>> 9 wants you to know any child can fall victim to addiction and we are here to help. tonight how parents can help young people battling with drinking or drugs. topper's tracking showers and maybe a thunderstorm to join the spring-like temperatures. i was shocked more so than anything and then i became

angry. >> what's your worst shopping experience ever? a local woman's just might be worse. >> most people had a bad experience or two with a salesperson, but it's tough to imagine anything much worse than what a woman experienced today in montgomery county. >> what began as humbling grumbling led to something on insulting we sent matt jablow to investigate. >> reporter: she bought a $20 cassette adapter at this radio shack in hillindale. according to her, the problem began as she was paying for the adapter when this radio shack salesman told her about the 5 cent bag tax, a tax she said she had never heard of and she lives in baltimore. >> i'm like, i paid sales tax, five cents for a bag? he was like, yeah, this is montgomery county. >> reporter: after going back

and forth with the salesman, she decided to forget the whole thing and get her money back for the cassette adapter. that's when she says the store took an unusual and disturbing turn. when the salesman gave her back her money, he also gave her the receipt for the refund, at the bottom of which he apparently typed in ugly itch ghetto hood usa tattoo maryland. the salesman claims he was only kidding but clearly she doesn't think it was funny. >> i was shocked more than anything and then i became angry. >> reporter: the manager kicked us out when we asked for an explanation. >> you can't come in the store with a camera. >> reporter: she says he wouldn't talk to her either. >> the manager didn't want anything to do with it. >> reporter: she's in touch with radio shack's corporate office in hopes of getting the salesman fired. even if that happens, she says her days of shopping at radio shack are over. >> i want nothing to do with radio shack ever again. >> reporter: matt jablow, 9

news now. >> we tried to contact radio shack's corporate office tonight but they did not call us back. defense secretary says the u.s. could seek the death penalty against the soldier accused of killing 16 civilians in afghanistan. all this happened yesterday but tonight witnesses are being quoted who say it wasn't just one but several u.s. soldiers who burst into houses in the middle of the night and then opened fire. president obama says it is nothing like the infamous massacre during the vietnam war in which several u.s. troops killed villagers there, but he says this weekend attack won't speed up plans to bring americans home. >> this has been an enormous strain for a decade now on our men and women in uniform. >> reporter: right now, troops are scheduled to wrap up their mission in afghanistan in 2014. tonight, the body of a local marine pilot killed

during a training accident in arizona is back home. captain michael quinn was one of seven marines killed when two helicopters collided mid- air near huma, arizona. we were there when his body came back to virginia. >> reporter: the evening was warm, almost like summer. >> we're gathering for a local hometown hero. >> reporter: michael quinn lost his life in a helicopter crash on february 22nd. >> even though he's elsewhere, we're showing support of his family and friends, being here for him what we're here for. >> reporter: today he came home. >> that's overwhelming. it's beautiful. >> reporter: on these streets tonight, a town honored a hero and helped find some peace for

itself. >> does it give you hope? >> it does. as sad as it is, it is hopeful that a community can come together. >> reporter: in piercehe lost his life in service to his country and the story of a soldier apparently engaged in slaughter present a dichotomy that is certainly unsettling to all of us. and gary has been thinking about that as we all have today. >> if there wasn't a military when the country was born, the country wouldn't be here. >> we would still be saying hale to the queen. >> if there wasn't a military in the last century, we've learned to count on the military so much that we expect the best. we get it from brave men and women like marine captain quinn we just told but, so it's always a disappointment to hear stories like the one coming

from afghanistan tonight. our first national hero came from the military, the first of so many like captain quinn in percyville, it's hard to watch them come home this way. >> the reason people love the troops is because we've been at war for more than ten years now, and they just keep going. they just keep getting the kit on and going overseas and doing what they're told. >> reporter: gina of marine corps times has covered the troops fighting in afghanistan and iraq, had them dying next to her, has watched them fight a war since 9/11. >> they continue to serve and continue to volunteer to serve. i think that's an important part of why they have such a high following in the country. >> reporter: so it hurts, confuses when they disappoint. the massacre of vietnam, the recent mistakes in afghanistan. >> the timing of all of this is just kind of crazy, because you've got the video of the marines urinating on the corpses, you've got the accidental burning of the koran

