metro to report on this story in the first place.

Struggling to piece together chaos at the zoo
BY PETER HERMANN, ZACH C. COHEN AND HARRY MISIKO
The Washington Post
April 23, 2014

Shortly past 5 p.m. Monday, the main entrance to the National Zoo teemed with people enjoying one of the attraction’s busiest days of the year. Tourists and mothers pushing baby carriages jostled for position as other visitors, enjoying the annual family day at the zoo, poured onto Connecticut Avenue.

Just then, a large crowd of men and women arrived at the zoo’s entrance. That came as authorities inside were in the process of expelling about three dozen disruptive youngsters from near the elephant exhibit. All of a sudden, hundreds of people milled about at the zoo’s entrance.

Then, at 5:17, someone pulled a gun and fired several shots. Once again — just like in 2000, when seven people were shot, and again in 2011, when a young boy was stabbed — an Easter Monday at the zoo became a day of terror and chaos for out-of-towners and native Washingtonians alike…read more…

Online: “Police search for motive in shooting outside National Zoo“

Tags , , , ,
Categories Clips, Journalism, The Washington Post

‘Grisly tale of ’97 killing ends in shots 6,000 miles away’

February 25, 2014 //
0

I had the privilege of interviewing Juan Pinera, a friend of the late Alfredo “Freddy” Tello, Jr., who was killed in 1997 by Samuel Sheinbein. Sheinbein was killed in an Israeli prison Feb. 23.

This the first A-section story for The Washington Post I have worked on. It begins on A1, and my contributing tag is on A5. It also lived on the homepage of washingtonpost.com above the jump.

It was a pleasure working with Dan Morse, Victoria St. Martin and Maria Glod on this story. Coordinated effort well done by all.

Grisly story ends in shots 6,000 miles away
BY PAUL DUGGAN AND DAN MORSE
The Washington Post
Feb 25 2014

Zach C. Cohen, Ruth Eglash, Victoria St. Martin and Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report.

“A neighbor described the missing youth as a shy and conscientious teenager, the youngest of three children, who was ‘extremely handy with tools.’ ” — The Washington Post, Sept. 23, 1997 Samuel Sheinbein, then 17, a senior at Montgomery County’s John…read more…

You can also find the story online at washingtonpost.com.

UPDATE Feb. 25, 10:34 a.m.: This post was updated with info on the print story as well as mentions of members of the team I worked with.

Tags , , ,
Categories Clips, IFSA-Butler, Journalism, The Washington Post

‘Man dead after stabbing in Fairfax County’

February 21, 2014 //
0

Another tragic story out of Seven Corners, Va. His wife got away safe, but Alvaro Zepeda will be missed by those who knew him.

Thanks to my Spanish, I got to learn a little about Mr. Zepeda. Everybody I talked to described him as a friendly and helpful member of the community.

My latest for The Washington Post. Special thanks to Dana Hedgpeth for doing the first write based on police reports and to Luz Lazo (an American University alumna!) for helping me with the more advanced Spanish.

Fairfax stabbing leaves man dead, woman injured
BY DANA HEDGPETH AND ZACH C. COHEN

Luz Lazo contributed to this report.

The Washington Post
Feb 21 2014

A Fairfax County man was stabbed and killed and woman was wounded Thursday morning at an apartment complex in Seven Corners, county authorities said. Police responded to a report of a stabbing at a low-rise brick apartment building on John Marshall…read more…

Read the story online at washingtonpost.com.

This post has been updated with thanks to Dana and Luz.

Tags , , , , ,
Categories Clips, Journalism, The Washington Post

‘Slain Tech student was from N.Va’

February 12, 2014 //
0

A tragic story out of Virginia Tech, with questions left unanswered. My latest for The Washington Post, on B2 with an A1 tease in today’s paper.

My condolences to Sam’s friends and family. Everybody I spoke to said she was a sweet, caring, intelligent woman. Thanks to the legendary Martin Weil for helping me on my first Post crime story.

Slain Tech student was from N.Va.
BY ZACH C. COHEN AND MARTIN WEIL zach.cohen@washpost.com martin.weil@washpost.com
The Washington Post
Feb 12 2014

A 21-year-old Virginia Tech student from Northern Virginia was found slain Monday in the Blacksburg area, where the university is located, authorities said. The student was identified as Samanata Shrestha, who grew up in Vienna and attended James Madison High…read more…

Tags , ,
Categories Clips, Journalism, The Washington Post