children. >> those are good kids over there, good kids raised by a good grandmother i can't make anything of it because i don't believe it. >> reporter: neighbors still trying to figure out why one of their own would stalk people walking the streets of petworth, attack them from behind and hit them in the head with a clawhammer. >> oh, they caught him? that's good. >> reporter: police had blanketed the area after the attacker killed a retired nurse from denver named gary dedriches and allegedly assaulted two other people within 26 hours. undercover officers stationed on gallatin street heard a woman cry out in pain and ran toward her. is that they observed a female on the ground suffering -- they observed a female on the ground suffering from injuries to her head. the officers made eye contact with the subject. he ran through the alley and was pursued. >> reporter: the officers chased him 4 blocks and they say he tossed aside blake backpack, inside a bloody craw hammer. >> from the bag dis-- claw

happenner. >> from the bag discarded -- clawhammer. >> from the bag discarded by the suspect in this case was the clawhammer used in the assaults. >> reporter: we were expecting michael davis to go before a judge here in superior court this afternoon but he did not make the cutoff. the first chance we'll get to take a look at him will be saturday morning. police in fairfax county are investigating a series of attacks, but these have not been on people, no, instead horses, horses used to help kids with special needs. now officers are looking for whoever stabbed the horses at the frying pan farm park's equestrian facility in herndon. >> reporter: i'm kristin fisher at the frying pan farm park in herndon where somebody has stabbed three horses used to rehabilitate kids with special needs. >> it's a nightmare. it's something beyond possible. i survived war in croatia and it's kind of similar.

you cannot accept it. >> reporter: davorku suvak runs the spirit equestrian program. >> whoever did it did temple times trying to find out the best way to hurt the animal -- did it three times trying to find out the best way to hurt the animals. they're waiting for the moment to come back here weekly, the children, and sit on their back and be big and strong. i hope she'll be ready to serve her kids gone as soon as positive. >> reporter: fairfax county police are work -- kids as soon as possible. >> reporter: fairfax county police are working the case. a former anc commissioner in d.c. has been sentenced to jail for using more than 28,000- dollar of city money for his own person -- $28,000 of city money for his own use. he used to be chairman in ward 5b. shelton pled guilty to fraud earlier this year and today the judge gave him 30 days in jail

plus 150 days home confinement and he has to pay back that 28 grand. another d.c. politician is criticizing the recent remarks by council member marion barry about the filipino community. at a recent council meeting barry made a negative comment about immigrants from the philippines working as nurses in d.c. hospitals. that comes a month after he was forced to explain remarks he made about area business owners. today on wtop d.c. mayor vincent gray says councilman barry needs to cut that stuff out. >> i made the comment when he made the earlier comment i was extremely disappointed, that he owed people an apology and he needs to cease and desist. it doesn't help the city and move us forward. we need to focus on the real problems. >> earlier this week the philippines ambassador in d.c. demanded an apology. barry says he's requested a meeting with the ambassador about the ordeal. an elderly man has two men to thank for his life tonight after they rescued him from the tracks at the metro station. this happened at 1:30 this

afternoon at farragut north. 70-year-old man lost his balance and fell just as the train was pulling into the station. that is when michael sherra and another man leaped into action kneeling down, pulled the man to safety and sherra who is a navy veteran says the train was seconds away when they got him back on the platform. >> there was the thought if this guy is not off the tracks he's going to get hit and possibly killed. so sort of we just did it. there was no thought other than just to get him off the tracks as soon as possible. >> that is exactly what they did. the 70-year-old man was taken to george washington university hospital with nonlife threatening injuries. sherra says he was just doing what he hopes anybody would in the same situation. the era of rg3 in washington d.c. has begun. the highs man winner drafted by the redskins to be their -- heisman winner drafted by the redskins to be their new franchise quarterback got to work today with the burgundy and gold. >> reporter: i'm dave owens at

