FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2010
KLMNO
EZ SU
B5 Prince George’s judge convicts man in double murder Luckett thought
wife and acquaintance were having an affair
BY RUBEN CASTANEDA A Prince George’s Countyman
was convicted Thursday of mur- dering hiswife and then killing a family acquaintance he mistak- enly thought was having an affair with her. Following a four-day trial,
Prince George’s Circuit Court Judge Leo E. Green Jr. convicted
Terris T. Luckett, 42, of killing his wife, Tunja Luckett, 36, and John Scales III, 37, during a spasm of violence more than three years ago. Luckett chose to be tried before the judge instead of a jury. Green found Luckett guilty of
two counts of first-degree mur- der and two weapons violations. In announcing the verdict, Green said the evidence against Luckett was “overwhelming.” Luckett admitted to police
that he shot his wife and Scales, according to testimony. He told police he did not intend to kill his wife although, according to
Assistant State’s Attorney Jo- seph C. Ruddy, he shot her at least 20 times the evening of Aug. 2, 2007, at their FortWash- ington home. Luckett first fired all 13
rounds of his 9 mm Ruger, Ruddy said in his closing argu- ment. Then, as his wife lay on the ground bleeding, he dropped the ammunition cartridge on or near her body, reloaded and continued firing. A neighbor heard Luckett’s
wife of more than 16 years cry out “Help, helpme!” in her final moments, Ruddy said. Luckett then drove away and
about 10minutes later entered a barbershop in Clinton where Scales worked. Luckett shot Scales seven times, including twice to the head, Ruddy said. Police previously have said Luckett mistakenly thought his wife and Scales were romanti- cally involved. Luckett evaded the police for
two days. He called his mother from the platform of the South- ern Avenue Metro station in Prince George’s County and told her he wanted to kill himself.He said he would have done it earlier, but he had used all his bullets.
Luckett lay down on the
tracks. A Metro car crushed his legs, but Luckett survived. His legs were amputated, one above the knee and the other below. Luckett, who sat in a wheel-
chair throughout the trial, showed no emotion as Green announced the verdict. Luckett’s defense attorneys
contend their client is not crimi- nally responsible because he was suffering from a mental disorder that impaired his abili- ty to act lawfully. A hearing on that issue is scheduled to begin Oct. 18. The outcome of the hearing will not affect Luckett’s
conviction. If Green rules in favor of the
defense, Luckett would be com- mitted to Clifton T. Perkins Hos- pital Center, a psychiatric facili- ty in Jessup that houses violent criminals who have been diag- nosed with severe mental disor- ders. Otherwise, Luckett could be sentenced to a state prison. Scales’s mother, Jacqueline
Scales, 63, attended the trial and said the verdict provided a small measure of satisfaction. “I feel some relief,” Scales
said. “I haven’t seen [Luckett show] any remorse.”
castanedar@washpost.com
Woman, 24, is killed in hit-and-run inDistrict
D.C. police investigating womanwho facesDWI charge inMontgomery
BY PAUL DUGGAN A Montgomery County wom-
an was charged with driving while intoxicated early Thurs- day and is under investigation in the hit-and-run death of a woman who was struck while stepping out of a parked car in the District, authorities said. Jorida Davidson, 30, was ar-
rested by county police and charged with DWI about 2:30 a.m., an hour after the accident near Dupont Circle, said Cpl. Dan Friz, a Montgomery police spokesman. The arrest took place at the high-rise apartment building where Davidson lives in the county’s Chevy Chase section, five miles north of Du- pont Circle. The victim, KielaM. Ryan, 24,
ofHoward County, was stepping out of the driver’s seat of a legally parked car on Connecti- cut Avenue near N Street NW about 1:30 a.m. when she was struck by a northbound Lexus sport-utility vehicle, police said. As the dark-colored SUV con-
NIKKI KAHN/THE WASHINGTON POST
At a rally at Bowie StateUniversity forMarylandGov.Martin O’Malley, President Obama called on voters—especially young ones—to prove “the other side” wrong about flagging enthusiasm and vote next month to keep the Democratic incumbent. “They are counting on amnesia, they are counting on your apathy,” he said.
For some, Obama is the main star at O’Malley rally obama from B1
Thousands had walked a mile or more from parking areas, stood in line and waited hours on the sun-drenched quad for Obama to speak.
‘Two distinct things’ Willistine Page, a retired U.S.
