PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY OFFICE OF THE SHERIFF
Thursday, February 24, 2022
Friday, February 18, 2022
Deputies Arrest Attempted First Degree Murder Suspect
Upper Marlboro, MD… The Office of the Sheriff’s Warrant/Fugitive Division reported the arrest of Jeffery Brooks Jr. on February 16, 2022, on a warrant for Attempted First Degree Murder obtained by county police on October 31, 2021.
According to the warrant, on October 31, 2021, police responded to the 6000 Block of
Thunder Hill Ct. in Fort Washington, MD., for a reported shooting. Upon arrival,
police discovered a victim suffering from a gunshot wound. Detectives learned that
Brooks Jr. and the victim had been involved in an argument while in a parking lot.
Detectives further learned that during the argument Brooks Jr. allegedly pointed a
firearm and shot the victim. Brooks Jr. fled the scene in an unknown direction on foot
before police arrived. The victim was taken to a local hospital where they were treated
for injuries. Through their investigation, Detectives were able to identify Brooks Jr. as
the suspect.
On February 16, 2022, deputies determined that Brooks Jr. was located at an address in the 2200 Block of Alice Avenue, in Oxon Hill, MD. Deputies knocked on the door, and Brooks Jr. answered, where he was identified, served the warrant, placed into custody, and safely transported to detectives with the Prince George’s County Police Department without incident. Brooks Jr. is also charged with Attempted Second-Degree Murder, First-Degree Assault, Using a Firearm in the Commission of a Crime, Second Degree Assault, and Reckless Endangerment.
For more information contact the Communications and Public Affairs Division at 301-780-8637.
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NEWS WE LOVE!!!!
Young undocumented immigrants in Maryland can’t grow up to be whatever they want. This graduate student is trying to change that.
“It’s not that they don’t want to go higher in their field,” she says. “There is literally a legal bar that stops them, so they can only stay in low-wage jobs.”
The 22-year-old, who was born in Nigeria and grew up in Maryland, wrote a blog post several months ago that identified a workforce barrier that has been holding back many undocumented immigrants and limiting ambition at a time when critical fields are experiencing worker shortages. What has happened since that post published is something she hoped to see but didn’t expect to — at least not so soon.
“Would you believe me if I told you this blog post gained some traction amongst #Maryland legislators and now two bills are being introduced this session…,” she tweeted on Feb. 7.
In her blog post for New America, where she was interning, Ogundana credited Maryland with helping undocumented immigrants get a higher education. She noted that the state allows immigrants to pay in-state tuition at colleges and universities and it gives them the chance to attend local community colleges free. But then, she wrote, it limits them “from fully benefiting from their higher education credentials.”
“Case in point,” she wrote, “Maryland bars undocumented students from obtaining professional licenses.”
What that means is a child who was brought to this country and raised in Maryland might get asked what they want to be when they grow up, and then grow up and realize they are banned from getting the licenses needed to do those jobs. They can’t become licensed nurses, accountants or dental hygienists. They can’t become licensed veterinarians, educators or beauticians.
“Almost one in four jobs require some sort of license to practice in the U.S., and in Maryland almost 40% of the population hold jobs that require occupational licenses,” Ogundana wrote. “It is inconsistent to limit specific licenses from undocumented students if the actual operation of that profession does not require citizenship.”
Maryland is not the only state to have that ban in place, but now it has the chance to join five other states that have removed it. This week, the Maryland Senate and House were scheduled to hold hearings on legislation that, if passed, would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain professional and occupational licenses. Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-Montgomery) and Del. Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk (D-Prince George’s) worked together to introduce the bills.
“There is a crisis right now in our labor shortage and we have a possible solution, while helping students who have worked really hard, gotten a good education and are ready to serve in these licensed occupations,” Kagan said.
She said that many people in favor of the legislation have stepped forward to share their perspectives and that the Maryland Hospital Association has talked about having nearly 4,000 vacancies.
When I spoke with Peña-Melnyk about the legislation, she ticked off the jobs that require licenses. The list stretched long. Among those mentioned: accountants, architects, counselors, dental hygienists, court reporters, locksmiths, morticians, midwives, plumbers and therapists.
“It’s simply the right thing to do, especially given the work shortage that we have,” she said of the legislation. “It shouldn’t matter what your legal status is. What matters is that you’re able to do the job and that you’re qualified. And we definitely need all hands on deck.”
On the morning we talk, Ogundana shares with me the story of an aspiring cardiologist she knows. That student planned to go through an electrocardiography program at Prince George’s Community College in hopes of getting an EKG license and eventually attending medical school. But because she’s undocumented, that license remains out of reach — at least, for now.
“Unless someone is completely anti-immigrant, this bill helps the entire state,” Ogundana says. “This legislation is going to be impactful for many generations to come. … It also helps a community that has faced so many struggles.”