redskins park. the robert griffin, iii era has begun, second pick in the draft last night at radio city music hall, touched down at dulles airport this afternoon and came right here to the park and got to work. he was behind me in the indoor facility where they gave him the playbook. he knows the transformation from college to pro won't be easy, but he says he's ready to try. >> even if you are a franchise quarterback or top pick, you still have to start here and prove to the veterans they can trust in you because if they don't trust you, they won't play for you and they definitely won't play with you. i want to meet the guys, get to know them, let them get to know me. >> reporter: moments ago i was told by a redskins official griffin is gone for the evening back to his hotel. he's going to officially meet the fans and media tomorrow at med ex field at 2:00. 2:00 -- fedex field at 2:00. >> the nfl draft isn't over

yet. tonight at 7:00 the teams with round no. 2 and 3, but don't expect much action from the skins. the burgundy and gold has just one pick in the 3rd round after it gave up its pick in the 2nd to st. louis as part of that major trade to get rg3. >> it was a wonderful sunny day outside but surely looked better than it felt, really chilly, especially with the wind. >> you take away the wind, 64 not bad, below average, but it would have been more comfortable without the wind. the problem is we'll take away that wind tonight and it will allow temps to tumble. we have frost advisories, yeah, montgomery county and loudoun county and northern fauquier county and in the panhandle a freeze warning. bring the plants. in this is why we say wait until mother's day to plant flowers. our average frost is the 23rd downtown. that's average. a frost can occur two weeks

either side of these dates. if for some reason you put stuff in the ground, water them tonight. 61 now downtown, 55 gaithersburg, 57 frederick and leesburg and 61 in manassas, already 45 in oakland. headed out, grab a jacket tonight. clear, breezy early, high clouds by dawn, cold, lows 32 to 44. we'll come back, a little better news for the saturday forecast for maryland day. wedlock about that and take you through the weekend. -- we'll talk about that and take you through the weekend. one tornado left a path of death and destruction, a look back at the effort to rebuild still ahead. >> but first the virginia dmv pulls a man's vanity plates after saying they are profane. we'll tell you what they say and why the man believes the agency is the one out of line, the story up next.

now to breaking news out of washington d.c., if federal prosecutors get their way former council member harry thomas jr. could be looking at pretty serious jail time. both the prosecutors and defense attorneys have failed their sentencing recommendations and the prosecutors it turns out are asking for 46 months behind bars. that's almost four years. defense attorneys say 18 months would be more appropriate.

thomas pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $350,000 from city money earmarked for youth sports programs. that sentencing is set for next week. virginia issues more personalized license plates than any other state in the country, but now the dmv is taking one man's vanity plates back. rick sanders got them seven years ago. the plates read fosama and sanders says there's never been a problem until now but now the dmv says they could be seen as profane, obscene or vulgar. >> it can mean whatever you want. fight osama, forget osama or anything you want. sanders said he's never had anybody complain, but for now the dmv issued his new auto generated plates. he has the option of contesting the decision. so profane or vulgar? the plates have no curse word. it simply says f. osama and

allows the reader to interpret what that f represents. profane and vulgar speech is a first amendment thing, right? don't forget to weigh in at mcginty's maybe. that, too a first amendment thing, address mailbag at wusa9.com. sadly springtime has not quite broken out. you need your coat, a blast of cold air heading our way for the weekend. the brisk forecast is coming our way from topper shutt. >> but first university of maryland gets ready to show the state's flagship institution, a look at the festivities of maryland day coming your way this weekend next.

