Latest News

Robert Devaney • July 16, 2015

The Georgetown–Burleith Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E held its July meeting June 29 to discuss, among other things, home rentals and the city’s archaeological survey of 3324 Dent Place NW, the lot on which freed slave Yarrow Marmout lived.

On home rentals, the commission touched on both short- and long-term rentals with regard to Airbnb “party houses” and Georgetown University student rentals, respectively. D.C. Department of Consumer Regulatory Affairs acting director Melissa Bolling appeared at the meeting to talk about both issues.

Commissioner Tom Birch raised a number of concerns that Georgetowners have about short-term rentals, including their use as “party houses.” Despite legal issues surrounding Airbnb rentals in D.C., Bolling said her agency can only flag problem houses based on complaints related to excessive noise or other problems. She noted that DCRA is considering new rules on short-term rentals akin to those the D.C. Taxi Commission have considered regarding Uber.

On off-campus student housing, Bolling said that DCRA wants properties rented out by GU students “in the system” in order to make sure the dwellings are safe, inspected and licensed to be rented. She said DCRA will be conducting “surprise” inspections this summer to further that goal.

Also at the meeting, Ruth Trocolli, the D.C.’s chief archaeologist, gave an update on the dig underway at the Yarrow Marmout lot on Dent Place. She and field director Mia Carey have high hopes that the dig will uncover artifacts that will shine a light on Marmout and Georgetown’s African American history more broadly.

Marmout, who was taken from Guinea and enslaved, was educated and became a successful merchant in town. His life was recounted in the book, “From Slave Ship to Harvard: Yarrow Mamout and the History of an African American Family.”

To support the project, contact the D.C. Preservation League to donate towards its goal of raising $7,000. According to the league, “This project is being conducted by the D.C. Historic Preservation Office with the assistance of student and community volunteers. The funds will be used to conduct remote sensing of the site, hire a professional earth moving team to remove fill and to purchase necessary supplies to complete the project.”

Georgetowner •

Writing and singing in 1963, Bob Dylan gave us an anthem for the 1960s in “The Times They Are A-Changin’ ”: Vietnam, the counter culture, civil rights tragedies and triumphs and assassinations.

Dylan, who remains with us as a crusty, gravelly sage, may himself be astonished by how change dances through the street these days, multitasking at will. Last week, change was a daily dancer, the kind we’ve hardly ever seen before. In a week marked in red by the prior week’s murder of nine parishioners at a historic black church in Charleston, change charged into our lives — especially here, but everywhere else, too — with an almost brusque confidence.

It was an especially good and transformative week for President Barack Obama, who suddenly had a legacy in hand as, first, Congress handed him a hard-fought victory on his trade deal, then the Supreme Court (now and forever SCOTUS in this acronym-favoring and acrimonious society) upheld the president’s health-care program by a convincing 6-3 vote. On the following historic day, the court ruled 5-4 that same-sex couples were allowed to marry nationwide, with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy providing the key vote and an eloquent, moving rationale.

Suddenly — President Obama called the gay-marriage decision a thunderbolt — it seemed we had witnessed something transformative. A cultural earthquake had shaken the body politic, resulting in tremors of jubilation and, for shocked opponents, tremors of fear.

Republicans were said to have a hard time of it, which did not prevent every single so-far-announced candidate, from Bush to what’s-his-or-her-name, from announcing the old bromide: we will fight for repeal of Obamacare. It’s as if they were wearing their old hand-me-downs, still lamely saying what they were against and failing to articulate what they were for.

This was a remarkable difference from the GOP response to the shootings by a self-proclaimed white supremacist in South Carolina. Many Southern GOP officials, governors and presidential candidates called for getting rid of the Confederate flags on public display, in one way or another.

The tragedy also turned out to be a triumph for the president. It was as if the old Obama, the rhetorically gifted and inspiring young candidate of 2008, had reappeared in a stirring eulogy for the Rev. Clementa Pinckney. With an act of amazing grace, he led four thousand parishioners in the singing of “Amazing Grace.”

It seemed to many that these were watershed days, when a rainbow flag of love seemed to replace a flag that inspired hate, when progressives moved from being seen as knee-jerk, PC liberals to the grand masters of inclusion and tolerance, injected by a fresh spirit. Their friends on the other side of the aisle seemed suddenly old, entranced by the past.

