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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Wednesday, August 16, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS National Mall Five Arrested For Robberies, Sexual Assaults On Mall Five men ranging in age from 16 to 22 years old have been arrested and charged in connection with a series of armed robberies and sexual assaults that occurred on the National Mall last May and July. The five were taken into custody by USPP officers following an intensive investigation conducted by the Park Police and the U.S. Attorney's Office, with assistance provided by the U.S. Marshals Service, the Secret Service, the FBI, Prince George's County PD, Metro Transit PD and Metropolitan PD. Another three individuals have also been arrested in connection with the use of credit cards stolen during the robberies. The following five incidents occurred on the Mall: May 25, 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. - A couple walking on the Mall were approached by three young men, one armed with a gun. They were ordered to the ground at gunpoint and searched for money and valuables. Items taken from them included cash, a cell phone, and a wallet containing credit and ATM cards. One of the men committed a forceful sexual touching of the woman. May 25, immediately after the above - The men approached another couple on the Mall and were also ordered to the ground and robbed of similar items. As in the first incident, one of them committed a forceful sexual touching of the woman. She was also kicked in the head by one of the men when she resisted. May 27, 11 p.m. to midnight - A man and woman walking together on the Mall were approached by three young men, one armed with a gun. A jacket, wallet, cash and credit cards were taken from the man and his pants pockets were searched. Items and cash were also taken from the woman, who was then taken by the armed man to a grassy are of the Mall, where he raped her at gunpoint, then forced her to commit oral sodomy on him and a second man. The latter punched and kicked the man before joining the sexual assault. July 11, about 10 p.m. - Two women were approached by two young men and robbed of their cell phones and cash on the grounds of the Washington Monument. During the robbery, one of the men committed a forceful sexual touching of one of the women. July 11, 10 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. - A family of four - two adults with their two children, ages 9 and 15 - were walking on the Mall near the Washington Monument when they were approached by two men, one armed with a gun. They were forced to the ground at gunpoint, then robbed of cash and a camera. Working methodically and following leads arising from an analysis of records from the stolen credit cards and a cell phone, interviews with witnesses, and the execution of more than a dozen search warrants, investigators identified and arrested the five men. A variety of assault and robbery charges have been filed against them. Three other men, ranging in age from 19 to 24, have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit theft in the first degree in connection with the use of some of the stolen credit cards. In announcing the arrests and charges against these defendants, U.S. attorney Kenneth Wainstein and USPP chief Dwight Pettiford commended the outstanding work of all members of law enforcement who worked tirelessly to close this investigation, particularly, lead detective Todd Reid of the U.S. Park Police and the outstanding team of detectives, along with David Knoedler of the U.S. Secret Service, Marty Flynn of the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Criminal Investigative Unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office, particularly, John Marsh and Larry Grasso. They also commended assistant U.S. attorneys Elana Tyrangiel and Dan Zachem. [Channing Phillips, Public Affairs, Department of Justice] Golden Gate NRA Park Staff Respond To Rescue, EMS Calls Rangers, lifeguards, Park Police officers, and Presidio firefighters responded to several incidents in various locations throughout the park during the last week in July: July 28 - Lifeguards were dispatched to a call reporting an unresponsive person in the water off Ocean Beach. Lifeguards and rangers were joined by city firefighters in an effort to resuscitate a man found floating in the ocean by a park visitor. These efforts proved unsuccessful, however, and the man was pronounced dead at a local hospital. USPP criminal investigators are conducting an investigation. July 31 - Park dispatch received a report of a naked, combative man below the Fort Scott overlook. UPSS officers, rangers, lifeguards and Presidio firefighters responded. They subdued the man, then summoned a helicopter to lift him off the beach due to the fact that any other extrication would have to have been over unsafe, steep terrain. A Coast Guard helicopter picked him up and flew him to a waiting Presidio ambulance at the Fort Scott parade ground. August 1 - A woman and her Labrador retriever were reported stuck on a cliff edge at Fort Funston. Rangers, USPP officers and city firefighters worked together to reach them and bring them to safety. As this rescue was wrapping up, a visitor in Marin Headlands reported finding an unresponsive man in a military bunker. Responders found that the body was in fact a mannequin. Due to the suspicious nature of the call and location, though, a military bomb squad was called to the scene to check things out. While this incident was underway, dispatch received a call from the Marin County Sheriff's Office reporting that a man had fallen off a cliff ledge along the coastal bluffs in the headlands. A hasty search was begun and the man was found on Black Sands Beach. Rangers determined that he was suffering from a possible fracture to his lower leg and that he was mildly hypothermic. He was flown out by Coast Guard helicopter and taken to an ambulance at Fort Baker. [Kim Coast, Operations Supervisor] Grand Teton NP Numerous Citations, Arrests At Safety Checkpoint In a continuing effort to increase highway safety and reduce wildlife mortalities in Grand Teton National Park, rangers coordinated an interagency safety and sobriety checkpoint over a four-hour period on the evening of August 10th following a concert by the rock band, The Black Crowes. Rangers, Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers, and a Fish and Wildlife Service refuge officer, supported by the Teton County Sheriff's Office, inspected more than 300 vehicles passing through the checkpoint. The checks resulted in the issuance of 18 warnings, nine violation notices (including five to intoxicated minors subsequently released to their parents' custody), and four arrests for driving under the influence. Four other drivers who were just below the legal intoxication level volunteered to either call taxis for rides home, leaving their vehicles at the checkpoint, or found designated drivers before continuing their journey. [Patrick Hattaway, North District Ranger] Virgin Islands NP Suicide At Cinnamon Bay Campground On the evening of August 4th, a mother and son on vacation in the park while staying in a cottage at Cinnamon Bay campground. The mother decided to go for a walk and left her son along in the cottage for 20 to 30 minutes. When she returned, she found that her 16-year-old son had hung himself from a pole at the rear of the cottage. She managed to cut him down, then, called for assistance. Visitors and EMS responders performed CPR on him, but without success. Rangers and local authorities are investigating the incident. [Eric Barron, Acting Chief Ranger] OTHER NEWS Other news of interest from today's edition of InsideNPS, which can be found at this address if your inside the NPS ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/) and at this address if you're outside the NPS ( HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://www.nps.gov/applications/digest/). Note that not all articles that appear in the former make it into the latter: Grand Canyon - Preliminary alternatives for the park's South Rim visitor transportation plan and environmental assessment (EA) have been released. Fire and Aviation Management - Two fire dispatch positions announced at GRTE. * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |