police chief cathy lanier shut down the island cafe in upshur street. not everybody is happy with this decision. news4's darcy spencer reports. >> reporter: the sign says open, but the island cafe on upshur street in the petworth neighborhood of northwest washington has been shut down by order of the police chief after a man was stabbed and seriously wounded inside the business. ma'am, can we get your comment about the business being closed? the violence broke out around 2:00 saturday morning. police say the victim was stabbed in the stomach while arguing with another man. >> that's sad, you know. in the neighborhood, stabbings, shootings, they've got to cease. this is crazy. >> never seen anything, anything out of the ordinary here at all. it's always been a beautiful place. >> reporter: this isn't the first time the chief has shut down the island cafe. she gave the same order in march of 2008 when a man was shot inside the club. some residents fought to have the bar's liquor license taken away. >> this is the third documented, clear incident with a st

police chief cathy lanier announced yesterday an ongoing sting operation netted those arrests and busted some local businesses. officers served 13 warrants on the shops saying they were selling stolen electronic device and drugs. police say it is part of the city's stepped-up effort to fight street thieves stealing phones and gadgets. >>> criminal charges dropped for a montgomery county high school track coach accused of having sex with a 16-year-old girl on his team. it is all because of a loophole in maryland's law. prosecutors dropped charges against this man, 47-year-old scott spear because the law says the accused must be a full- time permanent employee of the school in order to move forward. spear as it turns out was a part-time employee at the time of the allegations. >> we continue to follow breaking news overseas actually deadly ferry accident. many passengers are still missing. >>> we have new video coming into the newsroom and a police shooting that left a college football player dead. we are checking more headlines on the other side of the break. time now is 5:08. 

police chief cathy lanier says some officers had to think like the criminals in order to catch them. >> we also used modern technology and good old cash for tips to get where we are today. >> the district of columbia is a place of law and order and either i nor chief lanier will tolerate any crime on our streets. every d.c. resident has trite walk our neighborhoods in safety and confidence. >> if you believe your stolen property is part of this theft ring, the police department will be setting up a website for victims to try and identify their belongings. you must be able to describe your belongings if you still have the receipt or the serial numbers, bring them with you when you go to claim your items. >>> charges have been dropped against a part-time montgomery county schoolteacher. 47-year-old scott spear was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old female richard montgomery high school student. prosecutors say they were forced to drop the charges because spear is only a part- time employee and you have to be a full-time employee to go forward. spear says

police chief cathy lanier shut down the island cafe on upshur street in the petworth neighborhood. someone stabbed a man early yesterday morning inside that restaurant. he is in the hospital with serious injuries. the restaurant is expected to reopen wednesday night at the earliest. >>> federal officials are investigating more letters with white powder discovered in d.c. two letters with the substance were found at the blt steak restaurant on i street northwest yesterday afternoon. like the previous letters, hazmat crews determined the powder was harmless. the fbi is trying to figure out if these cases are connected to other suspicious letters found in the past year. >>> meanwhile, an oregon man will appear in court tomorrow accused of sending similar suspicious letters to members of congress. police arrested christopher lee carlson friday in the pacific northwest. over the past month, several lawmakers received threatening letters that had a nontoxic white powder. maryland senator barbara mikulski was one of those recipients. these letters are not connected with those that arrived

police chief cathy lanier testified at a council meeting says they will receive it in about six monthspolice stopped using those tests two years ago when they learned the machines they were using at the time were flawed. hundreds of cases were questioned because of the false readings. lanier says new breathalizers have been de lays in part because they have to make sure the new devices match city requireme requirements. >>> it's illegal to pass school buses stopped in the community but hundreds are violating that law. this video shows driver after driver passes the school bus when the stop sign is out. next week, the county is expected to vote on a bill authorizing a program for buses similar to the red light and speed camera programs. automatic cameras will capture pictures of cars that pass illegally. tickets would be sent out in the mail, and drivers could be fined to up to $250. it's very dangerous. kids are crossing in the middle of the street. you're supposed to stop on both sides. >> very, very dangerous. kids could be killed and do you not remember the booklet you read. >> exac

police chief cathy lanier says the department is finally getting a handle on the multiplying robberies in the city. since january 1st the department has logged more than 230 arrests. fox 5's karen gray houston with more on how they're cracking down. >> over the last month chief lanier says robbery numbers have been coming down partly because they're using die coys and more street patrol. -- decoys and more street patrol. lanier says she focused 200 on the robberies when they started surging. >> i think the second week of march we'll announce kind of the successes from the operations that have been ongoing now about four, 4 1/2 weeks. last night we had four robbery cases close last night across the city. >> the chief says robbery is one of the harder crimes to crack. last year the department only solved about 12% of them. lanier believes the surge in robberies recently is because of a black market for electronics like cell phones, ipads and laptops. the chief says she's still trying to convince the ftc and lawmakers they need to make a law requiring cell phone companies to permanently d

cathy lanier said officers served search warrants on at least 15 businesses and recalled more than 100 cell phones, seven ipads and many other devices. >>> it is 4:34. here's a look at some of the other things making news. lawyers for penn state assistant coach jerry sandusky were in court yesterday and they were asking for some specific information about where and when those alleged crimes took place. they also want the names of the people who were present or nearby at the time. they asked the judge to force prosecutors to turn over evidence before the trial starts in may. sandusky denies all of these allegations in this case and remains on home detention. >>> the wrongful death lawsuit against virginia tech will continue. yesterday the judge hearing the case refused to throw it out at the request of lawyers representing the university. they claim the parents of two students who were murdered in the 2007 shootings did not prove their case. but the judge didn't buy that and said the case will go to the jury. the parents are demanding the school account for its actions the day of the ma

police chief cathy lanier.en below the danger level. says that she needs 3800 officers on the streets in order to avoid trouble for public safety. she said right now there are 110 fewer than what is needed. >> maryland governor martin o'malley has made his state the eighth state to legalize same- sex marriage. >> the bill is signed. >> their use it. assignability law yesterday. however same-sex weddings will not begin until 2013. opponents are gathering nearly 56,000 signatures needed to put the issue on the ballot in november. a bill requiring women in virginia to get an ultrasound before getting an abortion is now heading to governor bob mcdonnell's desk. the legislation requires an of domino ultrasound. the original version would have prepared a more of the evasive procedure bleeding to ridicule by television comedians. the governor said that he supports the amended bill and does plan to sign it into law. 5:34, 39 degrees in arlington. >> still ahead on this friday disturbing information in the child sex abu

police chief cathy lanier says the department will receive the devices next month.g them two years ago when they were flawed. hundreds of cases were questioned because of false readings. lanier says new breathalyzers have been delayed in part because the district has to make sure the dmu devices match district law requirements. >>> virginia law has approved a plan that gives tax credits for donations to scholarship programs to private. it's for low income children. the bill allows businesses and corp ralgss to right off 65 centses for each dollar donated. the bill now heads to governor bob mcdonnell's desk. >>> starting today, street sweepers will be out in the district. they're advising you to look for signs in the neighborhood telling you the days and times of street sweeping. while street sweeping season begins today, you will not receive a parking ticket for violating the signs until march 12th. the sweepers will be cleaning up the streets through october. and speaking of sweeping up the old and in with the new. as my mother used to say when she discovered i had

police chief cathy lanier is reviewing a request to issue a 96 hour closure of the bar while her officers and the alcoholic beverage regulation administration investigate. another business owner on that street tells fox 5 that the library bar is planning to close and was holding a party last night, but no one from the bar was willing to talk with us today. >> thank you for that update. >>> meanwhile taking a stand against hate crimes in the district three times in the last week d.c. police say anti- gay slurs proceeded three -- preceded three very violent attacks. now a march and benefit are being planned for the victims who are still recovering. fox 5's matt ackland is here with more. >> these crimes have really outraged d.c. residents and leaders here in the city, the mayor and civil council members speaking out against these crimes. the mayor says he will not rest until these attacker are arrested. meanwhile friends of the victims are in the process of putting together a march tuesday night to bring more attention to these hate crimes. it will begin at the ihop in columbia heights wher

police chief cathy lanier announced yesterday that an ongoing sting operation netted those arrests and busted some areas businesses. officers served 13 warrants on local businesses they say were selling the electronic devices along with some other stolen goods. >> we also found that the same businesses had no problem purchasing from strangeers on the street, items like baby formula and over-the-counter drugs and putting them on their shelves and selling them to the public. >> police recovered 100 cell phones, seven ipads, 11 other tablets and notebook computers. also several other electronics, including gps device and playstations. >>> new information about the university of maryland student accused of threatening to go on a shooting rampage on campus. police say three different calls tipped them off to alexander song's online threat. first, from a former university of maryland police aide late saturday need t night and then from someone in montana and another in baltimore who saw the posting on another site early sunday. >> essentially dude, if you are joking, you better speak up beca

