Alleged ‘serial killer' indicted in one of two Largo mother-daughter homicides

[Jace]

Largo resident charged with first-degree murder, could get life in prison

http://www.gazette.net/stories/07292...4023_32533.php



A Prince George's County grand jury indicted a Largo man in one of two mother-daughter killings that occurred last year in the Largo area, county State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey announced Tuesday, and county police say the man remains the main suspect in the second mother-daughter killing and several other homicides.

Jason Thomas Scott, 27, of Pritchard Lane was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder in the March 2009 deaths of Delores Dewitt, 42, and her 19-year-old daughter, Ebony Dewitt. Scott is a 2001 graduate of Largo High School who has been in jail since July 2009 on federal gun-trafficking charges. If convicted on the murder charges, he could get up to two life sentences in prison, Ivey said.

During a news conference Tuesday outside the county courthouse in Upper Marlboro, Ivey said the state's attorney's office is seeking life in prison without parole, adding that Scott is not eligible for the death penalty under Maryland law, but declined to elaborate.

In May 2009, Gov. Martin O'Malley signed into law a bill that restricts the death penalty to cases in which there is biological or DNA evidence of guilt, a videotaped confession or a videotape that links the defendant to a homicide.

"Clearly this was a gruesome double murder that shocked the community," Ivey said. "I hope this indictment will bring some sense of calm in the community."

Ivey declined to discuss Tuesday whether Scott knew the victims or if there was a possible motive or link behind the killings.

The grand jury also charged Scott with two counts of first-degree burglary; two counts of use of a handgun during a violent crime; and one count of wearing, carrying and transporting a handgun.

Ivey also announced the unsealing of a nine-count federal indictment U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein filed June 2 in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, in which Scott is charged with possessing stolen firearms, carjacking by force and violence, as well as coercing a minor to engage in sexual conduct, related to crimes dating to September 2008.

Vickie LeDuc, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said Tuesday that Scott is being held on the federal charges without bond and had an initial appearance June 23. His trial is scheduled for Nov. 2.

Phone calls to Scott's Largo home were not answered Tuesday.

Attorney Kobie Flowers of Coburn and Coffman PLLC in Washington, D.C., confirmed Tuesday evening he is representing Scott for the federal charges and had no comment on the indictment. No attorney was listed Tuesday evening for Scott in Prince George's County District Court.

Last week, before Scott's name was publicly announced, Prince George's County Police Chief Roberto Hylton described him as "one of America's most infamous criminals" who may be linked to other killings in Maryland and other states.

"This is not your run-of-the-mill criminal. He studied the police system," Hylton said.
Delores and Ebony Dewitt were found dead March 16, 2009. Their bodies were discovered in a stolen car set on fire in a Largo driveway near their home. Hylton said investigators believe Scott acted alone in the killings.

Seven weeks prior to the Lofton homicides, on Jan. 26, 2009, Karen Lofton, 45, and her 16-year-old daughter, Karissa, who lived less than two miles from the Dewitts, were shot dead in their two-story Southall Drive home in Largo, according to police.

In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Hylton said that Scott, who has not been charged in any other homicides, is the main suspect in the homicides of the Loftons, as well as a Bowie woman in June 2008, at least one or two other killings in Maryland and possibly some homicides out of state.

Bowie mother Vilma Patrice Artis Butler, 46, was found dead June 24, 2008, in her upstairs bedroom after a fire at her home in the 15300 block of Jenkins Ridge Road. Butler worked in The Gazette's classified advertising department from 2002 to 2004.

Hylton said that Scott "flew under the radar" of police for a "substantial" period of time. "He is just a natural, hard-core criminal that preyed on this community," Hylton said.

He said the department is creating another task force to investigate these crimes, but warned the process could take years. Hylton added he is concerned about whether the department has adequate staffing for the investigations.

Immediately after the second mother-daughter homicides, county police created a task force that included the FBI, "America's Most Wanted," a TV show that profiles criminal cases, and several other law-enforcement resources to assist in the investigation.

Scott, whose home is two miles from the Lofton home and less than one mile from the Dewitts', has a history of home-invasion and theft charges between 2007 and 2009, the two years prior to the homicides he is alleged to have committed. The charges were dropped in Prince George's Circuit Court, but several are included in the June 2 federal indictment.

