3 Involved In Silver Spring Metrobus Crash Charged With Armed Robbery

SIVLER SPRING, MD — Montgomnery Couny Police arrested three men in connection with an armed robbery that occurred Monday afternoon in Silver Spring, according to a police release.

Officers responded around 2:41 p.m., to the 9300 block of Piney Branch Road for the report of an armed robbery. The victim told police that the suspects had left in a Toyota Sienna. A short time later, officers located the suspects in the White Oak Shopping Center, according to the release.

The suspects then drove off and headed south on Route 29 toward George Avenue. With officers in pursuit, the Toyota rear-ended a Metrobus near Sligo Avenue. A police cruiser then crashed into the rear end of the suspect's vehicle, according to police.

Police took two of the suspects into custody, as the third was removed from the Toyota by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue personnel. During the arrest, officers recovered a loaded 9mm firearm with a Glock slide, which police described as a privately made ghost gun. They also recovered a 9mm replica airsoft gun, according to the release.

Natnael Akalu, 18, of Silver Spring; 18-year-old Wesley Jose Nunez of Washington, D.C. and 19-year-old Lorenzo Antonio Madrid, who was also from the District, were taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries. They were each charged with armed robbery, use of a firearm during the commission of a felony violent crime, possession of a handgun, and other related charges, according to police.

The three suspects remain hospitalized and police say no other injuries were reported involving passengers on the Metrobus.