MRPD Community Alert - January 28, 2022 • Mount Rainier, MD

COMMUNITY ALERT

On January 28, 2022, at approximately 3:22 pm, City of Mount Rainier Police Officers responded to 3400 block of Newton Street for an attempted armed robbery call. Hyattsville Dispatch stated the description of the alleged suspects as three Hispanic Males wearing black jackets and one armed with a handgun. Upon arrival, officers observed two unknown subjects walking from a building matching the description. Officers attempted an investigatory stop on the two individuals. Both were stopped. As officers attempted to conduct a pat down of the subjects for weapons, one of them pulled away from the officers and fled on foot towards Eastern Avenue. Officers gave chase on foot while yelling verbal commands for the suspect to stop running. The suspect did not comply with the officer’s verbal commands. The suspect was observed climbing a 10-foot fence. The officer climbed the fence and grabbed suspect by the legs. The suspect started kicking the officer and reaching for his (The suspect’s) right ankle where the officer observed a black handgun. The officer gave the suspect strong verbal commands to stop reaching for the gun. The officer then took the suspect to the ground. The suspect started to physically fight with the officer and positioned himself to try and get a better grip of the handgun. After a few minutes, the officer was able to gain control and placed the suspect into handcuffs. The officer recovered at black Glock 22 .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine, which was fully loaded with 22 rounds. Due to the physical fight, the officer sustained minor injuries to his left hand and a bruised right knee. Fire/EMS was called to provide first aid to the officer and the suspect for minor injuries.

The City of Mount Rainier Police Department Detectives Division conducted further investigation into the suspect who had fought with the officer and discovered that the suspect had pled guilty to an armed robbery charge on 01/08/2021 which prohibits him from possessing a handgun. In addition, the black Glock 22 .40 Caliber semi-automatic handgun had been modified to have a rapid-fire trigger activator (machine gun action) affixed on the rear of the handgun. The handgun, magazine, bullets, and two sandwich bags filled with marijuana along with other contraband were collected from the subject asevidence. The suspect was booked into the Prince George’s County Detention Center in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.