Alexandria Gazette Packet 25 Cents Vol. CCXXV, No. 25 Serving Alexandria for over 200 years • A Connection Newspaper June 25, 2009 Parker Gray Murders Relieving A March 9, 2005 in the 700 block of North Fayette Street: Eric Jones, 25, was sentenced to 13 years for murdering Corey Hargrow, 21. The two men, both Alexandria natives, had been friends since childhood. Prosecutors did not E present a motive for the murder, which happened in the Andrew Adkins pub- lic-housing complex. MONTGOMERY ST Van Dorn C B ST B Dec. 7, 2005 in the 400 block of North Patrick Street: David Murphy, 37, R A was gunned down in front of his house while working on his truck. Police have D D T O S C K yet to arrest anyone in this case. D ON R D T C Dec. 27, 2005 in the 800 block of Montgomery Street: Sebastian Carter, Y Station 22, was sentenced to 43 years for the murder of Lawrence Sims, 22. Court R N A HING E records show that the two men had an ongoing dispute, culminating in a heated S H T A dispute that ended with Carter shooting Sims several times at the edge of the S City, Metrorail James Bland public-housing complex. N TE ST K D April 19, 2007 in the 800 block of North Patrick Street: Darrell Watson, H NW T representatives C E 19, was sentenced to two life sentences for the murder of Nathan Travis Lee, 31, I R AY ST PENDLETON S and Mark Anthony Collins, 28. Watson, who was a resident of a public-housing T E meet with A NF unit in Chatham Square, shot the two men after a dispute over a game of dice. N T P Y 1 E July 19, 2007 in the 900 block of North Henry Street: Gerald Dwayne A P commuters. N SST Curtis, 42, was sentenced to three years for the voluntary manslaughter of N Ricardo Lloyd Cherry, 29. After a day of fighting with each other at the G PRI NCESS ST MBU Carpenter’s Shelter, where they were both staying, Curtis stabbed Cherry. U ST By Tommy Hill F Sept. 22, 2007 in the 400 block of North Columbus Street: No arrests. N B A COL N F Gazette Packet A G Jan. 18, 2009 at the intersection of Buchanan Street and Princess Street: N H C Akeem Chappell, 16, Jamal Berry, 20, and Joshua Moore, 18, have been charged U with the murder of a 50-year-old taxicab driver named Khalil Siddiqi. B he parking lot at the Van H June 18, 2009 in the 600 North Payne Street: A 45-year-old Pennsylva- Dorn Street Metrorail Sta- nia man who was wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service was found dead of T Graphic by Laurence Foong/Gazette Packet tion was clogged with trauma to the upper body. cars, buses, and shuttles as com- muters poured out of the station exit during rush hour on Friday Neighborhood Struggles with Another Murder afternoon. The congestion has be- come typical at the station. With For many in the Parker Gray, news of homicide was familiar drill. the surge in residential and com- mercial development of the sur- By Michael Lee Pope Sometimes not. found lying in the 600 block of North Payne rounding area in recent years, the Gazette Packet Welcome to Parker Gray. Street suffering from trauma to the upper station’s parking lot and bus bays “It’s a problem,” admitted Melissa Luby, body. Police officials refused to disclose the cannot accommodate the volume t’s a routine residents of the Parker who has lived in the neighborhood since cause of death, although they identified the of vehicles transporting commut- Gray neighborhood have come to 1986. “Maybe we need more police cover- victim on Monday as Michael James Horton. ers to the station. Iknow too well. First, there’s a squad age. It doesn’t seem to me that the commu- “We’re asking for the public’s help to find One major strain on the park- ron of cruisers with flashing strobe nity police here are as visible as they used to out what he was doing in the area,” said ing lot has been the many private lights. Then the yellow police tape goes up. be.” Ashley Hilderbrant, who declined to explain shuttle buses that use the lot to Eventually a press release from city officials Whatever the reason, Parker Gray has be- the circumstances of his death. “Any infor- pick up and drop off Metrorail rid- asking residents if they know any details of come location of more murders than any mation would be helpful to our detectives.” ers. Private shuttles, like the ones the crime. After family members have been other part of the city. Since 2005, nine of the Horton was wanted by the United States run by the Manhattan Interna- notified, the victim is publicly identified. 