Metro Briefs

DISTRICT

Ballou to march in Macy’s parade

The marching band at Ballou Senior High School in Southeast will march down Broadway in next year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving parade in New York City.

The Ballou “Majestic” Marching Knights are one of 11 bands from around the nation invited to perform in the nationally televised parade on Nov. 26, 2009.

Parade officials say it’s the first time a marching band from the District’s public schools has been selected for the parade since at least the 1960s.

Parade officials traveled to the school yesterday to surprise the band with the invitation. They were joined by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee.

Ballou’s band was cited for its superior musical and marching abilities.

VIRGINIA

WOODBRIDGE

Three men charged in fatal shooting

Prince William County police have charged three men in the fatal shooting of the manager of a Popeyes restaurant in Woodbridge during a robbery attempt three months ago.

Police said that on Jan. 22 two men, one armed with a knife and the other with a gun, demanded that the manager of the Popeyes on Smoketown Road open the restaurant’s safe. When the manager could not comply, police said the gunman shot him and the two drove away.

The manager, Keith Jamar Truesdale, 23, died at Potomac Hospital.

Thursday night, police received a tip that led them to the suspects, Daniel Lipscomb, 26, of Woodbridge; Andre Williams, 21, of Dale City; and James William Carolina, 19, of Woodbridge. Each has been charged with murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and attempted robbery and are being held without bond.

MARYLAND

LINTHICUM

Fare jumper arrested for robbery

A North Carolina bank robbery suspect was in custody yesterday after he was caught taking a free ride on Baltimore’s light rail.

The Maryland Transit Administration said Isaac Ray Dunn, 58, did not have a ticket when an MTA police officer asked passengers to show their tickets on Thursday afternoon at the North Linthicum stop south of the city. A ticket for the train costs $1.60.

After arresting Mr. Dunn, police found that he was wanted as a suspect in a bank robbery in Charlotte, N.C.

Police turned Mr. Dunn over to U.S. Marshals.

BALTIMORE

Man admits to firebombing building

A Baltimore man pleaded guilty Thursday to firebombing a friend’s home before trying to set the man on fire.

Marcus Crandell, 22, told authorities he got into a fight with his childhood friend Ronnie Bundy last June.

After the fight, Mr. Bundy robbed Crandell of his cash, cell phone and shoes at gunpoint before throwing his shoes on a roof out of Crandell’s reach.

A day later, Crandell threw a Molotov cocktail through Mr. Bundy’s window. When Mr. Bundy ran outside, Crandell threw gasoline on him before trying to set him on fire. He didn’t catch fire, and later Crandell and some others broke into Mr. Bundy’s apartment and set fire to it.

Crandell faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison when he is sentenced on May 1.

LEXINGTON PARK

Man shoots ex-wife, kills man with her

The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office said a Lexington Park man was killed and a woman was critically injured Thursday when the woman’s ex-husband shot them outside an apartment building.

It happened around 11:45 p.m. on Liberty Street in Lexington Park.

Officials said Thomas John Saunders, 38, and Melissa Lea Virasith, 40, were flown to Prince George’s Hospital Center, where Mr. Saunders was pronounced dead and Mrs. Virasith was listed in critical condition.

The sheriff’s office said Koummane Virasith, 39, of Lexington Park, was arrested at the scene and charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. He was being held in the St. Mary’s County Detention Center.

HEBRON

Reward offered for suspect in killing

Maryland State Police say a $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of a suspect in a fatal shooting in Hebron.

The suspect, Brandon Curtis, 18, of Salisbury, Md., was still at large yesterday.

Mr. Curtis was charged in a warrant with murder in the fatal shooting of Booker Gelzer, 38. The victim’s body was found Wednesday morning at a home owned by Mr. Curtis’ mother.

Police have recovered the sport utility vehicle they think Mr. Curtis used to speed away from the scene. The SUV was stopped Wednesday evening, and police say the driver provided information to investigators.

From wire dispatches and staff reports