But, before the next thing happens, let’s listen again to Mr. Dylan’s words: “As the present now/Will later be past/The order is rapidly fadin’/And the first one now will later be last/For the times they are a-changin’.”

Peter Murray •

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center reopened and resumed regular operations Monday afternoon after being shut down and searched by police for the larger part of the day. Police were there in full force due to reports of a shot fired on the 243-acre medical campus in Bethesda, Md.

Montgomery County Police officials arrived on the scene in force, with dozens of officers and a number of armored vehicles, after receiving a call reporting a single gunshot around 10:48 a.m. Federal agents were also on-site to search for a shooter.

Meanwhile, medical center staff and patients were ordered to shelter in place and all non-emergency appointments were cancelled for the day.

After three hours of searching, MPC tweeted “Walter Reed UPDATE: Police operations are complete, there is no evidence of a firearm discharge. Normal operations expected to resume soon.”

The scene of swarming local and federal police to a military facility based on false reports of gunshots echoed that of the Navy Yard last week. Reports of shots fired there shut down the surrounding area and became national news briefly, before the “All Clear” was given by authorities when search for a shooter failed to come up with any evidence of a shooting.

Georgetowner • July 6, 2015

Free Beer at Martin’s Tavern

July 2nd, 2015 at 08:00 PM | Free | Event Website

Stop by Martin’s Tavern for free beer on July 2nd, from 8 -10 p.m. The Miller Lite Team will be buying guests Miller Lite at the bar. Don’t forget, the early bird gets the beer!

Address

Martin’s Tavern; 1264 Wisconsin Ave NW

HEALTHY DAYS OF SUMMER

July 2nd, 2015 at 06:00 PM | Free | Event Website

Join the Georgetown Business Improvement District as we celebrate Healthy Days of Summer in Georgetown, a free series of outdoor fitness classes, fit-savvy menus and other promotions highlighting the wealth of health and wellness options within Georgetown.

Attend FREE outdoor fitness classes hosted by Georgetown yoga, barre and other fitness studios.

July 2 session presented by CorePower Yoga

July 8 session presented by Georgetown Yoga

July 9 session presented by CorePower Yoga

Address

Georgetown Waterfront Park near the intersection of Potomac Street and K Street (Water Street).

Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of Grateful Dead

July 3rd, 2015 at 08:00 PM | ADV $15/ DOS $19 | Event Website

Gypsy Sally’s is offering a fun and unique way to spend the 4th of July weekend by celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead. Enjoy a special appearance by D.C.’s own Grateful Dead tribute band, Beggars Tomb, as they play renditions of classic Grateful Dead tunes. Plus, on Saturday, July 4th, Gypsy Sally’s will show the official simulcast of Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead with a live video cable broadcast of the Soldier Field shows in Chicago.

Address

Gypsy Sally’s; 3401 K Street NW

MOVE featuring Derek & Julianne Hough

July 3rd, 2015 at 08:00 PM | Event Website

Join Dancing with the Stars’ champion duo composed of an Emmy-winning choreographer and a Billboard chart-topping movie star as they sing, dance, and perform their way through a “futuristic dance fest that exceed[s] even the ultimate fans’ expectations” (303 Magazine).

Address

Filene Center; 1551 Trap Road; Vienna, VA 22812

Tudor Tots: Summer Fun in the Sun

July 7th, 2015 at 10:00 AM | $5 per child. Free for adults | Tel: 2029650400

Tudor Place has enchanted young children for almost two centuries. Experience it yourself on family-friendly Tuesday mornings, joining others to read, sing, and play in the picturesque gardens. Each week introduces a new theme, from “adventurous animals” to “growing gardens” and more. Children enjoy interactive read-alouds, songs, and themed movements related to the week’s topic, sharing a shady green and tranquil setting with the grown-ups who care for them.

Address

1644 31st Street NW

Grace Church 22nd Annual Bach Festival

July 5th, 2015 at 03:00 PM | $20 | [Event Website](http://gracedc.org/)

Visit Georgetown’s historic Grace Church to experience Bach’s most iconic works as they come alive. Starting Sunday, July 5, at 3:00 p.m., the festival will include a series of concerts for $20 admission, concluding on Friday, July 10, with a final concert at 7:30 p.m. For further information and a full list of performances, click here.

