Metro News Release
For immediate release: April 28, 2009
Metro Transit Police arrest suspects for breaking into cars at Branch Avenue
Pair faces multiple charges, including assault on a police officer
The Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) arrested two suspects near the Suitland Metrorail station after the men sped out of the parking lot at the Branch Avenue Metrorail station yesterday, Monday, April 27.
Lawrence White, 23, and Dante Robbins, 22, both of Oxon Hill, Md., were charged with assault on a police officer after they tried to hit a Metro Transit Police Officer with a stolen vehicle at the Branch Avenue Metrorail station around 11 a.m. yesterday. The pair also faces charges of auto theft, theft from auto and destruction of property.
A civilian Metro employee who was working in the parking lot at the Branch Avenue Metrorail station reported seeing two people breaking into cars around 11 a.m. Monday. A Metro Transit Police officer approached the suspects, who tried to hit the officer with the car they were driving. After escaping by car, the suspects crashed the vehicle on Silver Hill Road near the Suitland Metrorail station, and fled on foot.
Metro Transit Police immediately had officers in the area looking out for the suspects and vehicle, and quickly apprehended Robbins near the crash scene. The second suspect climbed a nearby fence, running onto US Census Bureau property. Police canvassed the area and a Metro Transit K9 team tracked down White, who was hiding in the US Census Bureau’s parking lot.
Further investigation revealed that the two men were driving a car that was reported stolen in Prince George’s County on the previous day, Sunday, April 26.
The US Park Police and Prince George’s County Police departments assisted MTPD in Monday’s arrest.
Media contact for this news release: Cathy Asato or Lisa Farbstein at 202-962-1051.
News release issued at 8:49 am, April 28, 2009.