According to the federal indictment, Scott is charged with coercing a minor to engage in sexual conduct and holding a minor at gunpoint to commit a crime of violence during an incident June 13, 2009.

According to charging documents filed in Prince George's County District Court for a residential armed robbery on June 13, 2009, Scott allegedly held a girl at gunpoint in her Fort Washington home and waited for her mother and older sister to return home. He allegedly then ordered one of the girls to put a pillowcase over her head and remove her clothes, then allegedly molested her and took nude pictures of her before eventually robbing the home, charging documents state. The charges were dropped in county court.

Attorney Richard Arnold represented Scott for about six months in 2009 on three separate home-invasion charges that involved up to 13 alleged victims. Arnold, who is not currently representing Scott, described him as "a nice guy," who "didn't appear to be prone to violence."

A neighbor, who declined to give his name but said he has known Scott's family for 25 years, described Scott as someone who could "find some way to make you like him."

A 22-year-old neighbor, who said she has known Scott her entire life and played basketball at her house with him as a teenager, described Scott as a "normal guy" with a "mean attitude."

Police said a turning point in identifying Scott as a suspect in the homicides was a U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigation in 2009.

In a raid of Scott's home July 1, 2009, as part of a gun-trafficking investigation, police found items Scott allegedly stole from area residents during home robberies and burglaries, including computers, car keys, gaming systems and nude photos, according to charging documents.

Scott was charged with stealing and possessing assault-type weapons, which include a machine gun and several silencers.

A neighbor said that at the time about a dozen ATF officers raided Scott's home. According to Special Agent Clare Weber, a spokeswoman for the ATF's Baltimore field division, an investigation began in May 2009 to recover dozens of firearms after Scott and at least one other person allegedly burglarized JC Arms gun store in Woodbine.

Scott, then 26 and a United Parcel Service employee, and another UPS employee then allegedly sold stolen weapons out of the trunk of a car in a UPS parking lot in Landover in June 2009. In July 2009, the men were indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of trafficking stolen guns, but the case has not been prosecuted.

Susan Rosenberg, a spokeswoman for UPS in Atlanta, said Scott worked as a part-time employee at UPS in Landover from March 2000 to July 2009, sorting packages and loading and unloading trucks, but said she could not discuss his employment record.

Last week, Hylton declined to speak about evidence in the case, but described the suspect as a "smart criminal," "intellectual," "well studied" and "well read," and said a significant amount of planning and research went into the killings.

"We do believe and know for a fact that we have our man," Hylton said. "This is a major victory. We took this case very personal. I'm very proud."

Delores Dewitt's sister, Patricia Smith, 41, of Hyattsville said that although Scott's indictment brings her relief, her world has been shattered.

"I just miss the girls, and they didn't deserve that," Smith said, sobbing. "They didn't deserve to die like that, no one deserved to die like that. It was just cold. It was just heartless. He played God, and it's time for the jury to find him guilty, guilty, guilty, and sentence him to death, not life in prison."

Smith said she feels some relief and a sense of closure.

"I do feel relieved because now my sister and my niece can rest. We [were] able to release a breath, we [were] able to release one breath because now there is closure," Smith said. "He deserves the death penalty. Then maybe I can start healing and trying to live off the good memories of my sister and niece. Once justice has been done, then maybe I can start living again."

Karen Lofton's ex-husband, Kirkland Lofton Sr., said last week he feels relieved, but still lacks closure.

"Even though my ex and my daughter are gone, I would hate to see it happen to someone else or my sons," Kirkland Lofton said. "There will never be a punishment good enough."

He remains unconvinced that the Lofton and Dewitt cases are related.

"Nothing makes me think they're linked. I have nothing to make me believe that," Lofton said.

Karen Lofton's niece, Tonya Douglass, said she learned July 19 from media reports that there was a suspect in custody.

"It just stirs up a lot of emotions. Hopefully they have the correct person," said Douglass, 40. "My heart goes out to the Dewitts, and I hope there is some resolution for them as well as there is for us and that justice can prevail