Address

Grace Church; 1041 Wisconsin Ave NW

Pop with Stango

July 8th, 2015 at 06:00 PM | free | morgan@aproof.net | Tel: 202-803-2782 | [Event Website](http://www.aproof.net/)

Artist’s Proof is excited to host “Pop with Stango,” which will feature John Stango in a live painting session. Visitors will have the unique opportunity to see first hand how Stango infuses nostalgia and modernity in a way that has brought Pop Art into the twenty-first century. Today, the modern American Pop Art Movement thrives through artists like John Stango. He infuses nostalgia of Pop Art origins with modern subjects from pop culture.

Address

Artist’s Proof; 1533 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Georgetowner • July 2, 2015

The Georgetown-Burleith Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E will hold its July monthly meeting, 6:30 p.m., June 29, at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, 35th Street and Volta Place, NW, Heritage Room, main building, second floor. This following is tonight’s meeting agenda, as provided by ANC 2E.

Approval of the Agenda

= Approval of June 29, 2015, ANC 2E Public Meeting Agenda

Administrative

= Commendation for Retiring Tudor Place Director Leslie Buhler

= Approval of June 1, 2015 Meeting Minutes

= Public Safety and Police Report

= Financial Report

= Transportation Report

Community Comment

= Discussion with DCRA Director Melinda Bolling and staff about short-term and long-term rental regulations

= Update from the D.C. Historic Preservation office on the archeological survey under way at 3324 Dent Place NW (Yarrow Mamout site)

New Business

ABC

= Revised D.C. proposal for regulating signage

= Petition to remove a gingko tree at 1650 Avon Place, NW

= Enhanced directional markers or signage for the 1000 block of Thomas Jefferson Street, NW

= Consideration of a request for stipulated license for Chaia Farm-to-Tacos, 3207 Grace St., NW

= Mr. Smith’s of Georgetown (ABRA-000927) 3205 K St., NW.
Settlement agreement addressing the proposed entertainment endorsement for a piano player only

Zoning

= 3324 Dent Place NW, BZA Application No. 19056 (hearing date July 28): variances from minimum lot width and parking requirements

= 1614 Wisconsin Ave NW, BZA Application No. 19060, Baco Juice & Taco (hearing date July 28): authorization to operate a fast food establishment

= 1351 Wisconsin Ave., NW BZA Appeal No. 19049: appeal of decision to issue building permit

Old Georgetown Board ?

?Major and Public Projects

1. OG 15-248 3700 O Street, NW
Georgetown University
Guard booth
Concept

2. SMD 06 OG 15-239
2715 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Mixed-use
Demolition, new construction
Concept

?Private Projects

1. SMD 02 OG 15-190
3417 R Street, NW
Residence
Addition and alterations
Concept

2. SMD 02 OG 15-254
3254 S Street, NW
Residence
Addition and alterations
Concept

3. SMD 02 OG 15-251
3254 S Street, NW
Residence
Addition and site alterations
Permit

4. SMD 03 OG 15-224
1316 34th Street, NW
Residence
New garage with roof deck
Permit

5. SMD 03 OG 15-238
3331 N Street, NW
Residence
Addition and alterations
Concept

6. SMD 03 OG 15-261
3247 P Street, NW
Residence
Alterations
Concept

7. SMD 03 OG 15-259
3107 Dumbarton Street, NW
?Residence
Raise roof, rear addition, door and window alterations; replacement windows, efis – Existing alterations without review
Concept

?8. SMD 03 OG 15-252
1513 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Mixed-use
Rooftop and rear additions, trellis
Permit

9. SMD 05 OG 15-221
1035 31st Street, NW
Commercial
Alterations, handicap lift – Existing alterations without review
Permit

