RETURN of the PIXIES
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Popular band stops by Strathmore with retooled lineup B-5
The Gazette GAITHERSBURG | MONTGOMERY VILLAGE
DAILY UPDATES ONLINE www.gazette.net
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
25 cents
No bail for women accused of toddlers’ exorcism deaths n
Hearing for Monifa Sanford postponed until Friday
BY
ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH STAFF WRITER
She saw the devil possessing her four children, turning their eyes black, leaping from child to child, prosecutors said. So to try to exorcise the demon, Zakieya L. Avery, along with another woman who lived with her, attacked the little children.
Avery stabbed them, killing her 1-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter. Thinking the devil inhabited the bodies of her older children, she attacked the other two — one, 5, the other, 8 — prosecutors said. Avery, 28, and her roommate Monifa Sanford, 21, call themselves the “Demon Assassins” and each faces two counts of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. They appeared in court via closed-circuit television Tuesday at a bail review hearing, where Montgomery County District Judge Gary G. Everngam ordered the two
women remain in custody without bail. Avery must undergo a psychiatric evaluation by health officials. Sanford’s hearing was postponed to Friday. Officials say once the psychiatric evaluations are completed, both women will likely be transferred to a maximum security psychiatric hospital to receive further evaluation and care. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of life in prison.
See DEATHS, Page A-10
Sanford
Teammates say goodbye
Avery
Pond where boy died lacked safety fence Westbrook Acquisitions cited for failing to fence in sediment pond
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BY
ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH AND KRISTA BRICK STAFF WRITERS
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
People gather Friday night to remember 10-year-old D’Angelo Jayvon McMullen, who drowned Jan. 13 after falling through an ice-covered sediment pond near the corner of Ellington Boulevard and Diamondback Drive at the developing Crown Farm in Gaithersburg. Players from the Rockville Football League and friends left flowers, balloons and notes along a fence Friday night to remember their teammate who drowned in a Gaithersburg sediment pond Jan. 13. Ten-year-old D’Angelo Jayvon McMullen of Rockville was a member of the Rockville Football League Pony Wolverine Navy team,
according to Eric Heckman, president of the RFL Board of Directors. Teammates were asked to share expressions of sympathy or memories at the candlelit memorial held at the site of the tragedy. On Jan. 13, DJ, as his friends knew him, had been playing with his brother and another boy on the pond when the ice gave way.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue personnel rescued two of the boys quickly, but had to search for DJ for much longer. Rescue officials surmised that he could have been submerged for up to half an hour. He died at a local hospital later that night. — KRISTA BRICK
Volunteers pitch in on King day Office transformed into volunteer hub
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BY
SYLVIA CARIGNAN STAFF WRITER
Hundreds of volunteers were covered in cereal dust, glitter paint, stickers, peanut butter, jelly and mayonnaise Monday afternoon as they worked to help the needy around the county. Hedieh Mirahmadi, a co-chairwoman of the county executive’s Faith Community Working Group, organized an upcounty Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Volunteer Service. Mirahmadi is president of the International Culture Center, a nonprofit that opened up its Montgomery Village office space for the event.
Committee highlights the service work of students and one teacher, Page A-4
For two hours, more than 300 volunteers flooded in, asking how they could help. Middle-school students in green Girl Scout vests and International Culture Center workers with bright yellow T-shirts helped volunteers pack gift bags, make turkey sandwiches and paint prayer flags. In a small room with a table for six, kids painted prayer flags for an outdoor meditation area for St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in Germantown. The Rev. Terri Murphy said the idea for the cotton flags, hung like clothing on a string, is for them to fade away.
See SERVICE, Page A-10
SPORTS
500 TO 1,000 SHOTS
Sandy Spring Friends basketball player finds perfection in repetition.
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The iced-over Gaithersburg sediment pond where a 10-year-old boy slipped through on Jan. 13 and later died lacked fencing required by city officials. On Jan. 13, D’Angelo Jayvon McMullen of Rockville had been playing with his brother and another boy on the pond when the ice gave way. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue personnel rescued two of the boys quickly, but had to search for D’Angelo for much longer. Rescue officials surmised that he could have been submerged for up to half an hour. He died at a local hospital later that night. The pond was only partially fenced. On Jan. 14, the city issued a Notice of Violation to Fran Speed, a representative of Warner Construction, the site managers for Westbrook Acquisitions LLC, the developer. The notice required a 42-inch high safety fence to be reinstalled on all open sides of the pond pursuant to the sediment and erosion control plan, according to Wes
Lakelands residents sound off against building plans Homeowners worry about traffic, location near Great Seneca Highway entrance n
BY JENN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
TOM FEDOR/THE GAZETTE
Robin Brown of Germantown, from Emory Grove United Methodist Church, was among the volunteers filling cereal packets Monday in Montgomery Village.
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RECYCLE
See FENCE, Page A-10
Gaithersburg resident Robin Tolin purchased her home in the Lakelands neighborhood because of its proximity to the lake, but she’s worried her backyard view will include more than just picturesque scenery. The Lakelands Homeowners Association held a community meeting Wednesday evening to discuss the fate of a three-acre parcel at the intersection of Great Seneca Highway and Lakelands
Drive. Classic Community Corp. owns the land. The development firm’s co-owner, Steve Eckert, told residents that preliminary plans are underway to construct a Patient First medical center and a mixeduse professional building to be operated by Johns Hopkins on the site. Patient First centers offer primary care and urgent care services on a walkin basis from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day of the year. Hopkins hopes to provide specialized care, such as orthopedics and radiology, in the office building. The proposed facility includes two one-story buildings and a parking lot, with an entrance off Lakelands Drive.
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See LAKELANDS, Page A-10
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