ANC Crime Statements on the Increase?

Following the apparent success of a initiative by Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle, the use of ANC-drafted community impact statements may be on the rise, with the US Attorney's office asking another ANC this week to make statements on three other cases.

Community impact statements are filed by ANCs and detail the effects of a convicted criminal's activity on the community and urge that the criminal receive a stringent sentence.

Dupont smash-and-grab man gets three years with ANC help

A report on the website of ANC2B Commissioner Kishan Putta (district 04) states that Gregory Teal, a man arrested over 40 times for theft from automobiles, has been sentenced to three years in prison. The sentencing occurred after ANC2B filed a community impact statement requesting Teal receive a sentence of 2 - 3 years. Previously, Teal had never received prison sentences of more than 90 days.

Lanier addresses ANC2F October 2

Putta reports he received thanks from DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier.

"This is a prime example how well we do when we work as a team," Lanier wrote.

Assistant Chief of Police Cathy Diane Groomes wrote to credit the ANC's statement for the unusually long sentence.

"[W]e are so happy that community came out to support this effort … truly it resulted in the sentence issued," Groomes wrote in an email.

See the October 21 SALM blog post for more on the Teal case and the ANC statement.

Logan Circle ANC asked to weigh in on three cases

At its regular monthly meeting November 6, ANC 2F/Logan Circle voted unanimously to file community impact statements in three separate cases of local crime. The statements were requested by Roger Kemp, a community prosector at the US Attorney's office. Kemp sat through a long meeting about other matters before he had the opportunity to request the ANC's assistance.

The first case Kemp mentioned is that of Jahlani Brown, 21, who pled guilty to first-degree sexual abuse on October 25. The incident took place at the Lincoln Westmoreland Apartments (1730 7th Street NW), just north of the Shaw metro station.

According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice:

According to the government’s evidence, on Sept. 17, 2013, at about 9 a.m., the victim reported to her office in the Shaw area of Northwest Washington and began preparing for her workday.  Brown, who was captured on video surveillance, entered the office and locked the door. He sexually assaulted, threatened, and robbed the victim before leaving the office.

Following the attack, the police released screenshots of Brown from the video surveillance footage. He was arrested two days later and was not released.

Brown will be sentenced on January 10, 2014, and will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

The second case involves Carlito Bailey and Rickey Watkins, both 22, who were convicted on October 11 of aggravated assault, assault with a dangerous weapon, and related firearms offenses, after a jury trial in D.C. Superior Court.
From a U.S. Department of Justice press release:

Johnson Avenue and R Street (photo credit below)

According to the government’s evidence, on the night of May 5, 2012, Bailey, Watkins, and a third unidentified shooter traveled to Northwest Washington armed with firearms.  The three men approached the intersection of Johnson Avenue and R Street NW, where they opened fire, shooting at least ten bullets into a block crowded with adults and children gathered to celebrate a birthday party.  One of the adults was shot several times in the legs. After firing the shots, the men fled on Johnson Avenue.

Bailey and Watkins were apprehended approximately 24 minutes after the shooting in a car with two firearms. One of the firearms was a ballistics match to six shell casings and a bullet from the crime scene, and a swab from the slide of that weapon yielded DNA that matched the DNA profile of Bailey.  Cell site data placed Watkins at the scene of the shooting.

Read another report about the incident here.

Bailey and Watkins are scheduled to be sentenced on December 10, 2013, by D.C. Superior Court Judge Robert I. Ritcher.

The third case is that of Gregory A. Cole. ANC2F Commissioner Peter Lallas (district 01) said at the meeting he had specificially requested this case be put on the agenda. Lallas described Cole as a crack dealer who operated on 14th Street, especially around R Street. This area is in Lallas's ANC district.

ANC2F's Crime and Public Safety Committee will draft the statements.

The full ANC is next scheduled to meet on December 4, 7pm, at the Washington Plaza Hotel (10 Thomas Circle).

There is a good explanation of community impact statements about half-way down this page from the US Attorney's Office.

(Photo credit: Borderstan, used by permission)