We mentioned it briefly at the end of the day yesterday and it's been reported several other places since then, but we wanted to share some more details on how our good friend Brian Beutler was shot early Wednesday morning in Adams Morgan. Brian, 25, is the Washington Correspondent for the Media Consortium, a network of progressive news organizations like Mother Jones and the American Prospect. He's being described as a "well known liberal blogger"......

There was something of a three-ring freak show over at the National Press Club yesterday, where convicted felon Larry Sinclair appeared at a press conference attended by a group of gawking international reporters. For those of you who don't follow crackpot theories about major national political figures, here's the basic story: Larry Sinclair, a professional weirdo who has been in the past successfully prosecuted for crimes involving lying, like forgery and bad checks, has......

Residents watch the police checkpoint in D.C.'s Trinidad neighborhood on Saturday, June 7, 2008. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) We balked at the initial news that the Metropolitan Police Department planned to throw up barriers and checkpoints in certain D.C. neighborhoods experiencing excessive violent crime. Later, when we learned the details of the first case, the week-long checkpoint that was established in Trinidad, the MPD's plan appeared to be both constitutionally dubious and potentially not......

A Metrobus driver and two other people were shot just before 1 p.m. today in the bus bay area outside the Anacostia Metro station. One of the shooting victims is described as being in critical condition -- NBC4 says he appeared to be about 18 years old and suffered a gunshot wound to the chest. The Metrobus driver sustained a non-life threatening injury due to a bullet grazing his head. The third victim also suffered......

PassiveAggressiveNotes.com spots this scooter in D.C.'s Mt. Pleasant neighborhood all decked out in angry, belittling and sometimes profane messages to a failed thief. Check out the full post for more photos, sent in by a resident who notes the irony of the neighborhood's name when matched with the sentiments expressed in the scooter notes. I can't help but be reminded looking at these photos why I eventually decided not to buy a scooter last......

In the face of so many other D.C. government corruption scandals, you'll be forgiven for having forgotten about former D.C. Department of Human Services employee Charles M. Brown, who was charged in 2006 for his involvement in a conspiracy with another employee to steal public assistance funds in 2004 and 2005. Interim Attorney General Peter Nickles today announced the conviction of Brown on 11 criminal charges, including identity theft, conspiracy, unlawful food stamp usage and......

Can you say Police State? The Examiner has the scoop on a controversial new program announced today that would create so-called "Neighborhood Safety Zones" which would serve to partially seal off certain parts of the city. D.C. Police would set-up checkpoints in targeted areas, demand to see ID and refuse admittance to people who don't live there, work there or have a “legitimate reason” to be there. Wow. Just, wow. Some of the words used......

Update: We've gotten information that Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) will be hosting Friday night potlucks in Potomac Gardens starting on May 30 to discuss issues related to neighborhood safety. He's indicated that he'll ask the police department's top brass to attend, as well as community leaders. As the District continues grappling with a stubborn and constantly shifting crime problem, residents in one Capitol Hill neighborhood are debating a controversial response -- marching on......

Earlier this week the Metropolitan Police Department announced its latest phone number that might help it solve crime: 1-888-919-CRIME is a toll free tip line that will be staffed by detectives around the clock. The new number should not be confused with 311 or 911, however, which are of course already fairly confusing. The MPD says this new number should be used to make anonymous tips to the police about homicides, gangs, guns, or other......

Federal prosecutors announced today that no charges will be filed against the two off-duty D.C. police officers who were involved in the fatal shooting of 14-year-old DeOnté Rawlings on Sept. 17, 2007. Officers James Haskel and Anthony Clay were riding in Haskel's SUV on the night of the killing, looking for a minibike stolen from Haskel's garage in Southeast. The officers, who were off-duty and not in uniform, said they found Rawlings on the bike,......

The local Tampa Bay FOX affiliate, FOX13, is reporting that Deborah Jeane Palfrey, known in the media as the D.C. Madam who was last month convicted of money laundering, using the mail for illegal purposes and racketeering, has been found dead in Tarpon Springs, FL, of an apparent suicide. Police were called to the scene of Palfrey's mother's home, and have confirmed that a body found there was Palfrey. She was 52. Palfrey was set......

ABC7 is reporting that two students were shot this afternoon at the Excel Institute in Northeast. There's not a lot of information yet about what happened, but the good news is that both students' wounds appear to be non-fatal, and the gunman was caught while fleeing the scene near 19th and C Streets NE. After the suspect entered the school and shot the two students, he carjacked a vehicle outside, then attempted to carjack two......

The Georgetown Hoya reported on an armed sexual assault in LXR Hall over the weekend that has the university community up in arms over lax security measures in the dorm. At 3:40 a.m. on Saturday morning, an assailant described as a black male between 17 and 20 years old allegedly attacked a female student, forcing her off a public balcony and into a common room, where he threatened her with a gun and sexually assaulted......

We mentioned it briefly at the end of the day yesterday, but more details are available about the charges against a Georgetown University student accused of committing a hate crime against another student in September, which were dropped by the U.S. Attorney's office due to a lack of evidence. The victim, who today remains unidentified in news reports, said he was followed September 9 by two men who yelled homophobic slurs at him; one of......

If the D.C. Madam is convicted and no one cares, does she make a sound? Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called D.C. Madam who got every Washington watcher all hot and bothered last year over her impending trial and purported client list, and then proceeded to bore everyone to tears with how mundane the scandal turned out to be, was found guilty today on charges of racketeering, mail fraud and money laundering. Not that you probably......

