jackie bensen, news 4. >> it's amazing. >>> well, he's breathed new life into the washington redskins franchise. fans wait to see what robert griffin iii will give. we have a teacher who new him way back when. >> reporter: before the heisman trophy or multimillion dollar endorsement deals, he was just robert. >> just little robert, quiet and shy at times. he would say hi. >> reporter: today, she teaches at potomac high school in virginia. in 2001, she was a first year spanish teacher at the junior high school in the heart of texas. >> it's a small town, a military town. most of my students parents were in the military and deployed. >> a lot of that first year in the classroom runs together. there was one student in particular that stood out from the rest. >> well, i mean, he was very confident in himself. he didn't worry about what other kids were doing or what they were wearing. he did his own thing. eventually, the students started to follow him. he wasn't a follower. he was a leader. >> reporter: the other thing that was undeniable was his work ethic. >> he made as. he got an award

jackie bensen's in the trinidad neighborhood of northeast with details. jackie? >> reporter: doreen, it was quite a scene here at station 31 earlier this evening. the entire on-duty shift was taken out of here for medical treatment. the call came in about 8:30 p.m. d.c. fire and ems staff on duty at the engine 10 station located on florida avenue in the city's trinidad nibd of northeast noticed they were experiencing breathing problems and itchy eyes. officials declared a mass casualty incident and called for a special bus which took eight firefighters to the city maintained police and fire clinic to be checked out. other firefighters from around the city were sent to replace them so the station would remain functioning. now, this is where it gets unusual. a d.c. fire official tells news 4 tonight that these affected had responded to a fire at a suspected pcp lab earlier today and may possibly have been exposed to something hazardous. reporting live in northeast washington, jackie bensen, news 4. >>> breaking news tonight in new england. a fire burning outside a

jackie bensen has the story. >> reporter: it happened before noon.9-year-old victim driving the silver honda told police the man followed her as she existed. she said the man honked his horn, gestured for her to pull over and when she did, a man wearing black police-type clothes wearing a badge came out. >> he told her to pull over. came over as a an officer would. ordered her out of her vehicle and told her to sit on the curb. while she was sitting on the curb he went through the contents of her vehicle, took her purse and her cell phone and drove away in his vehicle. >> i didn't hear anything from the school, nothing, not on the news, nothing. >> it is not our policy to pull up to vehicles and motion people to pull over. >> police say they have not had any similar incidents in the area but they want to know if anyone is familiar with this suspect. h ee's a black man, about 5'10", 190, short curly hair and tattoos on both arms. reporting from silver spring, jackie bensen, "news 4." >>> tomorrow is sentencing day for harry thomas jr. he's expected to

jackie bensen, news4. >> tonight a former campaign aide admits wrongdoing in connection to a year-long criminal probe of vincent gray's 2010 campaign. thomas gore pleaded guilty today to felony lying and destruction of evidence. he admitted to using gray campaign funds to illegally donate to the a candidates in exchange for a tax on then mayor adrian fenty running against gray. gore's lawyer responded to requests about any possible involvement of mayor gray. >> nothing in the statement of offense mentions any participation by mayor gray in anything. >> i believe that the government will charge additional people. whether i represent them or not, i don't know. >> the judge delayed sentencing indefinitely while the criminal investigation continues. >>> an openly gay prosecutor in virginia now has a second opportunity to be a judge. tracee thorn begman could still be named to the richmond circuit court on an interim basis according to a report in the richmond times dispatch. the virginia house of delegates rejected his appointment last month. delegate bob marshall said that his stand on ga

jackie bensen has our report now from upper marboro. >> reporter: 43-year-old christie littleford was found guilty of failure to remain at the scene of a fatal crash and negligent driving. the woman she hit, 30-year-old law student natasha pettigrew, was an idealist, an athlete, and a green party candidate to represent maryland in the u.s. senate. >> even as this verdict is rendered, no one really comes out a winner because so many families have been devastated. we've all lost. the littlefords have lost. i've lost. >> reporter: on september 19th, 2010 pettigrew was on a training ride on route 202 in largo when she was hit by a cadillac escalade that kept going with her bicycle lodged under it. prosecutors say littleford's husband notice td when she got home. >> jury did not buy her explanation that she thought she hit a deer and that she went home and returned to the scene. the fact of the matter is that there was a bicycle tangled under her car with sparks flying from the bicycle. >> reporter: pettigrew's mother says she took great comfort from the actions of two strangers who stoppe

i'm jackie bensen reporting live in columbia heights. back to you. >> jackie, we understand it is somebody of prominence in the district area who owns that house? >> jim, i think you're asking me the question of do we know who owns the house. >> correct. >> reporter: what i hear is that it is owned and this is very bad news because this is somebody i've known for over 20 years, very well respected community activist dorothy brazill. she is incredibly well loved by her neighbors all of them here on the street when they heard that it was her house were upset, asking if she is okay. we understand, again, no one was in the house at the time. but knowing dorothy, knowing, you know, how attached she is to the city, how attached she is to her home, this has got to be devastating for her and, you know, everyone is talking about how they have her in their prayers and they just want to put an arm around her and give her a hug because nobody wants this to happen to their home. >> indeed not. jackie bensen, thanks. >>> a man is behind bars in arling

