Neighborhood Safety Zone in Trinidad

MPD Investigates Multiple Violent Crimes, Establishes Second Neighborhood Safety Zone in Trinidad City Administrator Dan Tangherlini and Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier announced today that the Metropolitan Police Department has established the second Neighborhood Safety Zone (NSZ) in the Trinidad Area.

The NSZ have been established as a result of seven people shot in five separate incidents resulting in the death of 13-year-old Alonzo Robinson in the 1500 block of Holbrook Street, NE, in the early morning hours of Saturday July 19, 2008.

“”We had another violent night in the Trinidad neighborhood. Over the course of last night, we had a group of brazen individuals that once again entered the Trinidad neighborhood in a vehicle and repeatedly approached groups of people on the street, robbing and shooting them,” said Chief Lanier.

Detectives assigned to the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide and Sexual Offenses Branch are investigating, and are on the look out for a 2002 gold Dodge Intrepid bearing Maryland paper temporary tags. The car was last seen in the Trinidad area, and is believed to have been used in the multiple violent crimes in the Trinidad area:

At approximately 1:07 am, in the 1200 block of 16th Street, NE, an adult male and a 13-year-old male were victims of a shooting. The adult male was suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the body and the 13-year-old male was suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the leg. Both complainants were admitted to an area local hospital.

At approximately 1:50 am, at the intersection of Trinidad Avenue and Mount Olivet Road, NE, an adult male was suffering from an apparent stab wound to the neck. He was taken to an area local hospital and admitted in critical condition.
At approximately 2:25 am, in the 1400 block of Staples Street, NE, an adult male was suffering from apparent multiple gunshot wounds to the body. He was taken to an area local hospital and admitted in critical condition.

At approximately 2:27 am, in the 1100 block of Holbrook Street, NE, an adult male was suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the leg. He was taken to an area local hospital for treatment.

At approximately 2:30 am, in the 1500 block of Holbrook Street, NE, 13-year-old Alonzo Robinson, of an unknown address, was the victim of homicide. He was transported to an area local hospital and pronounced dead. Two other victims sustained gunshot wounds and were admitted to an area local hospital.
The NSZ will be in effect from 7 pm tonight until 7 pm on July 24, 2008. Checkpoints will be placed at the intersection of Mt. Olivet Road, NE and Bladensburg Road, NE southbound, to the intersection of Florida Avenue, NE, proceeding westward on Florida Avenue, NE to the intersection of Trinidad Avenue, NE and then north on Trinidad Avenue, NE to the intersection of Mt. Olivet Road, NE, then east to Bladensburg Road, NE.

The primary purpose of the NSZ program, with its checkpoints, its brochure, its signage, and its attendant publicity is to discourage persons inclined toward committing acts of violence by using a motor vehicle to enter the Trinidad neighborhood. The goal is to “fence them out.”

Anyone who has information regarding the cases is asked to call police at (202) 727-9099 or 1-888-919-CRIM [E]. Anonymous information can also be sent to the department’s text tip line by text messaging 50-411.

The Metropolitan Police Department is currently offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for this homicide.