Killer cop loses appeal
Former Prince George’s County police officer Keith Washington will remain behind bars after an appeals court upheld his conviction in the shooting death of a furniture delivery man. Washington was sent to prison in the January 2007 shooting death of Brandon Clark and the wounding of Clark’s co-worker, Robert White. In his appeal, Washington claimed he should have been allowed to introduce evidence of White’s prior 11 convictions. Washington had claimed he was attacked by the delivery men first and said White’s record would have buttressed those claims.
Fire displaces 75 in District
A small electrical fire left about 75 people homeless early Monday morning. The fire started in the basement of a three-story building in the 1500 block of Newton Street NW. An arc in an underground power line causes a surge that blew off an electric meter in the basement, investigators said. No one was hurt.
Grass clippings killer gets 61 years
A dispute over grass clippings that spun out of control has led to a 61-year sentence for murder. Lankward Harrington, 25, of the District, admitted on the stand that he shot and killed landscaper Jose Villatoro in 2006 after Harrington was flecked with clippings as he passed by. D.C. Superior Court Judge Geoffrey Alprin sentenced Harrington to prison for 61 years. It was Alprin’s second trial; a previous trial ended in a hung jury.
Harrisonburg duo charged with setting off explosive
Virginia authorities have charged two Harrisonburg men with setting off an explosive near James Madison University. Andrew Lavedan, 25, and Joshua Tripp, 21, are accused of detonating the small device Thursday on railroad tracks in Norfolk Southern Corp.’s Harrisonburg rail yard. The explosion caused minor damage but no one was hurt.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Compiled by Bill Myers
