Monday notes: Grahams push to expand DNA database, football players pick colleges, Beyer fights EO

January 30, 2017 Police and Fire, Sports
Fort Belvoir snow

A photo from Fort Belvoir after our area’s overnight dusting. (Photo from Fort Belvoir Facebook page)

West Potomac grad’s parents to meet with lawmakers

The parents of Hannah Graham, a 2013 West Potomac graduate who was murdered while attending the University of Virginia, will soon testify before the state crime commission in Richmond. They are pushing for an expansion of the types of criminal convictions that require DNA samples be submitted to the state database. Current law requires those convicted of felonies and a few select misdemeanors to give samples. Graham’s family wants misdemeanor trespassing convictions to be added to the list. 

Graham’s killer, Jesse Mathew, had been convicted of trespassing in 2010. Had his DNA been taken, the Grahams argue, it would have tied him to an unsolved 2005 attack in Fairfax and he would have likely been imprisoned at the time of Graham’s murder in 2014. 

Read more at NBC29.com.

Beyer rails against Trump executive order

U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) was among the most outspoken local politicians who opposed President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. On Sunday afternoon Beyer visited the chaotic scene at Dulles Airport to check on the status of travelers being held by the Customs and Border Protection agents. Beyer was unable to meet with CPB officials, however, and said the agency was ignoring a federal judge’s order to allow those being detained access to a lawyer. Beyer called it a “constitutional crisis” in a tweet, which as of publication had more than 22,000 retweets. 

Read more on DCist.

West Po, Hayfield stars pick schools

A couple of local football players announced their intentions to play college football next year. West Potomac senior Mark Ellis, a first-team all-Patriot District quarterback for the Wolverines last fall, announced on Twitter that he’ll be playing for Stetson University next year. Ellis threw for more than 2,100 yards and 25 touchdowns en route to leading the Wolverines to an 8-2 regular season.

Another local gridiron standout, Hayfield senior lineman Jack Blevins, also announced his college intentions yesterday on Twitter. Blevins will be attending and playing football at Clarion University, a Division 2 school in Pennsylvania. Blevins was a second-team All-Liberty District pick at center, where he helped pave the way for one of the most explosive offenses in Northern Virginia. The Hawks finished 9-3 and won their first playoff game since 2010.