Officer discharges weapon in home-invasion case

Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007

Officer discharges weapon in home-invasion case

by Meghan Tierney | Staff Writer

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Three upcounty men armed with guns were arrested shortly after allegedly forcing their way into the apartment of a legally blind man and his roommate in Gaithersburg late Tuesday night. While attempting to flee, one is alleged to have wielded a shotgun in the direction of a responding police officer who fired on but did not hit the man.

Montgomery County and Gaithersburg police responded to the robbery at 11:07 p.m. while it was in progress, after receiving a call from a woman who was on the phone with one of the victims when the men entered the apartment, county police said.

When police arrived, the men, who had obtained cash and other items, fled from the rear of the residence in the Londonderry Apartments on the 17100 block of King James Way, police said.

One of the suspects with a shotgun turned toward the officers as they fled, and Sixth District Officer A. Yokley fired at the suspect, but missed, police said.

Lt. Eric Burnett, citing police policy, refused to provide Yokley’s first name on Thursday. Yokley has been placed on administrative leave while the county’s Major Crimes Division and Office of Internal Affairs look into the matter, as is standard for all police-involved shootings. This is the first such investigation involving Yokley since he began working for county police in 2004, Burnett said.

Gaithersburg residents Stephon Allen Bush, 39, of the 700 block of Quince Orchard Road and Carlos Alberto Nieves, 27, of the unit block of Russell Avenue, and Damascus resident Daquan Rodney Jackson, 34, of the 2500 block of Angela Court were arrested, police said.

They are each charged with two counts of armed robbery, two counts of first-degree assault, use of a handgun in the commission of a felony⁄crime of violence, theft under $500, two counts of reckless endangerment, breaking and entering with the intent to commit a crime of violence, and two counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, police said.

They are being held at the Montgomery County Detention Center on $1 million bond each. A bond review hearing was scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

Burnett said the victims probably did not know the suspects, but that the suspects might have seen them around the neighborhood. The suspects likely walked to the victims’ apartment, he said, and noted that there have not been any similar robberies in the area.

According to police, this is what happened after one of the victims answered the door:

One victim, who is legally blind but still possesses some sight, was on the phone with a female friend in South Carolina. Their conversation was abruptly interrupted and the friend heard what sounded like a scuffle. She called the county police non-emergency number around 11:04 p.m., police said.

‘‘She heard something that didn’t sound right and she did the right thing,” Burnett said.

County and Gaithersburg officers arrived at the apartment three minutes later and rang the doorbell to check on the two men and did not realize the suspects were still inside, police said. Burnett said about 20 officers were involved with apprehending the suspects.

The three men ran out the back door and officers chased them. During the chase, one suspect suddenly turned towards the officers with a shotgun, and county Officer Yokley fired a shot and missed, police said.

The suspect dropped the shotgun and continued to run, police said.

According to police, the men were apprehended separately with the help of three K-9 units. One suspect was found in another apartment building in the same complex, another was caught on the 100 block of Chestnut Street and the third was apprehended on West Diamond Avenue, Burnett said Thursday.