which caused a huge demonstration in the streets of afghanistan, and now, this comes on the heels when that's just calmed it down. >> reporter: if we're confused at home about this apparent slaughter, imagine being in the american military in afghanistan right now. >> the big question is the why. and will it derail what we're going to do tomorrow morning? it's dangerous. you've got to be vigilant. it feels frightening and frightening for other service members over there, i'm sure, who have already seen their friends get killed by afghans in uniform with loaded weapons seeking revenge. it's not a secret that's been happening. >> reporter: so tomorrow, now, american soldiers and marines are omissions with afghans -- on missions with afghans who are furious what's happened, some wanting revenge and they're next to marines with bullets and guns and varying degrees of professionalism. we ask american troops to go

out there in the middle of all this and do their jobs, and they will, most of them, all the time. that's not changed by the one apparently unstable soldier or the handful who let us down and put their comrades at arms at greater risk. anita? >> such a sad thing. no wonder so many people are calling for them all to come home. gary, thank you. well, only on 9 tonight, new details about exactly what police found inside a vacant home in alexandria last week. 9 news now obtained the search warrant and learned the explosive device had eerie similarities to the same sorts of bombs used by terrorists overseas. it was 12 by 8 inches, a little bigger than a standard legal pad with 12 red cylindrical devices inside. they were surrounded by screws, nails, bolts, which could have made any explosion that much more lethal. a cleaning crew found the device last weekend after being sent to the house by a realtor. so far, nobody has been charged. prosecutors say they are

reluctantly dropping the charges against a part-time teacher accused of having sex with a student at rockville. dropping the charges because of a legal technicality. last month, 47-year-old scott dwayne spear was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old. but prosecutors say that case is no more. and the legal technicality? it's all about spear being a part-time employee at the school. >> he has to be a full-time employee of the school, a teacher, principal, administrator, but as a part- time employee he falls into a loophole in the statute and there's no crime he can be charged. >> reporter: montgomery county schools says it will conduct its own investigation into whether he behaved in inappropriate behavior. he tells us he's never done anything inappropriate with any student or athlete he's coached. no jail time for a northern virginia woman caused her son's death by accidentally leaving

him in a minivan 7 hours. karen murphy's 2-year-old son ryan was left strap in the car seat while murphy went to work last june. under a plea deal, she pleaded guilty to two child neglect charges bumped from felonies to misdemeanors. the judge gave her probation and 400 hours of community service. d.c. police arrested at least 16 people so far in an ongoing operation targeting people and businesses that sell stolen property, especially cell phones and other electronic ga jets. police showed off some of the stolen merchandise during a news conference. they served certainly warrants on at least 13 businesses across town and recovered more than 100 cell phones, 7 ipads and many other devices. that is not all they found. >> we deployed a variety packet that includes the deployment of plain clothessed and uniformed police officers, but we also used modern technology and good

old-fashioned cash for kits to help us get where we are today. >> she also said thanks to the ongoing crack down, robberies dropped 15% in the past 30 days. alabama and mississippi are on deck for their republican primaries tomorrow. rick santorum visited both states today. mitt romney made a brief appearance in mobile before taking the rest of the day off on the campaign trail to celebrate his 65th birthday. a pullout this morning by cbs news and the "new york times" finds 73% of the primary voters asked believe romney will be theeventual nominee. new estimates about the cost of reforming health care in our nation. tonight we're learning more about what the president's plan will look like, to cover up to 50 million people who don't have insurance right now. they released their blueprint for state-based markets today and saying starting in january 2014, exchangeses must be up