10. SMD 05 OG 15-242
3109 M Street, NW
Commercial
Alterations, back-lit sign and blade sign – Steve Madden Permit

11. SMD 06 OG 15-260
2905 N Street, NW
Residence
New parking pad, alterations, site work
Concept

12. SMD 06 OG 15-240
3029 M Street, NW
Commercial
Window repair, sign – Moleskine Permit

13. SMD 06 OG 15-247
3010 Q Street, NW
Residence
Alterations
Permit

14. SMD 06 OG 15-255
3018 P Street, NW
Residence
Rear additions to replace open porch, alterations
Concept

15. SMD 06 OG 15-263
3021 P Street, NW
Residence
Demolish and add rear addition
Concept

16. SMD 07 OG 15-196
1617 29th Street, NW
Residence
Site work, paving, fences, landscaping
Concept

No Review At This Time by ANC 2E: The following additional projects, which are on the upcoming July 2, 2015, agenda of the Old Georgetown Board, have not been added to the ANC meeting agenda for OGB-related design review and we do not propose to adopt a resolution on them at this time. If there are concerns about any of these projects, please contact the ANC office by Friday, June 26, 2015.

?Public Projects

1.National Park Service Rock Creek Park 3501 Water Street, NW
Building stabilization and electrification
Final

2. Government of the District of Columbia Department of General Services 3219 O Street, NW
Hyde – Addison Elementary School
Addition
Concept – Design development

3. OG 15-253 ?
3700 O Street, NW
Georgetown University Antennae on Leavey Center
Permit

4. OG 15-236 ?
3800 Reservoir Road, NW
MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
Rooftop HVAC at Bles Building
Concept

Private Projects

1. SMD 02 OG 15-171
1618 34th Street, NW
Residence
Replacement windows and door at rear
Permit

2. SMD 02 OG 15-257
1655 34th Street, NW
Residence
Fence
Permit

3. SMD 02 OG 15-243
1627 35th Street, NW
Residence
Retaining wall
Existing alteration without review
Permit

4. SMD 02 OG 15-226
3203 R Street, NW
Residence
Alterations
Permit

5. SMD 02 OG 15-229
3227 Reservoir Road, NW
Residence
Replacement slate roof
Permit

?6. SMD 02 OG 15-139
1576 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Commercial
Signs – Georgetown Shell
Existing alteration without review
Permit

7. SMD 03 OG 15-250
1510 31st Street, NW
Residence
Rooftop addition, alterations
Permit

8. SMD 03 OG 15-222
1518 31st Street, NW
Residence
Replacement wood fence, metal fence
Permit

9. SMD 03 OG 15-245
1405 34th Street, NW
Residence
Alterations, window replacements, cameras
Permit

10. SMD 03 OG 15-197 ?
3206 N Street, NW
Commercial
Addition, alterations, stair, signs, vents, lights
Permit

11. SMD 03 OG 15-121
3301 N Street, NW
Residence
Rear addition, alterations
Concept – revised

12. SMD 03 OG 15-180
3112 O Street, NW
Christ Church
Rectory Demolition, rear addition
Concept – revised

13. SMD 03 OG 15-265
3121 O Street, NW
Residence
Site work for permeable terraces
Permit

14. SMD 03 OG 15-188
3300 O Street, NW
1316 33rd Street, NW
1318 33rd Street, NW

Residence
Demolition, addition, alterations
Concept – revised

15. SMD 03 OG 15-230
3249 P Street, NW
Residence
Alterations to rear
Permit

16. SMD 03 OG 15-225
1351 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Commercial
Alterations to canopy, replacement doors
Permit

17. SMD 05 OG 15-264
1039 31st Street, NW
Commercial
Alterations, blade sign – Chez Billy Sud – Existing alterations without review
Permit

18. SMD 05 OG 15-232
2929 M Street, NW
Commercial
Repaving of parking lot – Existing alterations without review Permit

19. SMD 05 OG 15-246
3150 M Street, NW Commercial
Alterations
Permit

20. SMD 05 OG 15-234
3276 M Street, NW Commercial
Trash enclosure
Concept

21. SMD 05 OG 15-184
3295 M Street, NW
Commercial
Alterations to storefront, signs – Club Monaco
Permit

22. SMD 05 OG 15-244 3111 N Street, NW
Residence
Fence
Permit

23. SMD 05 OG 15-258
3614 Prospect Street, NW
Residence
Alterations, deck
Permit

24. SMD 05 OG 15-228
1071 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW
Mixed-use
Illuminated blade box sign – Curio
Permit

25. SMD 06 OG 15-135
1212 28th Street, NW
Mixed-use
Two-story plus basement rear addition
Concept – revised
New front stoop in public space and rear porch
Concept

27. SMD 06 OG 15-260 ?
2905 N Street, NW

26. SMD 06 OG 15-207
1250 28th Street, NW
Residence
New parking pad, alterations, site work
Concept

28. SMD 06 OG 15-235
3044 N Street, NW
Residence
Stair-railings at roof terrace above garage – Existing alterations without review
Permit
— ANC 2E’s prior unanimous opposition stands ?