22 murders in Alexandria have taken place Marshals Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task tional Limousine Service, provide Then there’s the wait for results of the au- here. The latest happened last week, when a vital link between this outlying topsy. In most cases, a suspect is arrested. a 45-year-old man from Pennsylvania was See Once Again, Page 4 station on the Blue Line and the many residential centers in the area. “In recent years, we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of people accessing the station One Year In, Sherman Retains Aggressive Agenda through shuttles,” said Jim Maslanka, Division Chief of Tran- history, that this school community year into the job, Sherman’s vision sit for the City of Alexandria. Change in schools: Fast beats slow. came together years ago and did of bringing the school community Steven Taubenkibel, Washington the right thing for kids,” said back together to address a new set Metropolitan Area Transit Author By Mark Giannotto est achievement, the creation and Sherman back in August. “I told Gazette Packet integration of T.C. Williams High the staff that this is like turning See One Year In, Page 22 See Battling, Page 4 School. the page. There’s a wonderful t was the middle of August Sherman turned on the DVD and chapter that precedes it and the 22314 VA Alexandria, To: 1604 King St., King 1604 To: ted and Dr. Morton Sherman was took himself back to another era next chapter that we’re going to Reques Service Address I material. two days from officially be- for Alexandria. He had seen the write together is not ‘Remember ginning his new job as superinten- movie before, but when the begin- the Titans’, but ‘Imagine the Ti- Time-sensitive Postmaster: dent of Alexandria Public Schools. ning credits rolled and the screen tans.’ We’re going to imagine to- Attention With that in mind, he sat down to flashed “Alexandria, Virginia” for gether as a school faculty and as a Permit #482 Permit watch “Remember the Titans,” a the first time, Sherman got emo- community what the next chapter VA Alexandria, PAID symbol of what some say was the tional. of excellence is going to be.” Postage U.S. Alexandria school system’s great- “It was an important part of our Now 10 months and one school STD PRSRT www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Alexandria Gazette Packet ❖ June 25 - July 1, 2009 ❖ 1 2 ❖ Alexandria Gazette Packet ❖ June 25 - July 1, 2009 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com News Council Notebook The Long Goodbye Tuesday’ night’s meeting at City Hall had all the bittersweet pa- thos of a last day of school or a high-school commencement cer- emony. There were speeches and platitudes and promises to stay in touch. Memories were shared and a poem was read into the record. There were even a few tears. In the end, the last meeting of the current City Council offered an opportunity for three out- going members a chance to say goodbye to their seats on the dais. “We have a very collaborative council, and sometimes I guess that looked suspiciously machine-like to some people,” said out- going Councilman Tim Lovain. “But really it was just friends working together.” Each was presented with a resolution encapsulating highlights of their service, creating a rough draft of a legacy for departing council members. Lovain was applauded for his efforts to create a streetcar system in the city and do away with plastic bags. Out- going Councilman Justin Wilson was honored for his attempt to thwart delivery of unwanted copies of newspapers as well as his granular knowledge of budget detail, with the resolution ex- Mayor Bill Euille and members of the plaining he “was known by city staff for being familiar (or want- Frank E. Mann Field Dedicated Alexandria Ace’s management and ing to be familiar through budget memo requests) with every the Alexandria Little League joined with Anita Mann and her children and grand- line item in the proposed budget.” And outgoing Councilman children and friends for a dedication and ribbon cutting of the Frank E. Mann Ludwig Gaines was celebrated for his efforts to save the Burke Baseball Field on June 5. Former Alexandria Mayor Frank E. Mann died in 2007. A Library, his work to create a gang-prevention task force and his memorial plague will be placed at the field. The plaque notes Mann’s service as endeavor to create a poet laureate for the city. mayor and Alexandria council member and Virginia state delegate, many of his “The debt that I owe I suspect I’ll be paying after this meeting is accomplishments during his tenure and his effort to bring a minor league baseball over,” said Gaines.