and running in every state. right now 13 states and the district have these plans in motion. many others are doing a wait and see approach to see what happens after the supreme court here's arguments on the constitutionality. a bill had make it illegal to smoke with anyone younger than 8 in your car is getting pry limb nary approval in the senate. they say this would be easy for the police to monday nor since children under 8 are supposed to also be in car seats. opponents say it's too much of a government intrusion into personal areas. topper? 72 was the high today. temperatures are still in the 60s. here's your wakeup weather. maybe a sprinkle south of town at 7:00. not bad, partly cloudy 7:00. temperatures 50s. by 9:00, everybody stay in the 60s. we'll come back and see if you need your umbrella tomorrow afternoon. also let you know you can stay

warm all week. still ahead, 9 wants you to know what a parent should do if they suspect their child might be addicted to drugs or alcohol. >> so tonight, we talk with a respected local counselor on steps you can take right now. that's coming up.

>> here's a sobering statistic. in the state of maryland an estimated 30,000 ned treatment for alcohol and drug abuse. what's a parent to do to uncover a potential problem and find help for adolescents. >> i think the underreported story is actually the kids who have regular or daily use. >> brook brody says parents who facilitate that use by providing alcohol, drugs or a place to party are committing a serious crime. >> neither child neglect nor child abuse. >> if you thought adolescence substance abuse couldn't help in your family, consider this. he says affluence suburban

washington sends more teenagers to residential treatment programs than any other place in the country, many cost $1,000 a day. >> it's never appropriate for a 15-year-old to be drinking with their friends on a friday night. that's not appropriate. that's a problem as parents who are thinking, well, that's normal adolescent behavior. >> and he has a warning for parents. do not become your child's unintentional supplier. >> lock your liquor cabinet, lock your medicine cabinet. >> reporter: as clinical director of potomac pathways, brody says the parents who set the clearest expectations tend to do best. >> drug use is not negotiatable or alcohol use. it doesn't happen in our household. if you come home and we think you're smelling like alcohol, we're going to breathlize you. >> reporter: be sure to have consequences for destructive behavior and stick to them. >> here are alarming statistics

related just to montgomery county. as many as 8% of all students there have a diagnoseable substance abuse problem. the bigger problem is only 10% of them are actually getting the help they need. 4% of montgomery county students reported being in the car with a drunk driver this school year and that adds up to thousands of kids. >> speaking of which, free cab rides will be available this weekend for anybody who thinks they've had a bit too much to drink for st. patrick's day. the washington regional alcohol program will offer its sober rides service from saturday at 6:00 p.m. until sunday morning at 6:00 a.m. it covers the cost of a cab ride worth up to $30. what about the weather for st. paddy's day? >> fine. i have lower temps a little bit, but not like we're not back in the 30s or anything. don't panic. i did make a few changes on wednesday and thursday. >> a little green sweater. >> not crazy. i haven't just touched st. paddy's. let's start with a live look outside, live weather cam brought to you by michael and

son. look how mild it is. still 66. what's going on? we have just a few clouds. winds out of the south at 9. pressure falling 30.14 inches of mercury. clouds and a few showers here and there. we had a few sprinkles earlier through parts of the metro area. it didn't even really wet the roads. kind of hit the windshield and that was about it. better showers back in the mountains and approaching beat petersburg. those will peel off to the north and west of us. most of us will have a dry commute tomorrow. the exceptions could be southern maryland. west of eye of 81. i think if you're coming in fromfrederick, you'll be dry. up route 5 or 3, wet roads maybe tomorrow morning. a dry commute north of town. an afternoon storm is possible. they'll be far and few between but there will be a couple around. the atmosphere gets unstable

tomorrow. warm again on actuals. maybe an early storm tuesday night. then we get drier air in here late tuesday night and in time for wednesday. so overnight, we'll say mostly cloudy, breezy and mild, a few showers. lows only 50 to 55. winds out of the southwest at 10 to 15. that would be a pretty good day if those were high temperatures. by morning, returning partly cloudy. breezy and mild. grab the sunglasses. each if we have residual clouds in the morning. winds still southwest at 10-15. by afternoon, partly cloudy and warm, maybe a shower, maybe a thunderstorm. high temperatures around 75 and winds out of the southwest at about 10. so everybody makes it into the 70s tomorrow. we're looking at maybe 76 in arlington. 74 in gaithersburg. 75 downtown and in college park and 75 in reston and also in fairfax. so we'll break it down. a sprinkle possible early tomorrow. temps in the 50s.