jackie bensen.ack to you. >> thank you. >>> the jury in the john edwards trial went home again tonight without reaching a rerd. they spent the day taking another look at all of the evidence. jurors examined financial records related to the alleged campaign funds. edwards used to hide his pregnant mistress during his 2008 presidential campaign. jurors also asked for the 2008 "nightline" interview where edwards admitted to the affair but denies paternity of hunter's rile. if the jury doesn't reach a verdict tomorrow they will get to go home for the holiday weekends. >>> metro is planning to invest $5 million over the next year to provide providers with better bus service. it is the largest bus improvement effort in five years. the ceo says the changes will make service more reliable and less crowded along the most heavily traveled bus corridors in d.c. among the changes are new limited stock metro extra along pennsylvania avenue and southeast. wisconsin avenue northwest and along the busy 16th street

news 4's jackie bensen is live at the scene with the latest for us. jackie? and well-kept subdivision off smallwood drive in waldorf. it is astonishing to think this happened here. the vehicle was not speeding according to police. but it's just this suv was so big and this little boy was so small. apparently, his mother had stopped to hand a letter to a postal carrier that she saw and in that second as she's handing the letter, the little boy unbuckles his seatbelt, gets out of the car that he's in with his mother and sort of darts out into the street. you know how fast they can move at that age and was struck by the suv. now the driver of the suv stayed at the scene as i said. police don't believe she was speeding, don't believe there was anything amiss in this accident. it really was just that word

jackie bensen is there now with more on why this danger could exist for children across the area. jackie? >> reporter: well, doreen, this happened in an instant. the little girl came tumbling out of a second floor window. it was a shocking sight. >> we saw the baby come out. >> reporter: eleanor hopkins was walking toward a small playground in the pepper tree apartment complex when she heard a strange sound and saw a child falling through the air. >> i just parked the bike right here and i went over to make sure she was all right and the grandmother came out the door but the screen looked kind of strange. it was bent this way and the little girl come that way. so how did that happen? luckily the 4-year-old landed on the grass instead of the pavement or patio. she was examined at the scene by pa paramedics then take bin ambulance to a local hospital. >> we know this is unfortunately not going to be last one year. >> reporter: he says now is the time to child proof windows. >> although it provides a nice view don't put beds, dressing tables, changing stands, any type of furniture nex

reporting live in silver spring, jackie bensen. public will soon get a chance to see some evidence from the george huguely murder case. the items go on display on may 15th and 16th in the charlottesville courtroom where he stood trial. the evidence includes about 200 photographs and his police interrogation, autopsy photos, and other sensitive evidence will not be shown. huguely is a former university of virginia la crosse player convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend yardley love. he'll be sentenced in august. >>> d.c. mayor vincent gray tonight says he was shocked by the corruption scandal surrounding former councilman harry thomas jr. thomas is expected to be sentenced to prison tomorrow a. at his news conference the mayor today at first turned aside questions about thomas, who pleaded guilty back in january to stealing $350,000 in city funds and spending it on his own lavish lifestyle. thomas faces as much as four years in prison. >> got a wonderful wife, wonderful mom. he has a wonderful family and, you know, i extend my heart

jackie bensen is live with reaction from someone who saw it unfold. jackie? >> reporter: well, we can tell you right over there is the window that this little girl fell out of this afternoon. people tell us that it was just an incredible sight. a witness actually saw the girl come tumbling out of the second story window. >> we saw the baby come out. >> reporter: eleanor hopkins was walking toward a small playground in the pepper tree apartment complex just off bell pree road when she heard a strange sound and saw a child falling through the air. >> i just stopped the bike right here and i went over to make sure she was all right and the grandmother came out of the door. the screen looked kind of strange. it was bent this way and the little girl come that way. so how did that happen? >> reporter: luckily, the 4-year-old landed on the grass instead of the pavement or patio. she was examined at the scene by paramedics then taken by ambulance to a local hospital. neighbors tell news 4 all of the screens in the complex had recently been replaced with new ones. now

reporting live in rockville, jackie bensen, news 4. >>> alcohol and speed. both factors in a deadly crash this morning in bowie. >> police say a 21-year-old woman was killed after she was rear ended while sitting at a red light. pat collins has our report. >> this red car was at a standstill when it happened. slammed hard and fast by this gold car in an early morning accident that had deadly consequences. the victim, 21-year-old anastasia smith a koss mey toll gist who recently graduated from the evita school downtown. here she is posing with her winning hair style. she lived in bowie where her friends and family gathered today to mourn her loss. >> it's devastating. she was the life of everyone. any time she wald in the room everybody did nothing but laugh, joke around. >> family, friends, whoever knew her you could be somebody on the street and just run into her and you'd be devastated, too. >> reporter: this happened around 2:30 this morning near the intersection of 197 and route 50. anastasia smith and a girlfriend had been at tgi friday's to get somethi

