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HE’S A MAGIC MAN Illusionist returns to BlackRock with entertaining bag of tricks. B-5
The Gazette SILVER SPRING | TAKOMA PARK | BURTONSVILLE
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
25 cents
Longtime friend charged in man’s death Haunted n
Police say stabbing followed night of drinking
BY
ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH STAFF WRITER
A birthday party over the weekend ended in tragedy after Montgomery County Police arrested a McLean, Va., man and charged him with killing his longtime friend. Police said Rahul Gupta, 24, killed Mark Edward Waugh, 23, of Great Falls, Va., in Silver Spring early Sunday morning, after a night of drinking with Waugh and other friends. The two met years before, when they had attended Langley High School.
Waugh had recently entered Georgetown University’s law school. Gupta was pursuing a master’s in biomedical engineering at the George Washington University. According to documents made public Tuesday, Gupta, his girlfriend, Waugh and another man had gone out drinking Saturday night to celebrate Gupta’s birthday. The girlfriend was identified in court records as Taylor Gould. Gupta, Gould and Waugh returned early Sunday morning to a Silver Spring apartment that Gupta and Gould shared. There, they continued drinking. Police received a call for help shortly before 3:30 a.m. When they arrived at the apartment, they heard yelling inside, according to Gupta’s charging documents. The documents tell a grisly tale: Of-
ficers entered the apartment and saw Gould running toward them, telling them, “I don’t know what happened. Can you tell me?” Blood was found on the walls of the home’s living room and kitchen, and on Gupta, whom police found lying on the floor. The blood was from Waugh, whom police found lying near Gupta. Waugh had been stabbed more than a half a dozen times. Fire and Rescue personnel pronounced him dead on the scene. In Montgomery County District Court on Tuesday, Assistant State’s Attorney Steve Chaikin told Judge William
Waugh
See DEATH, Page A-13
Gupta
Garden rises again n
Court allows Halloween display, limits days BY
ALINE BARROS STAFF WRITER
A Montgomery County judge ruled Tuesday that the Haunted Garden in Silver Spring will only be open to the public for two days, putting an end to a battle between the county and the homeowner behind the Halloween display. Donna Kerr may only invite the public to come to the outdoor display located at 9215 Worth Ave. from 6 to 10 p.m. on Oct. 25 and Oct. 26, according to the court ruling. “I certainly understand people’s frustrations. ... I understand the county’s concern with safety issues,” said Judge Patricia Mitchell. County officials had shut down the display with a temporary restraining order issued Oct. 4, saying the display violated the county’s residential zoning code and caused a public safety hazard. Nineteen of Kerr’s neighbors who signed a petition asking the county to shut down the display argued their narrow roads in their Seven Oaks Evanswood community can’t handle the thousands of visitors Kerr expects to come view her free display.
In the books
See HAUNTED, Page A-12
On Eid holiday, a celebration amid a campaign n
Some students, others stay home for festivities BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
pend heavily on government workers and federal contracts are more focused on the immediate damage caused by the government shutdown, said Gigi Godwin, president and CEO of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce. Godwin said she respects the county bill’s sponsors for trying to help people, but the uncertainty caused by the shutdown makes it a bad time to look at a county measure.
Around the same time they might have headed home after a day at school, some kids talked and played in a large Damascus basement amid a happy confusion of pizza, music and party dresses. Hebatallah Elradi, 15, a Clarksburg High School student, was among the younger participants at the home celebrating the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. “It’s just a good atmosphere,” Hebatallah said amid the buzz of the revelry. “I look forward to these holidays a lot.” Tuesday marked one of two holidays at the center of the Equality for Eid Coalition’s ongoing mission. The coalition is leading a call for Montgomery County Public Schools to close when classes overlap with Muslim holidays. The coalition urged school system staff and students to stay home from school Tuesday and instead celebrate the holiday. Eid al-Adha marks the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The other holiday, Eid al-Fitr, celebrates the end of Ramadan, according to the coalition’s website. Students who miss school on the holidays
See INCREASE, Page A-12
See HOLIDAY, Page A-13
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Located on the corner of Wayne Avenue and Fenton and Bonifant streets in Silver Spring, steel beams and concrete forms rise to form the new Silver Spring Library building. See story, Page A-4.
Businesses differ on minimum wage increase n
Chamber: Many businesses focused for now on effects of shutdown BY
RYAN MARSHALL STAFF WRITER
Proposals to increase the minimum wage at the county or state levels have some Montgomery County businesses worried about the effect the bill would have on their bottom line, while
others support a raise in the wage. County Councilman Mark Elrich (D-At large) of Takoma Park has proposed a bill that would raise the county’s minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $11.50 an hour over three years. Similar bills have been proposed in Prince George’s County and Washington, D.C. A bill also is expected in the Maryland General Assembly during the 2014 session to raise the state’s minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Many businesses in Montgomery that de-
NEWS
SPORTS
Superintendent says New Hampshire Estates and Oak View elementary schools should stay paired.
Bullis running back has the right moves on the field, but not so much on the dance floor.
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