by evening, maybe an isolated shower. 72 to 76. unbelievable. the next three days, i did lower wednesday to 70. still a fantastic day. next seven days, friday upper 60s. better chance for showers and thunderstorms. the weekend looks okay. a shower possible on st. paddy's day. of course we have the marathon in the morning, not a bad forecast. just a few showers, low 70s. a few showers on sunday, upper 60s. back in the 70s next monday. >> unseasonable. >> unseasonable. >> thanks. so we are riding the redskin roller coaster here? >> it never ends with them, does it? >> never. >> one moment it's a high. one moment we're down in the basement once again as the redskins prepare for free agency they get upsetting news. or do they? hear what bruce allen has to

say about tonight's announcement. find out where the terps will be dancing. sports is next. look! here she comes!

♪ she'll be comin' 'round the mountain when she comes... ♪ ♪ when she comes. ♪ it'll be spinning new chrome wheels when it comes. ♪ ♪ when it comes. ♪ custom spoiler, race grade pistons, ♪

♪ gt35 turbo charger. ♪ and they'll all know that it's kevin's awesome car. ♪ bought em! ( clears throat ) sorry. when it's on your mind, it's on ebay.

>> just hours after redskin nation was shocked with news their team would lose $36 million in salary cap room, team officials are now doing damagcontrol. it's been reported that the league will punish the redskins for front loading the bonuses during 2010 cap season. it includes $21 million they paid to haynesworth and $15 million to hall. by doing that they freed up cap space for future seasons but it goes against what the league asked them not to do. bruce allen is saying the reports aren't true. in a statement released earlier this evening, he says the washington redskins received no written documentation from the nfl concerning adjustments to the team's salary cap in 2012 as reported in various media outlets. every contract entered into by

the club were collective bargaining agreements and were approved by the office. we look forward to free agency, the draft in the coming football season. we'll stay on top of that, but whatever the case, the redskins did free up to $4 million today by cutting fullback mike sellers after 11 seasons with the team and releasing safety after one injury-riddled season. now their focus turns to free agency which begins tomorrow. the redskins will have a major bargaining chip in robert griffin, iii to help them bolster their offense. guys like jackson and garson, but a big need is an offensive line to protect their big investment. the wizards in act tonight visiting the san antonio spurs. things tied up in the first. john wall finds mcgee underneath for the big one. the wizards were in this one for most of the game, but the

spurs eventually pulled away. tony parker. last night, the men, tonight the lady's turn to find out where they land in the ncaa tournament. the lady terps waited patiently to hear their name called. the acc champs have the number two seed and will face navy at 11:15 saturday at the comcast center. it's the 8th time brenda freeze has taken her team to the big dance and as you can imagine, it never gets old. >> i love the bracket and the fact we're hosting and being at home in front of our fans, the definitely is reassuring to have people recognize how hard you're playing out there. to let other people know the hard work we're putting in. >> go lad terps. >> georgetown plays at 3:00 this friday. go to wusa9.com. you can find out what channels those are on. >> we'll be right back.

>> tonight, valentine's day may have been last month, but one man is not giving up on finding perfect love. >> even though the song says money can't buy you love, this massachusetts florist is testing the theory. he's offering $1,000 to whoever introduces him to his future

wife. he says now that he's passed the age of 60, he's looking for happiness, a little chemistry. he promises to be attentive, do the little things for the right lady. he's even got a website. >> i have a profile, photos there, i have my e-mail address. so if they're interested, they can write to me, send me their pictures. >> and the person that introduces you to your soon to be wife gets the $1,000. >> $1,000. it's that simple. >> how much do i get if i introduce him to mrs. right now instea of mrs. right. he hopes to retire to san diego, but he's got flowers and is a nice guy. >> good night, everyone.