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Man wanted on attempted murder warrant opens fire on D.C. police cruiser Man wanted on attempted murder warrant opens fire on D.C. police officers
(about 4 hours later)
A man being sought on warrants charging him with attempted murder and sexual assault in Maryland opened fire on a D.C. police cruiser Wednesday evening, emptying bullets from two guns as he tried to escape apprehension, according to law enforcement authorities. A man being sought on warrants charging him with attempted murder and sexual assault in Maryland opened fire on D.C. police officers Wednesday evening, emptying bullets from two guns as he tried to escape apprehension, according to law enforcement authorities.
The officer in the marked car was not struck by gunfire, and police said another officer who had been on bicycle patrol shot at the gunman and missed. The suspect — 34-year-old Richard Butler III — was arrested and both weapons were recovered, according to police. Officers were not struck, and police said at least one officer shot at the gunman but missed. The suspect, 34-year-old Richard Butler III, was arrested, and both weapons were recovered, according to police. The suspect has relatives in the District, and court documents also list an address for him in Virginia. He told court officials that he was homeless.
D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said the man pulled his guns from a knapsack strapped to the front of his chest and opened fire as the officers approached a group in the 600 block of Mellon Street SE., off Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and near the campus that includes the District’s homeland-security headquarters. D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said the man pulled his guns from a knapsack strapped to his chest and opened fire as the officers approached a group in the 600 block of Mellon Street SE., off Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. Police said the suspect fired his weapon over several blocks as he fled on foot, striking five civilians’ cars with bullets. The windshield of one vehicle, which was stopped at a traffic light, was hit. The driver was not injured.
“We don’t see cases like this all the time,” Lanier said on Thursday. Noting increased tensions between police and some communities across the country, Lanier said, “I think the mentality of truly violent offenders is that they are much more likely in any jurisdiction to engage police.” “We don’t see cases like this all the time,” Lanier said Thursday. Noting increased tensions between police and some communities across the country, Lanier said, “I think the mentality of truly violent offenders is that they are much more likely in any jurisdiction to engage police.”
[Man wanted in Prince George’s County stabbing, sex assault][Man wanted in Prince George’s County stabbing, sex assault]
Documents filed in D.C. Superior Court say that Butler tested positive for the hallucinogenic drug PCP after his arrest and admitted to using synthetic drugs within the past 30 days. Court records show Butler is on probation until December 2017 after having served 36 months in prison for a weapons conviction in the District. The records show he violated his release conditions three times in March, failing to show up for drug testing. Documents filed in D.C. Superior Court say that Butler tested positive for the hallucinogenic drug PCP after his arrest and admitted to using synthetic drugs within the past 30 days. Court records show that Butler is on probation until December 2017 after having served 36 months in prison for a weapons conviction in the District. The records show he violated his release conditions three times in March because he failed to show up for drug testing.
Butler has been convicted of felonies in the District, Maryland and Virginia. He served three years in Virginia for being a felon in possession of a handgun, and six years in Maryland for robbery with a deadly weapon. Butler told court officials on Thursday that he is homeless. Butler has been convicted of felonies in the District, Maryland and Virginia. He served three years in Virginia for being a felon in possession of a handgun and six years in Maryland for robbery with a deadly weapon.
The suspect is currently wanted by Prince George’s County police in connection with a stabbing that occurred March 7 on Tyrone Drive in Upper Marlboro. Police said the suspect’s girlfriend was stabbed several times outside a house. He was charged in a warrant with attempted murder.The suspect is currently wanted by Prince George’s County police in connection with a stabbing that occurred March 7 on Tyrone Drive in Upper Marlboro. Police said the suspect’s girlfriend was stabbed several times outside a house. He was charged in a warrant with attempted murder.
Police said Butler also is wanted in a March 3 sexual assault of a young woman and a March 4 arson in which an incendiary device was thrown through an apartment window. Both incidents occurred in Landover. Butler was charged with arson and a second-degree sex offense. Police said Butler is also wanted in a March 3 sexual assault of a young woman and a March 4 arson in which an incendiary device was thrown through an apartment window. Both incidents occurred in Landover. Butler was charged with arson and a second-degree sex offense.
Lanier said the District officer in the car had seen Butler’s photo on a wanted flier earlier on Wednesday. Later that evening, Lanier said, the officer saw a group on Mellon Street who he believed was playing a dice game. As he got closer, Lanier said, he recognized one of the men from the flier, and he and an officer on bicycle patrol approached the group. Lanier said the D.C. police officer in the car had seen Butler’s photo on a “wanted” flier earlier Wednesday. Later that evening, Lanier said, the officer saw people on Mellon Street that he believed were playing a dice game. As the officer drew closer, Lanier said, he recognized one of the men from the flier.
People dispersed, police said, but one man reached into his bag, pulled out a gun and began firing. Lanier said he shot the gun until it was empty, then took a second gun from the bag and continued to fire. Police said the cruiser was struck several times. The arrest affidavit says that as the officer approached the suspect to identify him, the man ran to the edge of an alley, turned and fired two shots. The officer returned fire.
The two officers chased the man as he fired, police said, and arrested him a short distance away. The court document says that the officer then chased the suspect along several alleys and streets, at one point jumping over fences, and that the gunman “kept turning around, facing [the officer] firing back at him.”
Butler faces 10 criminal charges in the District, including assault on a police officer, weapons violations and assault with a dangerous weapon.Butler faces 10 criminal charges in the District, including assault on a police officer, weapons violations and assault with a dangerous weapon.
Clarence Williams and Lynh Bui contributed to this report Clarence Williams and Lynh Bui contributed to this report.