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Forensic experts weigh in on DC crime lab's next steps 01/12/2022 04:55am • Following the release last month of a sweeping report into failures at the D.C. crime lab, District officials are moving forward with a plan that could see the lab’s DNA and chemistry units cleared to conduct forensic work again by the spring. Now, a team of forensic experts advising federal pr Maryland General Assembly set to convene in another session shaped by COVID 01/11/2022 10:50am • This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today. The Maryland General Assembly gavels in for its regular 90-day session Wednesday, the third that will be shaped dramatically — procedur 'Not taking any chances': US Capitol Police chief talks security ahead of Jan. 6 anniversary 01/03/2022 05:50am • When asked about how he approaches his job, U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said, "I'm not taking any chances." He's in charge of protecting the building where members of Congress work and where tourists from all over the world gather. Now, nearly a year after the U.S. Capitol was breached b Capitol rioters' tears, remorse don't spare them from jail 01/02/2022 12:17am • WASHINGTON (AP) — Florida business owner Robert Palmer cheered on the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 before he joined the fray. Screaming obscenities, he hurled a wooden plank and a fire extinguisher at police officers trying to ward off the mob. Nearly a year later, Palmer fought back Looking ahead at big stories to watch in 2022 01/01/2022 04:53am • Goodbye 2021, hello 2022. Whether the new year will be better or worse is anyone's guess, but here are some of the big stories to keep an eye on. People line up to get tested for Covid-19 at a testing site in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 29, 2021. — The U.S. has hit its highest-ever average of ne Virginia woman sentenced to 10 years in prison for $1.5M fraud plot 12/18/2021 10:35am • ABINGDON, Va. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a Virginia woman who plotted to defraud the government out of more than $1.5 million in pandemic-related unemployment benefits has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay restitution. A Justice Department news release says 31-year-old 'Shopping Cart Killer' identified in 4 Virginia deaths 12/17/2021 02:13pm • Police on Friday identified a suspected serial killer in the deaths of at least four people whose remains have been found in Fairfax County and Harrisonburg, Virginia. Anthony Robinson, 35, has been in custody at the Rockingham County Jail, more than 100 miles from Fairfax, since late November, pol Prince William Co. Public Schools proposal: Minor crimes to be handled by principals, not police 12/17/2021 08:07am • School principals, rather than school resource officers, would handle minor crimes in middle and high schools, under a revised student resource officer agreement between Virginia's Prince William County Public Schools and the county police department. The school system is soliciting public commen Sweeping report urges DC to review every case handled by firearms, fingerprint units at troubled crime lab 12/14/2021 02:25pm • D.C. is poised to review every case conducted by the Department of Forensic Sciences' firearms and fingerprint units since the inception of the independent crime lab nearly 10 years ago, following the recommendations of a sweeping new report into the operations of the troubled agency released Mo Montgomery Co. Council to introduce bill for police accountability 12/13/2021 06:14pm • The Montgomery County Council will be introducing a bill Tuesday to create a police accountability board. The move comes amid increased crime across the county, including a spike in violence in Silver Spring, Maryland. Montgomery County Council President Gabe Albornoz said the statistics on crime DC police dept. uses DOJ funding to hire 25 officers 12/12/2021 11:04pm • A multimillion-dollar investment from the Department of Justice will be used by D.C. police to hire 25 additional officers. According to the Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser, the $3,125,000 funding D.C. police received through the DOJ's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) hiring pr Arlington prosecutor widens justice reform program with help from federal grant 12/11/2021 12:18pm • The top prosecutor in Arlington County, Virginia, will use a $340,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to expand a justice reform program, with the goal of finding alternative ways to ensure justice outside the criminal justice system. In a statement, Commonwealth's Attorney for Arlingto Capitol rioters' social media posts influencing sentencings 12/11/2021 09:07am • For many rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, self-incriminating messages, photos and videos that they broadcast on social media before, during and after the insurrection are influencing even their criminal sentences. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Amy Jackson read aloud some Maryland state lawmakers to prioritize juvenile justice legislation in 2022 12/11/2021 08:02am • This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today. Advocates and two state lawmakers announced Thursday that they plan to prioritize bills during the 2022 legislative session that would bar p Arrest made in deadly shooting of Virginia State University student from Alexandria 12/11/2021 07:33am • A Virginia State University student turned himself in to law enforcement Friday night following a Dec. 5 shooting that killed Daniel Wharton, a fellow VSU student from Alexandria. The suspect is Isaac Amissah, 21, also of northern Virginia. Wharton, 19, was a sophomore at VSU studying computer