StateDepartment personnel offi- cer from Clinton, said it was entirely Obama who drew her to the rally. “I want to continually support
Obama,” said Page, an African Americanwho attended the pres- ident’s inauguration last year. “I think it’s importantwe stickwith him in good times and bad times.” She said she arrived less en-
thused about O’Malley. “The president and the governor are two distinct things, of course they are.” But Page said that after hearing Obama’s praise for O’Malley, she was inclined to consider volunteering for his campaign. “It makes me want to bemore active,” she said. Ditto for Narae Wright, 17, a
Bowie State freshman fromSuit- land. Along with her friends Ishalay White, 17, of Fort Wash- ington and Jyla Wooten, 18, of Upper Marlboro, Wright waited more than three hours outside for Obama. There was no ques- tion that if he had not come to campus they would not have come out, they said. “He was powerful, inspirational,”Wooten
said. “Not toomany people come here and say to us on a daily basis to follow our dreams,” she said, adding that she would take his urgings to heart and vote Nov. 2.
An island of calm? While O’Malley tried to ener-
gize voters in Prince George’s, former governor Robert L. Eh- rlich Jr. held court with more than 100women at a luncheon in Potomac. Ehrlich played down the significance of Obama’s visit and said his ownmessage would resonate withMaryland voters. “The country is in a fiscally
conservative mood, and Mary- land is, too,” Ehrlich said in an interview. “People are very con- cerned about their mortgages and smart kids who can’t get a job.” In much the way Republicans
four years ago hoped Maryland would remain an island of calm for the party’s incumbents in a storm of midterm upheaval, Democrats are banking that Maryland will remain a solidly blue state after Nov. 2. The odds are looking better for
O’Malley and Maryland Demo- crats this time than for Republi- cans and Ehrlich four years ago. Ehrlich’s loss in 2006 came in a strong year for Democrats, but it was notable because he was the only incumbent governorwith an approval rating of more than 50 percent to lose his seat. Similarly, this year may be a strong one for Republicans, but a
loss by O’Malley would be an even bigger upset. Democrats hold a 2 to 1 advantage over Republicans among registered voters, and they are lining up solidly behind O’Malley, accord- ing to recent polls. O’Malley is more popular now than at any time since 2004, according to a Washington Post poll released last week. Introducing Obama, O’Malley
yelled: “They can take back New Jersey, and they can take back Virginia, but they can’t take back Maryland, because Maryland moves forward,” he said, refer- ring to Republican wins last year by governors Chis Christie and Robert F.McDonnell.
The youth, black votes Obama has usedMaryland as a
backdrop for several events and policy announcements in the past two years, and he was ex- pected to make at least one cam- paignstopinthe statebeforenext month. But the president had commit-
ted to Thursday’s event before recent polls showed O’Malley with a growing lead, and the stop in the traditionally blue state stood out in a calendar that has kept the president traveling mostly to true toss-up states, many in the Midwest. He flew to Illinois for campaign events after the rally in Bowie. Obama’s job in Maryland on
Thursday fit with efforts he be- gan last month to reinvigorate
the youthandthe black votes that helped propel him to victory two years ago. As in other states, registration
and voter turnout among those groups surged for Maryland Democrats in 2008. Maryland has a higher percentage of Afri- can Americans than any state outside the Deep South, and black voters tend to break heavily for Democrats. But turnout was dismal last month in Prince George’s and other majority- black jurisdictions that will have few other competitive races be- sides that of O’Malley’s on the ballot Nov. 2. Strategists on both sides of
Maryland’s gubernatorial race say it will be nearly impossible for the Republican to win if African Americans can be moti- vated to go to the polls in num- bers similar to those in 2008. They accounted for 25 percent of the electorate then, according to exit polls.
Themessage Obama reiterated many
themes familiar at recent cam- paign rallies on campuses in Wisconsin and elsewhere, but he built upon his criticism that special interests — and even foreign ones—are fueling exces- sive spending for Republicans, which he said has been cloaked by recent Supreme Court deci- sions. “We’re going to need to work even harder in this election. We
are going to need to fight their millions of dollars with millions of voices,” Obama said. Onstage with Obama and
O’Malley was Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), who also has a big lead over EricWargotz (R) in her reelection bid.HouseMajori- ty Leader Steny H. Hoyer and nearly every other member of Maryland’s congressional delega- tion were also there. One exception was Rep. Frank
M. Kratovil Jr. His office said he spent afternoon knocking on doors in the Eastern Shore dis- trict where he faces a stiff chal- lenge from state Sen. Andrew P. Harris (R-Baltimore County). For the feel-good afternoon for
mostMaryland Democrats, there were also signs on campus that the economy had worn down some and that turning out to vote wouldn’t be as obvious a thing to do as two years ago. Marietta Smith, 18, a sopho-
more from Bowie, was raising money for the Make a Wish Foundation on campus and did not get to hear the speeches. She said she is “leaning towards O’Malley.” But despite his pledges to keep tuition low atMaryland’s public universities, she said sev- eral friends could not afford to return to Bowie this year because they could not find the funds.