The D.C.-based libertarian blogosphere is up in arms today over the Saturday night arrest of D.C. resident Brooke Oberwetter at the Jefferson Memorial. The story goes like this: a group of about 20 nerdy libertarian wonk types gathered at midnight on Saturday for a sort of flash mob at the memorial to celebrate the birthday of their favorite founding father. They gathered at the memorial, each with an iPod, to dance together while wearing......

The U.S. Park Police has released sketches of two suspects sought for the Feb. 8 sexual assault of a 28 year-old woman. Park police say the two men picked up the woman at about 4:30 a.m. on Feb. 8 near the intersection of East Capitol Street and Benning Road NE. The men took her to a park in the 100 block of Anacostia Ave. and sexually assaulted her. One suspect is described as a black......

The Post is reporting that an off-duty Metropolitan Police officer shot a man who was attempting to rob him at a gas station in Northeast early this morning. A police spokesperson told the paper the shooting took place at around 12:30 a.m. at 905 Brentwood Rd. NE, though it seems like the gas station in question actually has to be the Lowest Price Gas Station at 925 Brentwood Rd. NE, as no gas station appears......

In today's sad reminder that terrible people are out there walking among us, there is news today that an Alexandria charity, ALIVE (Alexandrians InVolved Ecumenically), has been the victim of a warehouse burglary, in which thieves made off with more than 1,000 pounds of food intended for the needy. ALIVE, which according to their website, "serves over 12,000 Alexandrians annually," works with community volunteers to provide Alexandria's less fortunate with a full spectrum of services,......

A reader brought to our attention this story from The Hilltop, Howard University's student newspaper, covering an apparent drive-by shooting in one of the campus parking lots last week. According to the article: At exactly 2 a.m. Wednesday morning in the West Towers parking lot, a drive by shooting occurred. Four gun shots, the sound of tires screeching and yelled explicits woke some students up abruptly. "All I heard was gunshots, so I walked to......

A user on the Washington, D.C. page of the USASexGuide's massage parlor online discussion forum was kind enough to link to a post of ours earlier this week, at which point we were alerted to the web site's existence. And boy oh boy, does it contain mounds of helpful/hilarious information about which Asian massage parlors in the District offer the best "full service" technicians. In other words, this is a chat room for men to......

Walter Dellinger has argued before the Supreme Court on many occasions. In fact, according to a Post profile of the lawyer and academic, he's been in front of the nine justices often this year -- three times in the last four weeks. And while yesterday's argument may have been one of the most historic, it probably wasn't the most fun. Dellinger, who argued for the District in yesterday's ground-breaking case on the Second Amendment, didn't......

A little more than a year separates when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District Circuit first called the District's gun laws unconstitutional, and the final test those laws will face today before the U.S. Supreme Court. And in a matter of hours, the case will have been heard, the audio of the proceedings will be released, and months of conjecture will fill the space until the justices actually issue a final ruling. At......

There's been a lot of news and even more speculation about how dangerous the blocks surrounding the new Target, across the street from the Columbia Heights Metro, have become since the store opened last week. We posted about a series of muggings that occurred in the general vicinity, especially at the Metro entrance, within days of the grand opening. Good news: WTOP has since reported that a 16 year-old has been arrested in connection with......

We're as excited about the convenience of the new Columbia Heights Target as anyone, but we've also been interested to read some of the blowback to Washington Post reporter Paul Schwartzman's gushing piece from Tuesday about the shiny new DCUSA retail development and how it's leading to a renaissance in the neighborhood. The Washington City Paper sees Schwartzman as wearing rose-colored glasses and painting every new project he comes across as another "renaissance" for a......

Last week Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham announced he had secured $1 million to subsidize the hiring of off-duty MPD officers outside District bars and clubs. Businesses that sell alcohol are not allowed to directly hire off-duty officers, and must hire them through the police department at a rate of approximately $56 an hour. The new subsidy means the ABC Board can now provide up to a 50 percent discount on the price of......

Two men robbed the Maggie Moo's ice cream parlor on U Street at gunpoint yesterday -- and they did it at 12:15 p.m., right in the middle of the day. DCist's Lynne Venart snapped the photo above of some of the aftermath of the crime scene. According to WJLA, the armed suspects wore masks and physically attacked a 23-year-old employee of the store when she had trouble opening the safe. The gunmen only made......

Considering online dating? The stigma of online personal ads has certainly waned in recent years, and giving it a shot has worked out really well for many D.C. area residents we know. But a story from NBC4 makes the whole concept sound a lot more harrowing than just being worried someone's picture might make them look 20 pounds lighter than they actually are. Police in Maryland are looking for a man who meets women through......

We mentioned it earlier today, but it's worth discussing further -- the District's crime cameras. According to the Post, a study by D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier released to the D.C. Council argues that the city's 73 crime cameras have helped lower violent crime in the areas where they have been installed: The report, prepared for the D.C. Council by the office of Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier, says violent crime increased about 1 percent......

Mayor Adrian Fenty announced this morning that Banita Jacks' four murdered daughters have been positively identified through a mix of dental records and DNA analysis. The victims can now be confirmed to be Brittany Jacks, Tatiana Jacks, N’Kiah Fogle and Aja Fogle, all sisters between the ages of 5 and 16. All four decomposed bodies were discovered Jan. 9 in their home on the 4200 block of Sixth Street SE. In a press release earlier......