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The three officers who returned fire after a  heavily armed gunman began shooting  last week outside the Pentagon said Monday that they were simply doing their jobs and reacted automatically. "There was a lot of chaos. Fortunately for us, our training kicked in," said Officer Marvin L. Carraway, 44, who was shot in the thigh during the incident. "Once the shooter went down, we approached.... The shooter didn't move, and basically that was it." Carraway and Officers Jeffrey Amos and Colin Richards, who are part of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, appeared on CNN Monday. All three returned fire after alleged gunman, John Patrick Bedell, began shooting. Amos said he was stationed at the exit of the Metro rail station just outside the Pentagon entrance when he heard the telltale pop-pop-pop sound of gunfire and ran to help. As soon as Bedell was down, Amos said he returned to his post near the exit to make sure that no one was trying to ambush the site from th...

Oxon Hill resident faces 30 years in jail for Suitland theft by Andrea Noble | Staff Writer Gazette.Net An Oxon Hill man convicted last week of armed carjacking insisted to the jury in his trial that he didn't steal the victim's car — he was borrowing it to buy marijuana. After less than an hour of deliberation Feb. 16, the Prince George's County jury found Lowell Braswell, 46, guilty of nine counts including armed carjacking, robbery with a deadly weapon, first- and second-degree assault and auto theft, county prosecutors announced Feb. 18. He faces up to 30 years in prison. According to prosecutors, on Oct. 23, 2008, Braswell approached Oakley Hopkins, 66, while Hopkins was unloading his car at the Parklane Bowling Alley in Suitland. Braswell pulled a handgun, demanded Hopkins' car and drove away. Hopkins was not injured in the incident. Police stopped Braswell less than 10 minutes later in Hopkins' car and brought the Temple Hills resident to the ...

Resident came home during break-in Feb. 18, police said by Andrea Noble | Staff Writer Gazette.Net Prince George's County police have arrested and charged four individuals, including three juveniles, with a series of home burglaries that span back three months in a Lanham neighborhood. Three Washington, D.C., juveniles under the age of 16 and one 18-year-old who lived in the Seabrook neighborhood where the burglaries were being committed have been charged with first-, third- and fourth-degree burglary in at least seven break-ins, police said Monday. The juveniles, who were not named because they are under the age of 18, and Marvis Patrick Harris, 18, of the 9400 block of Washington Boulevard in Lanham were arrested last week after a homeowner in the latest burglary came home in the middle of the break-in and surprised the group, police said. Police were responding to a residential alarm that went off in the 6000 block of Emack Avenue in Lanham on Feb. 18. When they a...

With children having more than a week off from school due to over 24 inches of snow hitting the Maryland area, it's now time to clean the sidewalks, not just the streets. Tax-paying citizens are going to work, supporting their families, paying bills, along with shoveling their driveways to achieve their fiscal responsibilities. It would really be nice for the county inmates to get out of county jail for a few days and shovel the sidewalks so our children can make it to school safely and receive an education. Taxpayers funded the county jail with a total of $70,598,400 in fiscal 2008, according to the Prince George's County, Maryland Department of Corrections Statistical Overview. I think it's about time the county inmates pay their dues to society after breaking laws in our county and get out there and shovel those sidewalks. It's the least they can do since taxpayers are obligated to support them. Janet Bello, Capitol Heights Gazette.Net

Additional cuts considered after enrollment errors were caught, school official says by Megan McKeever | Staff Writer Gazzette.Net Prince George's County school officials are proposing to lay off more than 329 employees — including 192 teachers — next school year to adjust to a $39.6 million budget cut. Officials had previously anticipated a $42.6 million reduction next fiscal year but recently revealed enrollment errors are expected to hinder the budget even more. The latest estimates would bring the budget to $1.63 billion, which is $82.2 million less than the current fiscal budget of $1.71 billion. School system Chief Financial Officer Matt Stanski said Feb. 18 that the state overestimated the number of students expected in county schools next school year by 390, so state funding will be less than initially expected. The school system receives state funding on a per-pupil basis. In addition to the teachers, 90 bus drivers, 10 instructional coaches, and 37 positio...

Thursday, February 18, 2010 ASSOCIATED PRESS The chairman of the D.C. Council on Tuesday said the body could censure former mayor Marion Barry over a report accusing him of violating conflict-of-interest laws. Mr. Barry, a Democrat who represents Ward 8 on the council, is accused of benefiting from a $15,000 city contract that he obtained for a former girlfriend in 2008 and using earmarks to benefit friends and supporters. He has until Tuesday to respond officially to the report by lawyer Robert S. Bennett and a team of investigators. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray said the council could consider a possible censure resolution on March 2. It would be up to the council to determine punishments, such as stripping Mr. Barry of his chairmanship of the Committee on Housing and Workforce Development.