DC Teen Charged with Robbing, Assaulting Homeless in Silver Spring

An 18-year-old Washington, DC, man is charged with a sex offense, robbery and assault in attacks on area homeless people.

Police arrested the man in the 8400 block of Georgia Avenue Friday, Aug. 31. Patrol officers responded to a homeless man’s report that he had woken up to find the suspect looking down at him. The victim said the suspect punched him before running away with his cell phone and lighter.

Police said the same man also was identified by a homeless woman, who said he had sexually assaulted her just 90 minutes earlier at Discovery Place in downtown Silver Spring. 

The man is scheduled for a preliminary hearing later this month, according to online court records. 

Montgomery County Police’s Silver Spring District is investigating several major crimes recently reported throughout the district, which extends up Colesville Road/Route 29 from downtown Silver Spring to Burtonsville.

• Juvenile Male Shot With BB Gun: A boy told police that two teen boys he knew asked him to follow them to an apartment building in the 9100 block of Piney Branch Road on Friday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. One of the suspects pulled out a BB gun and threatened the victim with it. The robbers grabbed the victim’s keys and cell phone before shooting him in the stomach. Police said they then gave the boy his keys and phone, told him they were members of a street gang and ran away.

• Suspects Threaten Juvenile Male with Handgun: When a juvenile male refused to give robbers the money they asked for on Friday, Aug. 31 at 8:52 p.m., one of the suspects lifted his shirt and showed the boy the butt of a handgun that he had in his waistband, police said. The suspects ran away after seeing officers in the area, near Old Columbia Pike and Tree Top Lane, and the victim quickly boarded a bus, but police said he reported the crime later. 

• Man Burned After Refusing to Give Money: Two men brandished a knife and forced their way into an adult male’s vehicle while he idled at a stoplight at University Boulevard E and Gilbert Street on Saturday, Sept. 1 at 12:15 a.m. The robbers forced the man to drive to Prince George’s County before demanding cash, police said. The man refused and one of the suspects lit an unknown substance, burning the man and his car.

• Boy Robbed of Phone and Cash at Gunpoint: A juvenile male told police that two suspects held him up at gunpoint before taking his cell phone and cash from a wallet on Monday, Sept. 3 at 9:48 p.m. in the 8800 block of Piney Branch Road.

• Castle Boulevard-area Man Charged with Robbing Juvenile: A 19-year-old man from the Castle Boulevard area of Silver Spring was charged with robbing a juvenile male in the hallway of an apartment complex in the 14100 block of Castle Boulevard, police report. The victim told police that three men robbed him on Tuesday, Sept. 4 at 3:31 p.m., one pulling out a collapsible baton and holding it above him before taking his mp3 player, wallet and cash. 

• Laptops Stolen from Office Building: Five laptops were taken from a communications firm at 8484 Georgia Ave. overnight Monday, Aug. 27, sometime between 7:45 p.m. Monday and 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. Officers don’t know how the burglars entered the building.

The above is a summary of major crimes reported in Montgomery County Police's 3rd District, which includes greater Silver Spring and Burtonsville. 

When posting a story at Patch in which we give a description of someone wanted in connection with a crime, we provide as detailed a description as possible. We describe a suspect's race only when it is part of a broader description providing a reasonable expectation that the person can be identified. For questions on police stories, contact: whitney.teal@patch.com.