police chief cathy lanier says when officers approached a group of people, one of them pulled out a gun and fired at the officers. there was a brief chase, an exchange of gunfire. the officers were not hurt, but the suspect was taken to the hospital where he has died from his injuries. >>> rallies continue for trayvon martin, the teenager killed last month by a neighborhood watch volunteer in florida. as randall pinkston reports, the latest show of support now has a u.s. congressman facing reprimand. >> the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. rush. >> reporter: the u.s. house of representatives was the scene of the latest trayvon martin protest. >> just because someone wears a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum. >> reporter: illinois congressman bobby rush wore a hoodie speaking out against racial profiling. rush was told to stop because hats are not allowed. he was escorted off the floor of congress and rep handed. >> members need to re-- reprimanded. >> members need to remove their hoods or leave the floor of. >> reporter: trayvon martin was wearing a hooded sweat shirt

police chief cathy lanier is defending her department's enforcement of drunk driving laws even though device to measure drivers' impairment remain out of service. breathalyzers were removed about a year ago and today lanier told a city council hearing they won't be used at least another six months. fox 5's paul wagner has the story seen first on fox 5. >> the d.c. police department has been without the use of breath lives for the better part of two years -- breathalyzers for the better part of two years after a contractor found some of the numbers weren't adding up. some of the machines were not calibrated properly and delivering dubious results. the department tried to get the program up and running again with different protocols, but by last february the chief ordered the machines out of service. today in front of the city council's judiciary committee the chief defended the department's current approach to enforcement. you haven't backed off drunk driving enforcement? >> absolutely not. you think backing off impaired driving, 1,300 plus arrests in a single year, that's a lot of arr

. >> police chief cathy lanier says it's a citywide operation to nab thugs who have been stealing cells and other electronic devices and to crack down on businesses that have been selling the stolen property. city officials displayed what they seized today. the chief says as of 6:00 this evening, police seized 100 cell phones, seven ipads and other electronic equipment including gps devices, playstations, cameras and also drugs including marijuana and k2 spice. in recent weeks city officials have used undercover decoys and officers patrolling the streets to focus on snatch and grab robberies often at metro stations. lanier and the mayor say they are already starting to see results. >> so far to date just from january 1 till today we've made a little over 300 races for the offense of robbery and just so you can have so much other numbers, we've also made about 310 arrests for either theft, possession of stolen property or theft from auto. >> if you are a criminal and committing thefts or robberies in the district of columbia, we will find you, arrest you and bring you to justice. >> chi

police chief cathy lanier sees it every day. >> this is a big business for thieves. >> it is a huge businesset resale of these phones is just driving this whole problem. >> reporter: and she says the wireless industry is putting its own profit over your safety. allowing stolen phones to be react investigated later with a different phone number. yes, that's right. in most cases, black market buyers or even the thieves themselves can still buy service on that stolen phone. which means the wireless companies keep making money. >> reporter: what is your message for the wireless industry? >> shame on you. this is something that's fixable. it's not all about profit. >> reporter: now nearly 70 big city police chiefs are banding together sending this letter to federal officials that there is an easy solution, a fix that would cut these violent robberies. here's how it would work. every cell phone has its own unique i.d. or fingerprint. once the phone is reported stolen, it would be black listed in the u.s. wireless companies from verizon to at&t, t mobile to sprint would all share information bannin

police chief cathy lanier used her emergency powers to shut the restaurant down for 96 hours pendingng before the alcoholic beverage control board. >>> plenty of delays this morning on the metro, on the red line. both the woodley park and the cleveland park metro stations are closed. free shuttle buses are running between the dupont circle and van ness stations to get you around those closures and there is also single tracking on parts of the blue, orange and yellow lines. all work should be finished before tomorrow morning's commute, so good news there. >>> meteorologist chuck bell has a look at your weekend forecast after the break. stay with us. >>> a cold start to your morning but things are going to be changing and they're going to be looking rather warm this week. let's check in with meteorologist chuck bell. what do you say, chuck? >> absolutely right, erika, no doubt about it. it's going to be a beautiful day outside today and a little hint of a warming trend is going to make it feel a lot more like may than march here as we head towards the middle of your work and school wee