tomorrow the university of maryland will be hosting its 14th annual maryland day. it is a celebration of everybody terp related and it's family friendly and it's got 400 interactive exhibits, workshops, even live performances. fox 5 news is teaming up with the university for the big day. we gave young people at the school the opportunity to do their own news story and they researched their topic, did their own shooting, writing and editing. tonight one of the entries would received. the student reporter is 21-year- old tom george from columbia, maryland, and the topic is farm breweries. >> reporter: for adam frye and his family this isn't your typical farm. >> i weighed the pros and cons and i'm more of a beer person than whinyway. so decided to go with beer. >> reporter: with local wineries already popular in

frederick county frye is set to open one of maryland's first ever farm breweries and he's doing it all from scratch taking the best hops and planting them in rows where they can grow over 20 feet high. >> i got to say some of the older guys are definitely rolling their eyes about this, even my own brother and i'm hoping to prove his wrong over the next 10 years. >> my friend riley also lives down the street. he said he's really the only one of the people on the street not growing and feels left out. >> reporter: it's a big journey from the hop fields straight to the red soho cup. this here is a pale ale and it's pretty good. thanks to a bill just passed by the general assembly awaiting the governor's signature frye's brewing company can open for everybody this summer. the sponsor of the bill was barry glassman. >> as long as they used maryland grown agricultural product in crafting the beers. so it's a whole new narcotic

for maryland farmers. >> reporter: a market frye is -- new market for maryland farmers. >> reporter: a market frye is trying to cap into. it's a lot of hard work for you -- tap into. it's a lot of hard work. >> it's a lot of fun, but there's nothing right now to really show for breaking our backs. >> there are four other new student stories to check out go. to our website www.wusa9.com and luge under the local news section. meantime those of us here will here for our jobs. to check out maryland day stop by the college park campus between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. tomorrow. there are events there for everybody including a carnival for kids and trips inside the wind tunnel. stop by night hall to meet the fox 5 news team. i'll be there, lesli, topper, howard, venezuelan and more. we'll let you try your -- howard and even more. we'll let you try your hand as being a meteorologist. today marks the anniversary

of one of the deadliest tornado outbreak in u.s. history. last year more than 206 tornadoes struck in 16 states, killed more than 300 people, caused billions of dollars of damage, 62 touching down in alabama alone. today governor robert bentley held a prayer service for victims in that state, 253 alabama flags displayed in front of the capitol, each one representing a victim who died in all those storms. meantime in virginia governor bob mcdonnell toured parts of the pulaski and washington county areas ravaged by tornadoes last year. they pulaski county injuring eight people and one year ago today four people died in washington county when twisters met down. volunteers and first responders are still working on the clean- up and the governor told them what they've done to help people get back on their feet is just remarkable. >> it's neighbors helping story is the story i see here, people from pulaski county, this whole

region itself generating hundreds of thousands just to the pulaski relief fund. >> the total damage topped more than $5 million. more than 30 tornadoes touched down in virginia last april alone. 10 people died, 100 others hurt. now to la plata, maryland, where folks still talk about the twister that hit their town. tomorrow marks 10 years since that devastating tornado carved a 24-mile path across charles county. it was moving nearly a mile a minute giving people very little time to hunker down and the twister killed three people, destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses. the arbon family survived. their house did not. >> everything above it was just gone. to this day we never ever found a single shingle or a truss from the main roof. >> a tribute to just how powerful that storm was. in the aftermath the family rebuilt their house and la plata rebuilt the town. so folks describe tomorrow's an

verse a as a celebration of what's been -- anniversary as a celebration of what's been gained rather than a memorial of what's been lost. you remember that? >> oh, yeah. the first part of the day was very nice. we have talked about friday and saturday. the tornado itself was on the ground for 68 miles. >> usually they touch down, bounce up, come down. >> just stayed down, held together and was vell intense it. is to this day the second -- very intense. it is to this day the second strongest tornado on the east coast. they have favorable tract for tornadoes down there. frostburg had a tornado in '98. they can occur in the mountains, too. no one is safe. every state in the union has had a tornado. we interrupted 60 minutes that night, took about 1,000 phone calls, but we were glad we did. let's look outside live, still clear, still sunny, 61 downtown, dew points in the 20s. got e-mail a minute ago and he

