Crime

Baby Found Safe in D.C. After PG Carjacking, Suspects Still At Large

THE AFRO — A carjacking inadvertently turned into a kidnapping but led to a happy ending- a saga that began in Prince George’s County and concluded in D.C.

Published

6 years ago

March 3, 2019

Oakland Post

By Mark F. Gray

A carjacking inadvertently turned into a kidnapping but led to a happy ending- a saga that began in Prince George’s County and concluded in D.C.

Prince George’s County Police are still investigating the incident that started at a Valero Gas Station on Martin Luther King Jr. Highway in Seat Pleasant on the DC/MD border. According to police reports, an unidentified assailant stole a 2013 Chevrolet Traverse while the woman was pumping gas with her child in the car Feb. 26.

Primary investigators have surmised the suspects jumped into the vehicle awhile the mother was pumping gas, and mistakenly drove off with the child inside, according to Seat Pleasant Police Chief Devan Martin.

Just after getting the frantic 911 call and starting the Amber Alert procedure, Martin said another driver spotted the baby during his press briefing outside the gas station. The unharmed child had been placed on the side of the road, in her car seat, on E Street between 56^th and 57^th streets in Southeast, D.C.

“We have come from terrible circumstances to triumph,” said Seat Pleasant Police Chief Devan Martin. “The baby has been located. The baby is safe.”

Though it’s not known exactly how long the baby girl was in the car with the unknown suspect she was taken to a local hospital to be examined and was ultimately released.

Local broadcast media reports gained access to a surveillance video from the gas station. WJLA-TV in Washington learned the mother went inside the gas station to purchase candy for the child while the pump was active which provided the opportunity for carjacking and abduction.

When the suspects ultimately recognized they had stolen an occupied vehicle, they dropped off the child in front of Dunn & Sons Funeral Home on Eads Street in Northeast, D.C. funeral and continued their escape. Two women inside the building noticed the car seat outside the building. They secured the child and notified authorities she was safe before relinquishing her to them. The baby girl was reportedly in custody of the people at the funeral home for approximately 30 minutes.

Seat Pleasant Police are still actively searching for the stolen vehicle: a 2013 Chevrolet Traverse, dark in color, with Maryland Tag 4CM8301. Anyone who has seen that SUV or has information on the whereabouts of the two people who stole it is urged to contact Seat Pleasant Police.

This article originally appeared in The Afro.

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Oakland Post: Week of March 28 – April 1, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 28 – April 1, 2025

Published

2 days ago

March 28, 2025

Oakland Post

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Activism

Group Takes First Steps to Recall District Attorney Diana Becton

The group, called “Recall Diana Becton,” says they have lost faith in her prosecution decisions and her lack of transparency. On their social media post, they say: “We the victims of crime, their families, local business owners and employees, as well as residents of Contra Costa County, have reached our limit and are initiating the recall of District Attorney Diana Becton,” the notice states. “We are increasingly concerned about the persistent cycle of unaddressed criminal activity. We are frustrated by her continuous empty promises to victims and their families that justice will prevail while she permits criminals to roam free.” Becton, 73, is a former judge who was appointed district attorney in 2017 by the Board of Supervisors and then won election in 2018 and again in 2022.

Published

7 days ago

March 24, 2025

Oakland Post

Diana Becton has served at the Contra Costa County District Attorney since 2017. Richmond Standard photo.

By Post Staff

After gathering more than 100 verified signatures, a group led by crime victims delivered a ‘notice of intent’ to the offices of Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton seeking her recall.

The group, called “Recall Diana Becton,” says they have lost faith in her prosecution decisions and her lack of transparency.

On their social media post, they say:

“We the victims of crime, their families, local business owners and employees, as well as residents of Contra Costa County, have reached our limit and are initiating the recall of District Attorney Diana Becton,” the notice states.

“We are increasingly concerned about the persistent cycle of unaddressed criminal activity. We are frustrated by her continuous empty promises to victims and their families that justice will prevail while she permits criminals to roam free.”

Becton, 73, is a former judge who was appointed district attorney in 2017 by the Board of Supervisors and then won election in 2018 and again in 2022.

Becton has seven days to respond. According to the East Bay Times, her office spokesperson said her “answer will be her public comment.”

After Becton responds, according to the Contra Costa County Elections Office, Recall Diana Becton must then finalize the petition language and gather signatures of a minimum of 10% of registered voters (72,000) in 160 days before it can go on the ballot for election.

She is the third Bay Area district attorney whose constituents wanted them removed from office. San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin was removed from office in 2021 and last year, Pamela Price lost her position in a recall election.

Of the top 10 proponents of Becton’s recall, three are the families of Alexis Gabe, Thomas Arellano, and Damond Lazenby Jr.

In each of those cases, the families say Becton failed to pursue prosecution, allowed a plea deal instead of a trial in a slaying and questioned the coroner’s report in a fatal car crash.

Some political science experts suggest that, in the Bay Area there may be a bit of copycat syndrome going on.

In many states, recalls are not permitted at all, but in California, not only are they permitted but the ability to put one into motion is easy.

“Only 10% of registered voters in a district are needed just to start the process of getting the effort onto the ballot,” Garrick Percival, a political science professor told the East Bay Times. “It makes it easy to make the attempt.”

But according to their website, the Recall Diana Becton group express their loss of faith in the prosecutor.

“Her lack of transparency regarding crime in this county, and her attempts to keep her offenders out of jail have left us disheartened,” the recall group wrote.

Petitioners say they are acting not just for themselves but other crime victims “who feel ignored, exasperated and hopeless in their pursuit of justice for themselves or their loved ones.”

KRON TV, The East Bay Times, and Wikipedia are the sources for this report.