Bel Pre-area bank robbery suspect charged

Montgomery County police have arrested and charged a suspect in the August 7 robbery of the Sandy Spring Bank at 14241 Layhill Road. Jhasir Marquis Devaux, 22, of "an unconfirmed address" was located in Berks County, Pennsylvania, detectives say. He was taken into custody there, and is awaiting extradition to Montgomery County, Maryland.

Detectives believe Devaux robbed the same bank once before, in April 2016. He has been charged with one count of robbery in the August 7 incident. No mug shot has been publicly released as of this morning.

Silver Spring coin shop burglarized

Montgomery County police are investigating the burglary of a downtown Silver Spring coin shop. Officers responded to a burglar alarm at Bonanza Coins at 940 Wayne Avenue at 3:34 AM on August 30, 2019. They found the front door smashed, and about $6500 worth of coins removed from a display case that had also been smashed open.

A witness told detectives that the suspect fled the scene in an older model Toyota or Mazda sedan. Detectives have now released video of the suspect, and ask residents to take note of the "unique tattoo" on the back of his neck. (VIEWER WARNING: The video contains flashing that could trigger reactions or seizures in viewers with epilepsy or other conditions).

Anyone with information about this suspect or burglary is asked to call the 3rd District Investigative Section at 240-773-6870.  To be eligible for a reward, tipsters may call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).  Crime Solvers will pay a cash reward of up to $10,000 for information provided to them that leads to the arrest and/or indictment of this suspect.  Tipsters may remain anonymous.

Piney Branch Center soil/groundwater contaminated, MD Dept. of Environment says

Property entering 

Voluntary Cleanup Program

The Maryland Department of the Environment reports that soil and groundwater studies at the Piney Branch Center, located at 8501 Piney Branch Road in the Long Branch area of Silver Spring, have found a chemical contaminant in both. Tetrachloroethene was discovered in soil vapor and groundwater near the former dry cleaning tenant's space at the shopping center, MDE says.

Property owner JBG Smith is entering the Maryland Voluntary Cleanup Program to address the contamination. MDE says the landlord will install a soil vapor extraction system to "protect occupants of the building." A prohibition on use of groundwater from the property is being issued, and a restriction on future uses of the land will be placed on the property until the contamination is eliminated. Until then, the land can only continue to be used for "Tier 2B Restricted Commercial Purposes," according to MDE. For example, residential housing could not be built on the site as it is now.

A public meeting on the contamination and cleanup plan will be held September 26, 2019 at 6:15 PM at the Long Branch Community Recreation Center at 8700 Piney Branch Road.

Nighttime noise ahead near Silver Spring Ave./Georgia Ave. intersection

Noisy nights are ahead at the intersection of Silver Spring Avenue and Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring. An underground utility conduit is being installed there, and the Maryland State Highway Administration has required the work to be done at night, to avoid having to close two lanes on Georgia during busier daytime hours.

The conduit will be installed on nights between September 23 and September 27, 2019. Work hours are expected to be 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM nightly.

Michelle Malkin, sanctuary opponents to rally Friday in Rockville; counterprotest planned in Montgomery County immigration stand-off

Opponents and advocates of Montgomery County's policy of not detaining prisoners with ICE detainers being released from the Montgomery County jail until federal agents can take them into custody will face off outside the Montgomery County Council building at 100 Maryland Avenue in Rockville tomorrow, Friday, September 13, 2019 from 11:00 AM to noon. A rally headlined by political commentator and author Michelle Malkin and WMAL conservative radio host Larry O'Connor will take place on the steps of the Council building.

Rally organizers say they will call on Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich to withdraw his executive order,"Promoting Community Trust," that put further restrictions on ICE cooperation this year. Elrich has said he will review aspects of the policy, and determine whether to make changes.

Activists and organizations who support the County policy, which has come under national political fire from the Trump administration after eight immigrants in the country illegally were accused of separate sexual assaults of women and children in the County over the last few weeks, are pledging to turn out in force to counter the rally. "Let's drown out the hate with NOISE," Showing Up for Racial Justice - Montgomery County said in a Facebook announcement of their counter-rally, "MoCo Stands with Immigrants," that will take place at the same time and location.

Malkin is touring the country to promote a new book, Open Borders, Inc.: Who's Funding America's Destruction?, the release of which has coincided with the Montgomery County controversy. Others slated to appear at the original rally include Shari Rendall of FAIR, Brad Botwin of Help Save Maryland, author Ying Ma and Montgomery County Republican Party chair Alexander Bush.

The counterprotest will include members of SURJ, host Takoma Park Mobilization, Jews United for Justice, CASA de Maryland, UFCW Local 1994, Montgomery County Civil Rights Coalition, Action in Montgomery, JCRC of Greater Washington, Poor People's Campaign, United We Dream, Sanctuary DMV, and other local unions and organizations.

Photo via @michellemalkin Twitter account

Purple Line trainset reveal backfires

Promotional video appears

to show cramped,

claustrophobic railcar interiors

A video released by the state of Maryland to increase excitement about the future Purple Line light rail Tuesday appears to have had the opposite effect. It shows for the first time the interiors of the actual trainsets that will travel the route between Bethesda and New Carrollton. In the video, the interior of the cars appears narrow and cramped.

Massive bulkheads between seating sections create individual cells within each car, increasing the claustrophobic effect. The cars are clearly narrower than subway or commuter rail cars, and even appear more cramped than other light rail and streetcar vehicles in use across the country and the world. Perhaps it was the type of camera lens used, but the PR impact was not a positive one.

Was shrinking the size of the cars one of the cost-cutting measures employed by the state and its partners? These cars do not resemble the ones shown in previous promotional materials.

Tuesday's backfire was reminiscent of another bait-and-switch PR stunt pulled by Montgomery County elected officials. After showing futuristic Bus Rapid Transit vehicles that looked more like subways for years, the County displayed an actual BRT vehicle at the County Fair that instead looked like existing diesel Metrobuses.

The County continues to use the deceptive BRT images in promotional materials to this day - and no wonder, after fairgoers were shocked to find the $10 billion BRT would look nothing like what County officials had promised.

Maybe they can wrap the Purple Line trains in Chicken of the Sea advertisements to bring in some extra revenue, to justify the tuna-can-cramped ride on what they've promised will be crowded trains.

Silver Strings opens in Silver Spring (Photos+Menu)

Silver Strings has opened at 8630 Colesville Road in downtown Silver Spring. The restaurant and lounge serving American cuisine has been in the works for a couple of years. They have a very small but nicely-decorated front patio, and an impressive interior. See the full menu below.