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Community Prosecution Unit:
In the Community
Below is a calendar of upcoming events the State’s Attorney’s Office will be participating in. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend.
May
Thursday, May 10th at 7 PM the New Hampshire Civic Association meeting in the New Hampshire Estates Elementary School's Room 229.
Friday May 11th a presentation for children at Strathmore Elementary School about careers in the law.
Monday, May 21st at 9:00 AM the Latino Public Safety Workgroup held at 900 Hungerford Drive, Rockville, Maryland.
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 For years, experts in law enforcement have recognized the benefits of "community policing" in reducing the incidence of crime and improving the quality of life for residents. Community Prosecution, as an approach to law enforcement, has several similar objectives: to implement a proactive, problem-solving approach to crime; to create new and lasting partnerships with the community in order to improve quality of life; to improve the Office's relationship and partnership with law enforcement and public and private agencies; and, as a result of these new partnerships, to enhance the Office prosecutorial function. Prosecutors have recognized the important position their Office can have in complementing police partnerships with the community in order to better address the needs of the community. | |
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Throughout Montgomery County, Community Prosecution brings together geographically organized teams of Assistant State's Attorneys (ASA's), Community Outreach Specialists and other support personnel who share responsibility for the prosecution of crimes committed within each of Montgomery County's police districts.
Senior ASA's are assigned to each of the Montgomery County police districts and share responsibility for screening cases of community impact in that district. Senior ASA's are present at the police district stations on a regular basis and assist police with investigations, warrant preparation, and roll call training. They also attend community meetings and handle quality of life issues that arise within their particular police districts.
The familiarity of each ASA with his or her police district make our Office better able to gather intelligence and determine the persons responsible for crimes in that area. ASA's also connect with the community within their assigned area in order to stay abreast of the problems occurring there and to better address concerns of the citizens. Our Community Prosecution Unit works closely with schools, businesses, religious institutions, and other community groups to address and impact crime before it occurs. | |
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| The prosecutors that are chosen to be on the community prosecution team are hand picked by State's attorney John McCarthy because of their abilities not only as trial attorneys but also their skills in working closely with citizens, schools, business, community groups, religious institutions, and neighborhood watch groups.
One of the goals is to identify problem areas and issues and allocate the necessary resources to them. Prior to the creation of community prosecution the normal daily routine of the prosecutor was to receive cases and react to them. With the creation of Community Prosecution the prosecutor is to "think outside of the box" and will be proactive rather than reactive. | |
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Criminal Cases That Show That Community Prosecution Works! | |
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John J. McCarthy, State’s Attorney for Montgomery County, announced that Steven Armstrong, 53, of Silver Spring, Maryland, was convicted today by a Montgomery County jury of one count of Malicious Destruction of Property, and one count of Committing a Crime Against Another Based on Race or Ethnicity. The defendant was held pending sentencing. Sentencing is scheduled before the Honorable Robert Greenberg on September 30, 2011.
On July 15, 2010, Montgomery County Police were contacted by a Hispanic man who reported that his tires had been slashed 20 times over the past four years. Residents of the neighborhood around the defendant’s house, reported that more than 10 victims, almost all Hispanic, had their tires slashed. On August 23, 2010, at around midnight, Elmer Contreras heard his car alarm go off. When he got outside, the defendant was crouched beside his tire with a sharp object. When asked what he was doing, the defendant replied “I hate you Spanish people, I hate you all.” Police responded to the defendant’s home, and he admitted to vandalizing Mr. Contreras’ car and other cars in the neighborhood.
“We continue to urge anyone who believes they have been the victim of a crime to contact police.” McCarthy said in reaction to the sentence. “We cannot allow any segment of our community to become targets for criminal activity, and we absolutely will not tolerate crimes being committed against residents because of their ethnicity.”
This case demonstrates how neighbors working together with their community policing officer contribute to helping make the neighborhood safer.
Another case that Community Prosecutors focused on was a series of robberies and assaults that were taking place at the transit center near Lake Forest Mall in Gaithersburg. Montgomery County and Gaithersburg City Police were receiving complaints from victims about an unknown Hispanic male who on a daily basis, was harassing, assaulting, and robbing other Hispanic males. It appeared to the police, because of cultural and language barriers, that the victims were not coming to court and therefore the cases were being dismissed against the suspect.
Community prosecutors working with Gaithersburg City Police Detective Sean Eastman took it upon themselves to locate each and every victim and interview them at their homes with a translator. After receiving these statements from the victims, charges were reinstated against the suspect. These efforts resulted in the suspect being convicted of robbery and sentenced to two years of incarceration. He is currently subject to deportation hearings.
Another interesting Community Prosecution case was brought to the attention of a Community Prosecutor by Detective Jim Peacock of the Germantown-5th District Detective Bureau. Detective Peacock had received complaints from citizens both in and outside of Montgomery County about a person claiming to be a doctor and treating patients without the appropriate medical license or degrees.
This information and the thorough investigation done by members of the Montgomery County Police Department and the State's Attorney's Office resulted in the suspect being convicted of 24 separate charges ranging from felony theft to practicing medicine without a license. | |
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Assistant State's Attorneys of the Community Outreach |
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Bills, Amy, 240-777-7326
Chaikin, Stephen, 240-777-7405, Team Leader
Zeager, Curtis, 240-777-7421
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