jackie bensen has our report from there. jackie? >> reporter: jim, a neighbor told me that she heard the gunshots just as she was getting ready to walk her dog. this happened about 9:00 p.m. tonight. here in the landover area. we can tell you that it happened on a wooded path near the kentland park recreation center. the area's patrolled by officers from maryland national capital park police. they responded along with officers from the prince george's county police department. now, we're told the victim is an adult male. we do not know his age. his gunshot injuries are described by police as non-life-threatening. at this time he's being treated at a local hospital. the rec center was closed at the time of the shooting. so it's not clear at this point what the man was doing in this wooded area near the kentland rec center. reporting live in landover, jackie bentsen, news 4. >>> we're also following break news involving a national fugitive. police in mississippi say the man accused of killing two tennessee women and kidnapping two gir

convention center, reporting live from the howard theater northwest washington, jackie bensen, news 4. >>> breaking news in culpeper, virginia, where a police officer was indicted on a murder charge tonight, stemming from the shooting of a woman in a church parking lot and we've just learned tois that mother was also arrested tonight. shamari stone joins us live. >> reporter: doreen this case has rocked a small town of culpeper. they have 42 police officers tonight, one is charged with murder. the grand jury came down with the four count indictment against officer daniel harmon wright, this is the moment gary cook waited for months for. >> i found out maybe a few months ago. >> reporter: gary cook speaks about the late breaking news regarding his wife, patricia cook. police officer wright is facing four charges, including murder. >> on one hand it feels relief, and on the other hand, it's showing me that progress is going on. >> mr. harman wright turned himself in to state police. >> reporter: the officer shot cook several times during a confrontation while she sat unarmed in her jeep

reporting live in waldorf, jackie bensen, news 4. >>> jackie x thank you. a man was flown to the hospital after a car hit him in southeast washington today. it happened in the 4100 block of south capital street near a pnc bank branch. the driver stayed on the scene. the driver had life-threatening injuries. no word on his condition. >>> growing pressure on jpmorgan chase. the justice department launched a probe into the $2 billion trading loss. despite that trading blunder, the shareholders gave the ceo a vote of confidence today. steve handelsman on capitol hill with more on this. steve? >> i'm sure you're not surprised to hear this is more political. didn't take long for the latest wall street scare to fire up one of the biggest fights in the 2012 race for the white house. how to fix our economy. how to keep our banks stable should government do more or do less. >> protesters outside the jpmorgan shareholders meeting today in tampa. some demanded suffer federal regulations. >> jpmorgan speculated it lost $2 billion, maybe 3. jamie dimon took the blame. >>

that's where jackie bensen is with more on what happened. jackie?told me that the boy's mother had pulled over on the side of the street to hand a letter to a postal carrier, was exchanging a few words with him. she was unaware that her son had slipped out of the vehicle and was struck by an suv until the driver of that vehicle started screaming, is this your son? the accident is the type of thing that could happen to anyone. about 2:00 p.m., the 6-year-old boy's mother had stopped her car in the block of sugar berry street to hand a sta

jackie bensen is live on the scene for us where a news conference just wrapped up. >> reporter: well,ence we learned there are two victims. a 16-year-old boy who is the most seriously injured but his injuries are described as nonlife threatening. and an 18-year-old young woman. i'm told by a witness that the bullet literally cut across her skirt as it grazed her leg. she is -- her injuries are also nonlife threatening. it was a chaotic scene here. 2:30 in the afternoon the station was filled with riders including students from richard montgomery high school and rockville high school. we're told the suspect was taken into custody at a gas station a few blocks away and we were told at this press conference by major tim marsh of rockville city police that at that time a gun was recovered. >> the shooter and the primary victim are known to one another. in is not a stranger based event. investigation and the joint response to this

jackie bensen is live on the scene with details. >> reporter: jim, i'll show you what it looks like hereght down there in the 1300 block of girard street northwest there is a town house i believe as it has been described to me on fire. you can see the d.c. fire ladder truck is there. still putting water on the flames. you can see the smoke down at ground level. we are told a firefighter, d.c. firefighter did >w some minor injuries and was i don't know if he's been transported or whether he was treated here at the scene.altu you can imagine where we are this is causing a major traffic jam in the columbia heights area. there are fire hoses, cabled down various streets. there are people. i'll have my photographer pull around with me this way and follow me around and show you what the scene looks like here on the streets. we have fire engines. we have hoses strung across girard street here. harvard street is blocked from 11th to 14th. all the streets around here are blocked as you can imagine with this fire apparatus and things like that. so again, at this time, we understand one firefighter