29. SMD 06 OG 15-227
3009 M Street, NW
Commercial Sign – Free People
Permit

30. SMD 06 OG 15-237
2722 Olive Street, NW
Residential
Replacement windows
Existing alterations without review
Permit

31. SMD 07 OG 15-233
1534 28th Street, NW
Residence
Alterations: guardrail
Permit

32. SMD 07 OG 15-101
1609 31st Street, NW
Residence
Demolition, new residence
Concept – revised

33. SMD 07 OG 15-262
1687 32nd Street, NW Residence Alterations Concept

34. SMD 07 OG 15-241
2807 Q Street, NW
Residence
Front porch repair, new windows
Permit

35. SMD 07 OG 15-223
2800 R Street, NW
Residence
Replacement windows
Permit

36. SMD 07 OG 15-249
3000 R Street, NW
Residence
Replacement driveway
Permiit

37. SMD 07 OG 15-231
3033 Dent Place, NW
Residence
Replacement windows
Permit

Government of the District of Columbia: Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E, 3265 S St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20007 — 202-724-7098 — anc2e@dc.gov — www.anc2e.com

Gary Tischler • June 25, 2015

In our daily lives, news cycles never end—something (awful, strange, crazy, violent, awesome) happens and the news goes viral one night, dominates the next day, is analyzed and commented on ad infinitum and slithers away, replaced by the next story, the next piece of oddness, the next disaster, the next next.    

Hello Bruce, Good grief, it’s Caitlin,  goodbye to both, hello Donald—you know I’m really rich-Trump, (was that Jeb Bush announcing his presidential run?), hello Miss Dolezal, we hardly knew you, but it’s hardly a black or white issue, and you say it is, goodbye Rachel—did you see that no-hitter at Nationals Park?

But sometimes, a story—an event, really—stops everything and a kind of murmuring, shocked stillness ensues in its wake, starting slowly, gaining force, and then, as hours and days pass, and the aftermath itself becomes the event,  all the other things—we’ve seen fire and we’ve seen rain—seem to melt away, leaving us at a watershed in time.

That’s what happened last Wednesday, when the news trickled out slowly, out of Charleston, South Carolina, that there had been a shooting at a historically black church that evening, and it evolved to a full blown, shock and ghost-inducing headline: “Nine Dead in Shooting at Black Church in Charleston, S.C.”  A similar headline greeting morning coffee drinkers in Charleston itself, its two papers carrying the news, which was unfortunately and horribly and  ironically, partially hidden by a sticky ad for a gun shop and shooting range.

The alleged shooter turned out to be a  21-year-old, white high school drop-out named Dylann Roof of Eastover, South Carolina, who was apprehended by local police on Thursday, at least partly due to being identified by relatives.  The victims were parishioners at members of a bible study group at Emmanuel AME Church, the South’s oldest African American Church. 

Roof, as it turned out, held strong white supremacist views and apparently wrote a manifesto about his beliefs which warned against the country being taken over by blacks and minorities, including Hispanics and Jewish people.  

The very deed brought up ghosts that had always haunted this country, where slavery was considered its original sin.  They were ghost from slavery days, Jim Crow days, routine lynching in segregation days and nights, the shocking violence done during the high water marks of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s including a bombing that killed little girls in an Alabama church. It made false the claims that racist times were a thing of the past with the coming of America’s first black president, a notion that had already begun to re-take hold in the wake of a series of fatal police shootings of black men and demonstrations in the wake of incidents that ran from Missouri to New York City to Baltimore, which was struck by anger and fiery demonstrations and looting.

