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DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
On the edge
GERMANTOWN
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SPATE OF DEADLY STABBINGS RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT MENTAL ILLNESS, TREATMENT AND THE JUSTICE SYSTEM
GAITHERSBURG
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
GAITHERSBURG
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
JANUARY 29 7400 BLOCK OF LAKE KATRINE TERRACE
JANUARY 17 19000 BLOCK OF CHERRY BEND DRIVE
JANUARY 23 9051 SNOUFFER SCHOOL ROAD
Zakieya Avery, 28, and Monifa Sanford, 21, each face two counts of first-degree murder, accused of stabbing to death two of Avery’s children — 2-year-old Avery Sanford Zyana Harris and 1-year-old Norell N. Harris — in an attempted “exorcism.”
Shaun D. King, 36, of Bladensburg faces one count of first-degree murder, accused of fatally slashing and stabbing Abdul Ghaffar, 63, of Gaithersburg 75 times at the 7-Eleven store where he worked. Prosecutors believe King suffers from schizophrenia and asked that he be King evaluated to determine if he is competent to stand trial.
Police say Christopher Stirkens, 25, stabbed his mother, Denise Stirkens, 53, to death at their Gaithersburg home. In an effort to save her, his father, James Stirkens, an off-duty police officer, shot and killed their son.
Stirkens
POLICE CALLS RELATING TO MENTAL ILLNESS
BY
ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH
A
STAFF WRITER
mid a spate of unusual and violent killings in Montgomery County last month, authorities are investigating what they say is a common thread: mental illness. • In Germantown, two women were accused of stabbing two young children to death in an attempted exorcism. • In Gaithersburg, police said, a man stabbed a 7-Eleven clerk to death less than a week later.
• Police said an off-duty sergeant shot his adult son to death as the son was stabbing his mother to death. The two women and the 7-Eleven defendant were transferred to a psychiatric hospital in Jessup for mental evaluation and treatment. The slayings prompted Montgomery County State’s Attorney John J. McCarthy to highlight local law enforcement’s role in dealing with and caring for the mentally ill. He talked about the lack of funding for treatment and the need for more resources and funding. “The larger issue for us in the community is: How do we deal with people who
have persistent mental health issues and intersect with the criminal justice system?” McCarthy said in a press conference last month. He said it’s an “open secret” that jails are one of the largest providers of mental health care and treatment nationwide. Statistics show a growing problem. According to data from the county prosecutor’s office, the number of “intakes” — people who were arrested — at the Montgomery County correctional facilities decreased from 9,256 in 2010 to 7,879 in 2013.
Suicides include both attempted and successful suicides. 6,000
2010
2011
2012
2013
4,323 4,440 4,697 5,256 5,000
4,000
SUICIDES:
See MENTAL, Page A-10
264
240
121
176
SOURCE: MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
Olney speed cameras are top Gap lets school sex abusers walk revenue generators in county n
More area locations to be discussed this spring n
BY
BY KATE S. ALEXANDER AND LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITERS
TERRI HOGAN STAFF WRITER
Speed cameras in Olney generated 206 tickets a day on average in 2013 for a total of $3 million in fines, up from $2.6 million last year, according to recently released data. The 2013 data from the
See CAMERAS, Page A-9
House, Senate bills differ on loophole; supporters consider compromise
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Cars whiz past a speed camera on Md. 108 across from St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Olney on Monday night.
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RECYCLE
Two groups of Maryland legislators want to close a statutory loophole regarding which adults can and should be punished for engaging in sexual conduct with a student. One bill would apply to adults who work with children in either a school system or a county recreation program. A second bill adds to that list volunteers at schools and employees and volunteers at private recreation facilities. Both bills agree that coaches should be written into the law.
Maryland law criminalizes sexual contact between certain people in a position of authority and a minor in their care, but lawmakers say there is a huge loophole in the law. The law defines individuals in positions of authority to include principals, vice principals, teachers and school counselors. However, the law applies only to individuals who are full-time, permanent employees. It does not apply to part-time employees and coaches, substitute teachers or volunteers. Lawmakers in both chambers point to the 2012 case of a Montgomery County middle school teacher, Scott D. Spear, as a reason to change the law. At age 47, Spear was accused of having sex with a 16-year-old former student. The student was, at the time of the alleged offense, on the
See ABUSERS, Page A-9
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