Arrests Made in Two Assaults, Suspects at Large in Three Others

This crime summary combines two weekly reports for Feb. 6 through Feb. 21 from the Montgomery County Police Department's 6th District, which covers Montgomery Village and Gaithersburg.

A commercial burglary occurred at the 3 Star Beer & Wine, at 18524 Woodfield Road—in the Route 124 Shopping Center outside Gaithersburg— shortly after 5:30am on Friday, Feb. 10. Unknown entry; nothing taken.

A street robbery occurred at Lost Knife Road and Odendhal Avenue shortly before 2am on Thursday, Feb. 9. Gaithersburg City Police arrested Tidiane Stephan Bamba, 22, of the 9200 block of Hummingbird Way in Gaithersburg and charged him with one count each of robbery, second-degree assault and conspiracy. According to police charging documents, the incident was a three-on-one beating sparked by “an argument over a girl” at a nearby bar. The alleged victim—a Gaithersburg man who had turned 23 that night—was at the bar with Mamba and two other men when the argument broke out. The victim left on foot. Bamba and the two men caught up to the victim at the intersection of Lost Knife Road and Oldendhal Avenue and began punching him in the face and torso. During the altercation, the victim’s debit card and state ID fell out of his pocket. One of his alleged attackers took the debit card. The victim fled toward to an apartment complex on North Summit Avenue and "began banging on the sliding glass door of one of the apartments screaming for help." The suspects caught up to the victim and began assaulting him again—this time using a stick to hit him in the face and head—until fleeing as police arrived on the scene. Minutes later, a Gaithersburg City officer encountered Bamba a block away and placed him under arrest. The alleged victim identified the other two men only as “Johnny” and “Amen.”

An armed robbery occurred in the 9100 block of Arrowhead Road in Patton Ridge at around 5:40pm on Monday, Feb. 13. Two suspects threatened the victim with a weapon and obtained property. Both suspects are described as black males, one wearing a black hoodie and a black hat, the other wearing a red hat, red shirt and red pants.

An aggravated assault between known parties occurred in the 8500 block of Hawk Run Terrace in East Village on Monday, Feb. 13. Police arrested Michael Melton, 29, of the 27400 block of Clarksburg Road in Damascus. He is charged with one count of first-degree assault, one count of second-degree assault, two counts of drug possession and four counts of possessing drug paraphernalia.

A strong-arm robbery occurred in the parking lot of the Lakeforest Transit Center, 9650 Lost Knife Road in Gaithersburg, at around 10:45am on Tuesday, Feb. 14. On Feb. 21, police arrested Tyrone Eugene Douglas, 29, of the 18300 block of Streamside Drive in Gaithersburg and charged him with one count each of robbery, second-degree assault and theft less than $1,000.

A residential burglary occurred in the 18400 block of Lost Knife Circle—in the Cider Mill Apartments—between noon and 3 pm on Tuesday, Feb. 14. No forced entry; property taken.

A residential burglary occurred on Thursday, Feb. 16 in the 8200 block of Streamside Place in Flower Hill. Police provided no further details.

An attempted theft from vehicle occurred in the 8100 block of Pepperwood Lane next to Washington Grove at around 3am on Sunday, Feb. 19. Police arrested Denzel W. Glenn, 18, of Glenarden, Md. at the scene. He is charged with one count each of disorderly conduct, rogue and vagabond, obstructing and hindering, and failure to obey a police order.

An occurred in the parking lot of the Montgomery Village Plaza, 18270 Contour Road, just before 7:30pm on Monday, Feb. 20. The suspect threatened the victim with a knife and tried to steal her car, but fled when her screams scared her off. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male with a mustache, 32 to 40 years old, 5’2” to 5’3” tall, weighing 130 to 160 pounds and wearing a black hoodie.