Yet, the shootings—which have been detailed elsewhere and dramatically on television, blotted out the sun and the sum of all other things, including a enormously influential papal encyclical on the environment and income disparity—stopped time itself for a time and left everyone—black and white, everyone with the remarkable effect of seeking solace with each other, not apart, but together.

What else to do in times like that, with the losses so familiar for the victims and their relatives looked and behaved like the kinds of people whose lives we could aspire to, no matter what our skin color?

They embodied decency, generosity of spirit, forgiving natures, they were all about love and family and so it seemed that in South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag—at least, for now—is still allowed to fly freely at the State Capitol, whites, ordinary people and the governor and the senator, and all, flocked to the same church to console each other and be the people which belied the alleged killer’s bigoted and racist claims and embodied the exact opposite.

We think now of that moment in time that this nothing-much person could be welcomed by this group of people, old and young, pastor and retired folks, parents and grandparents and all, look at them for an hour, listen to what they had to say, and commence to shoot because he says he had to. 

He could not in the course of an hour, see them at all, for kind hearts, for civil words, for lives they had and lived.

Not at all.  He could not image them, let alone see them.

He just commenced to shoot and kill, as if he were just the most important soul under the sun.

He is not.  

The nine people whose lives were taken became a loss for everyone who streamed to the church, became a loss for all of us, a huge loss which may yet transform our lives and sense of who we are together and apart.

Gary Tischler • June 24, 2015

Christopher Lee, who passed away in London June 7 at the age of 93 of heart and respiratory problems — will always be known for playing Dracula— but, oh, there was so much more.

His was a life in full—and sometimes, he surprised us after a period of absence by his re-appearance, better and bigger than ever.   In this way, he was something like the movie, “Dracula.” He would always come back in yet another film, another sequel, another apparition for that matter.

Lee, who began life as a member of an aristocratic English military family, wanted to fly but an eye problem prevented it. He worked for British intelligence for a time.  And then, he decided to become an actor. After stage stints and a small part in the Laurence Olivier’s black-and-white version of “Hamlet,” he emerged from the British horror movie works, Hammer Films, to play not only Dracula time and time again but also the creature in the Frankenstein epics which Hammer also made.

The Hammer style in the 1950s and 1960s was color—blood red, dripping from teeth, necks and Victorian low-cut bodices. They hardly resembled the Universal black-and-white films of Bela Lugosi’s time.  But Lee, with a tony aristocratic and recognizable voice, added class to these films, along with Peter Cushing, who played Dr. Frankenstein and Dracula’s nemesis in many films.

Lee’s Dracula was singular—not quite like the stilted living ghost of Lugosi, not as sexy as Frank Langella and not as weird as Gary Oldman. Lee was lean, scary and totally hypnotic and authoritative.

Those were qualities he brought to his later, resurrection-mode films as the deeply compromised evil wizard Saruman in “The Lord of the Rings” films and another villain, Count Dooku in the prequel “Star Wars” movies.

He appeared in 250 films—including as a villain and nemesis for Roger Moore’s James Bond in “The Man With the Golden Arm.”

But wait, there’s more: Lee was by all accounts a swell singer, singing “Name Your Poison” in a film called “The Return of Captain Invincible,” and he merged operas with heavy metal in recordings he made on which he also sang. He appeared in “Sweeney Todd” and “Corpse Bride” from director Tim Burton, king of the intellectually weird in cinema.

He played Sherlock Holmes and Rasputin the mad monk.

He hosted Saturday Night Live in 1978 and played a character called Doctor Death.

He was knighted by Prince Charles. So, that’s Sir Dracula to you.

He was married for 54 years to the Danish painter and former model Birgit Gitte Kroncke.

The world learned of his death today. I would — out of respect — check that, just to be sure.

Georgetowner •

A woman was hit by a delivery truck turning on Calvert Street at 37th Street and near Wisconsin Avenue around 6 p.m. on June 11. The female pedestrian died that evening. The intersection, where the incident occurred, is along Glover Park’s busy commercial district.

Officials from the Metropolitan Police Department responded to the fatal accident that involved a Giant Food Peapod truck and closed the 3700 block of Calvert Street NW and 2800 block of 37th Street NW for their investigation for a time. The driver remained on the scene.