said why are you worried about the dew points in the 20s? that's because when the wind dies down, the temps can fall into the 20s and it's getting kind of late for that and unfortunately we do have frost and freeze advisories posted. sick 1 college park, 57 bethesda -- 61 college park, 57 bethesda and arlington. you're going out, temperatures are tanking, bring a jacket. 57 in reston. frost possible north and west, winds diminishing tonight which will allow that temp to fall. bring plants inside. a chilly maryland day but mainly afternoon light rain. the good news is it's getting later. it might not arrive until 3:00 or 4:00 which is just about the end of maryland day. that would be nice. clear and breezy early tonight, high clouds by dawn, cold, lows 32 to 44 winds becoming northerly at 5 to 10. inside the beltway no worries about frost, but rockville and gaithersburg in the mid- to upper 30s, 36 in reston, fairfax, 37 college park, 36

bowie. we technically around under the frost advisory in fairfax, but north of 66 you could have frost. we have a frost advisory in montgomery county, loudoun county, freeze warnings north and west. that map is on our website at www.wusa9.com. for more on the la plata tornado that's on our website in my blog. tomorrow morning increasing cloud, cold, light rain west of town, 30s and 40s. by afternoon mostly cloudy. we'll be kind of chilly, light rain but just light rain, nothing like last week's incredible nor'easter, high temperature 56 to 60, winds east, southeasterly at 10. next seven days not bad sunday, maybe a sprinkle. we'll keep a drop on there, low 60s and temps start to go up finally, upper 60s monday with sunshine, mid-70s tuesday with a shower or thunderstorm and then we're in the low 80s on wednesday and thursday and friday. we got some bolts flying around, but it won't be washout days. that's going to feel as you pointed out because you're so

smart, it's may next tuesday. >> trying to put these winter suits away. every time i put them in the closet i keep having to get them back out. we'll be back in a minute. >> we want to hear what you think. send your e-mails to mcginty's mailbag, the address mailbag at wusa9.com. 9 news now will be right back.

well, in the mailbag tonight the coming of robert griffin, iii otherwise known as

rg3, the redskins picked up their franchise quarterback no. 2 in the draft last night and our good friend john from chantilly is cautiously optimistic. rg3 is saying all the right words and doing all the right things including high praise for future hall of fame earmark shanahan. conversely, what he doesn't -- famer, mike shanahan. conversely, what he doesn't say is equally as thoughtful. someone never mentioned by him at least publicly that i've seen and that is kyle shanahan. i just wonder. you know, john, it's an interesting point. kyle is the offensive coordinator. could that be a meaning l oversight or something more? we will -- meaningless oversite or something more? we will see. somebody calling themselves annoyed viewer no. 3,672,483 did not appreciate our efforts to keep you up with the latest on the news about rg3 last night. i did not appreciate the breaking news ticker that

appeared over the big bang theory tonight. don't think who drafted who is important enough to run that obnoxious banner three time that. should be for amber alerts and ufo invasions. next time save it for a commercial break. look here, mr. a node, the redskins drafting someone -- annoyed, the redskins drafting someone this good this high in the draft happens about as often as that alien invasion you were mentioning. you're lucky we didn't break into your show and then you'd really have something to complain about, but complaints are cool. i'll see you at 11:00. to be. that's why green giant picks vegetables at their peak. ...and freezes them fast, locking in nutrients ...for you to unwrap. ♪ ho, ho, ho. green giant this reduced sodium soup says it may help lower cholesterol, how does it work? you just have to eat it as part of your heart healthy diet. step 1. eat the soup. all those veggies and beans,

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now "entertainment tonight." the most watched entertainment news magazine in the world. >> screaming fans. girls in tears. justin bieber mobbed in london. >> jumped on the car, like we couldn't move. >> all new video of stars under siege. george clooney and stacy keibler. >> what do you think of brad and angelina's wedding? are you next? >> and who's the superstar facing a wall of paparazzi? cameron diaz in glittery red bikini. >> steve jones is back co-hosting with me tonight. what's the story? she's going on "dancing with the stars"? >> i can tell you this. that red hot bikini leads to a very sexy surprise. then we're taking you inside jessica simpson's baby shower. the guests, the gifts, the food. when is she due?