Thread: Md. man accused in fatal hatchet attack is son of ex-Bush aide

　
Police: Md. man accused in fatal hatchet attack is son of ex-Bush aide
Haithersburg man charged in alleged homicide involving a hatchet

Juana Arias/The Washington Post - A home is seen in the 7200 block of Cliff Pine Drive following an incident that left a man dead Friday morning in Gaithersburg.

By Dan Morse and Justin Jouvenal, Dan Morse and Justin Jouvenal May 24, 2013 07:24 PM EDT
The Washington Post
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A Gaithersburg man has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly killing a man with a hatchet during a confrontation at his home, authorities said Friday morning.
Police said 20-year-old Claude Alexander Allen called in a report of an attempted burglary at his home in the 7200 block of Cliff Pine Drive shortly after midnight. He told police that he had killed the man after he tried to break in, but police said the two men knew each other and the killing did not stem from a burglary. They have not yet established a motive.


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Gaithersburg man charged in alleged homicide involving a hatchet

Dan Morse and Justin Jouvenal
Suspect is son of former Bush White House adviser convicted of shoplifting.
The victim, Michael Phillip Harvey, 25, and the suspect are not related, police said. Harvey was found dead in a wooded area about 75 yards behind the suspect’s home, but police believe the attack began in the two-car garage, according to Montgomery County Police Capt. Jim Daly. It’s not clear whether the altercation moved to the woods or Harvey’s body was dragged there after he died.

“When we arrived he was waiting for us,” Daly said.
Property records show that the home is owned by Claude A. Allen and Jennese M. Allen. Police said the owners are the suspect’s parents and were not home at the time of the killing. Police and neighbors also said the elder Claude Allen is the former White House adviser to President George W. Bush convicted in 2006 of shoplifting from Target and Hecht’s. The incident ended the elder Allen’s political career .
Calls to Mallon Snyder, who is listed in prior court records as the suspect’s lawyer, were not immediately returned.
Daly said a third man was at the house at the time of the attack. He had left by the time police arrived, but investigators tracked him down later and questioned him. He is not a suspect, Daly said.
A tent had been erected over the crime scene behind the large, white-brick house, which sits on about two acres on a street of similarly large homes. A blue car was parked in the home’s circular driveway. At about 10:30 a.m., investigators wheeled a gurney from the crime scene, loaded it into a red sport-utility vehicle and drove off.
Police responded to Allen’s 911 call but they received no other calls and do not believe neighbors heard or saw the killing.
Robert Rashford, a neighbor who has known the Allens for 16 years, said they were active at the Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg. He said they have four kids.
Church oficials issued a statement Friday: “The very sad story being reported in the news today is the only information we have at this time. We are grieving and praying for the family of the victim, the Allen family and all involved.”
Rashford said the younger Claude Allen had just returned from college at a Virginia school. He did not know which one.
He described him as a good kid who was athletic. Allen had played soccer and rugby. He was home-schooled before college.
He said Allen’s parents were away at the time of the killing.
“This is a great family. We are all taken aback by the circumstances,” Rashford said. “We’re just trying to piece together what happened.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/gaithersburg-man-charged-in-alleged-homicide-involving-a-hatchet/2013/05/24/f5b637e4-c470-11e2-9fe2-6ee52d0eb7c1_story.html?hpid=z5

Coming soon. 3 day waiting period to buy a hatchet.