Happy New Year, D.C.! Here are the stories we’re following while nursing our first hangovers of 2010:
Gilbert Arenas, Javaris Crittenton Reported to Have Drawn Guns on Each Other
The New York Post is reporting that Wizards star Gilbert Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton got into an argument in the team’s locker room on Christmas Eve that ended in the two men drawing guns on each other. The fight, which was reportedly over a gambling debt, was revealed in the course of an NBA/MPD investigation into Agent Zero’s alleged habit of bringing guns inside the Verizon Center. We know Chinatown has its share of crime, but this has to be absolute dumbest thing we’ve ever heard about the flamboyant Arenas. The guy is a multi-millionaire who lives on the mean streets of … Great Falls. Why on earth does he need to be packing? And perhaps more importantly, if Gil gets convicted of felony gun possession, can the team get out of his crappy contract?
Shots Fired at Southeast D.C. Church
News Channel 8 reports on the gunfire that interrupted New Year’s Eve services at New Life Praise Temple in Southeast D.C. About 40 people were inside the church at the time, but no injuries have been reported.
Official D.C. Homicide Total for 2009: 140
Now that it’s the new year, reporters can start to pick apart the final crime tallies for 2009. The Post’s Allison Klein is first out of the gate with a look at the total number of murders last year, which ended up being 140, the lowest number the city has seen in 45 years. Klein also notes that New York, Philadelphia and Chicago all also saw big decreases in homicides in 2009, but that “there is no consensus among police officials about why crime went down in 2009, but theories include more focused enforcement, better use of technology and stepped-up intelligence gathering.”
Briefly Noted: Teen found shot to death in an alley off Hawaii Avenue NE … Family displaced by house fire in the 800 block of Somerset Place NW; also, D.C. saw 19 fire-related deaths in 2009, compared with just seven in 2008 … Md. furloughs prevent New Year’s wedding ceremonies … First baby born in 2010 in the metro area was at 12:03 a.m. at Inova Alexandria hospital.