The victim has not been identified. The MPD has also not yet responded to Georgetowner inquiries concerning the cause of the crash as well as if any charges against the driver have been brought.
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Robert Devaney • June 22, 2015

Late Thursday night, U.S. marshals and officers from the Metropolitan Police Department arrested Daron Dylon Wint, 34, the prime suspect in the May 14 murders of Savvas Savopoulus, his wife, Amy Savopoulos, their son Philip, and a housekeeper, Veralicia Figueroa, at the Savopoulus home in Woodley Park.

A massive manhunt ended on the 1100 block of Rhode Island Avenue NE. “A police helicopter joined the pursuit from above, and officers eventually got between the two vehicles in northeast Washington. Wint surrendered without a fight and showed little emotion as he, three other men and two women were taken into custody,” according to the Associated Press. One of those arrested was Wint’s brother. The scene on Rhode Island Avenue involved about 25 vehicles.

“Just got him,” announced MPD Chief Cathy Lanier around 11:30 p.m., May 21, of the person accused of multiple slayings, which Mayor Muriel Bowser, called “an act of evil.”

After tracking Wint to New York and back to D.C., the fugitive task force detected him near a Howard Johnson hotel in College Park, Md., and followed a sedan and box truck into the District. Police also found at least $10,000 in one of the vehicles and did not rule out other possible suspects.

According to the New York Post, Wint took a taxicab from Brooklyn to D.C. to escape police: “He’d been staying in his gal pal’s Canarsie apartment since Sunday — but wasn’t concerned about getting caught until he was named as a suspect Wednesday night, a law enforcement source said. Wint was ‘shocked’ by the warrant for his arrest, the source added. He called his parents in Maryland, then hopped in a livery cab, forking over hundreds of dollars to get back to D.C., the source said.”

Wint is set to be arraigned Friday afternoon on a charge of first-degree murder while armed.

After the dramatic arrest of the suspect, accused of a heinous crime which attracted local, national and international attention, the Savopoulos family offered a statement: “While it does not abate our pain, we hope that it begins to restore a sense of calm and security to our neighborhood and to our city. We are blessed to live in a community comprised of close circles of friends who have supported us and grieve with us. Our family, and Vera’s family, have suffered unimaginable loss, and we ask for the time and space to grieve privately.”

Because of DNA left on a crust of pizza at the crime scene and a criminal record, Wint matched the forensic evidence, and the pursuit began.

“He is wanted pursuant to a D.C. Superior Court arrest warrant charging him with Murder One while Armed,” MPD announced May 20. “He is described as a black male, approximately 5’7” in height, weighing approximately 155 pounds.”

“For residents of the District who are rightfully scared and want answers as to why and how this family may have been involved, we want to give you as many answers as we can,” said Lanier at a midday press conference May 21.”What we can tell you right now is that we do believe there is a connection between the suspect in this case through the business. So right now it does not appear that this was a random crime.”

Wint is reported to have worked as a welder for American Iron Works in Hyattsville, Md., where Savvas Savopoulus was the CEO. Wint went through Marine Corps boot camp in 2000 but left after five weeks. He is also an ex-convict.

On May 21, CNN reported: “On Thursday, U.S. Marshals and NYPD detectives questioned a woman believed to be Wint’s girlfriend, according to two law enforcement sources involved in the investigation. The sources said the girlfriend, who lives in Brooklyn, told authorities that she spoke to Wint and that he was planning to turn himself in.”

The May 14 murder of Savvas Savopoulus, 46, and his wife, Amy Savopoulos, 47, as well as their 10-year-old son, Philip, who attended St. Alban’s School, and a housekeeper, Veralicia Figueroa, 57, has shocked friends of the family, which lived blocks away from Washington National Cathedral and the home of Vice President Joe Biden. After the attacks, the Savopoulus house — valued at $4.5 million — in the 3200 block of Woodland Drive NW was set on fire. The suspect or suspects fled the scene with $40,000 in cash, obtained from Savopoulus.

Savvas Savopoulos and his wife Amy were known around town and were involved with school and other social benefits. The couple’s two teenage daughters were at boarding school at the time of the murder and are safe.

A June 1 funeral service is planned for Savvas, Amy and Philip Savopoulos at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral on Massachusetts Avenue. The remains of Veralicia Figueroa will be sent to her native El Salvador after a funeral here.