davisa@washpost.com
Staff writers Ann E.Marimow, Miranda S. Spivack and JohnWagner contributed to this report.
Police won’t suspend officers in cheating scandal cheating from B1
of the subject. Hylton had said at the news conference that every- one passed the tests, though they didnot all receive 100 percent. Hylton confirmed that the in-
structor “basically provided some answers prior to the administra- tion of the test.” But when asked whether the cadets bore some re- sponsibility in not objecting to that behavior, he said, “Therewas no sinister plot here.” “There was no giving of ques-
tions, answers, saying, ‘Okay, question number one is A, ques-
tion number two is B,’ ” he said. “Asyoucanseebytheteststhatare available, if thiswas sucha review that was basically planned and orchestrated, Iwould be very sur- prisedwhyeverybodywasnotget- ting 100 percent.” He said that instructor was fined but remains inthe academy. Hyltonsaidhewouldworkwith
the Maryland Police and Correc- tional Training Commissions, which certify all police officers in the stateandinspectpoliceacade- mies to make sure officers are appropriatelytrained, toaudit the files of Session 115 and the two
“That was an instructor issue. That was not the class.” —Prince George’s Police Chief Roberto Hylton
classes that followed it. The com- missions could call officers back to class if any seriouswrongdoing is uncovered. Meanwhile, the integrity of the
officers in question already is turning up as anissue incourt. Near the endof adouble-homi-
cide trial Thursday, defense attor- ney Harry J. Trainor Jr. made a
motion seeking to determine whether any officers in the three cadet classes under the testing cloud participated in the investi- gation of his client, Terris T. Luck- ett. A judge later determined that none of themwas. State’s Attorney Glenn F. Ivey
said Thursday that he will com- pare the names of the officers to
his witness lists and notify de- fenseattorneys ineachcasewhere it is appropriate. Brian Denton, the public de-
fender in Prince George’s, said that he is working to get the names of the affectedofficers, and that he has serious doubts about thepoliceexplanation—that 100s wererecordedwhentheywerenot earned. “It createsmore questions than
it solves,” he said.
zapotoskym@washpost.com
StaffwriterRuben Castaneda contributed to this report.
tinued north on Connecticut, police said, a bicyclist got close enough to note the vehicle’s Maryland tag number. The bicy- clist then reported the plate number to D.C. police. The accident occurred in the
1300 block of Connecticut Ave- nue. Police said Ryan’s car was parked at the curb along the outer, northbound lane that runs parallel to the underpass where the central lanes dip below Dupont Circle. Ryan, of the 6900 block of
Knighthood Lane, Columbia, suffered “massive internal inju- ries” and was pronounced dead at a hospital about 5 a.m., D.C. police spokeswoman Gwendo- lyn Crump said. D.C. police relayed the vehicle
information toMontgomery po- lice, Friz said, and county offi- cers went to Davidson’s resi- dence, the North Park Avenue Apartments at 4615 North Park Ave. Friz said the officers found Davidson in the parked Lexus SUV with the engine off and the key out of the ignition. Based on what the officers
observed of her physical condi- tion, Friz said, Davidson was charged with DWI and taken to the Bethesda district station, where she declined to submit to a breath test. After being booked, she was released in the care of an acquaintance, Friz said. Her court appearance has yet to be scheduled. A man who answered the
telephone at Davidson’s apart- ment Thursday afternoon said, “We have nothing to say,” and hung up. D.C. police impounded the
Lexus and hauled it to a crime lab as they continue investigat- ing the fatal hit-and-run, police said. Crump said authorities expect to file charges in the District separate from the DWI charge in Montgomery.
dugganp@washpost.com
Staff researcher Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report.
Home delivery is so easy.
1-800-753-POST SF
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128