Ogundana graduated as the valedictorian of her Prince George’s County high school and says it wasn’t until her senior year, when she started applying to colleges, that she realized what it meant to be undocumented in this country. She was 4 when her family overstayed a visa and settled in Maryland. Throughout her schooling, she had been encouraged to strive and excel. But then she found herself rejected from colleges that asked for paperwork she couldn’t provide and accepted to colleges that wanted to list her as an international student, which comes with a high tuition cost.
After qualifying for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an immigration status that offers some protections to people who were brought to the United States as children, she was given a scholarship through TheDream.US to attend Trinity Washington University. Following her graduation, she interned for New America and is now pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Maryland at College Park.
Because she is a DACA recipient, the limitations she is fighting to remove for immigrants do not directly affect her situation. But they could if the application she has to file every two years is at any point denied or the program eliminated. Those limitations also affect her friends, her neighbors and her family members. Her younger brother, who was 1 when the family left Nigeria, applied for DACA but the processing of his paperwork was put on hold under the Trump administration and is now sitting in a backlog.
“His application has been in the system for five years,” she says. “So he hasn’t been able to reap the same benefits as me.”
When I ask Ogundana what she hopes to do after she gets her master’s degree, she says she hasn’t chosen a job title but she has picked a path. She wants to work in a position that will allow her to make policy recommendations.
That career choice, fortunately, doesn’t require a license.
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Deputies Arrest Sex Abuse of a Minor Suspect
Upper Marlboro, MD…The Office of the Sheriff’s Warrant/Fugitive Division reported the arrest of Jerome Phillip Herbert Sr. on February 10, 2022, on a warrant for Sex Abuse of a Minor obtained by county police on February 1, 2022.
According to the warrant, on February 1, 2022, Detectives learned on or about January 1, 2006, through December 12, 2021, a minor disclosed that Herbert Sr. had allegedly forced sexual acts on a minor victim at a residence in Suitland, MD.
On February 10, 2022, deputies determined that Herbert Sr. could be located at an address in the 6000 Block of Goodfellow Drive in Suitland, MD.
Deputies knocked, and a resident answered, allowing them to enter the home. Once inside, Herbert was identified in the bedroom, served the warrant, placed into custody, and safely transported to the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections in Upper Marlboro, MD, without incident.
Herbert is also charged with six counts of Sex Abuse of a Minor, three counts of Attempted Second-Degree Rape, three counts of Third-Degree Sex Offense, three counts of Fourth-Degree Sex Offense, three counts of Second-Degree Assault, and three counts of Perverted Practice.
For more information contact the Communications and Public Affairs Division at 301-780-8637.
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Monday, February 14, 2022
Deputies Arrest First Degree Child Abuse Suspect
Upper Marlboro, MD… The Office of the Sheriff’s Warrant/Fugitive Division reported the arrest of Jevante Tyreke Dyson on February 8, 2022, on a warrant for First Degree Child Abuse obtained by county police on February 2, 2022.
According to the warrant,
on January 7th, detectives responded to a local hospital regarding a
physical child abuse case. Detectives learned that a minor child, who was in
the sole care of Dyson, was severely injured. The minor child was taken to
Children’s National Medical Center, where medical staff determined that the
injury caused was not accidental.
On February 8th, deputies determined that Dyson could be located at an address in the 300 Block of Possum Court in Capitol Heights, MD. Deputies knocked, and a resident answered, allowing them to enter the home. Once inside, Dyson was identified in the upstairs bedroom, served the warrant, placed into custody, and safely transported to the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections in Upper Marlboro, MD, without incident.
Dyson is also charged with two counts of Second-Degree Child Abuse and Second-Degree Assault.
For more
information contact the Communications and Public Affairs Division at 301-780-8637.
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Deputies Arrest First Degree Assault Suspect
On February 10, 2022, deputies determined that Torney could be located at an address in District Heights, MD. Deputies arrived and spoke with a resident, who allowed them to enter the home. Once inside, Torney was located, served the warrant, placed into custody, and safely transported to the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections without incident.
Torney is also charged with two counts of Second-Degree Assault.
For more information
contact the Communications and Public Affairs Division at 301-780-8637.
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Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Deputies Arrest Possession with Intent to Distribute Suspect
Upper Marlboro, MD… The Office of the Sheriff’s Warrant/Fugitive Division reported the arrest of Dominique Devon Walker on February 4, 2022, on a warrant for Possession with Intent to Distribute obtained by county police on January 2, 2022.
On February 4, 2022, deputies determined that Walker was located at an address in the 6300 Block of Hil-Mar Drive, in District Heights, MD. Deputies knocked on the door, and a resident answered, allowing them to enter the home. Once inside, deputies located Walker in a bedroom. Walker was served the warrant, placed into custody, and safely transported to the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections without incident.
Walker is also charged with Common Nuisance/Distribute Controlled Dangerous Substance, Common Nuisance/Administer Controlled Dangerous Substance, Possession of Marijuana 10gm and Possession of Paraphernalia.
For more information contact the Communications and Public Affairs Division at 301-780-8637.
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