An alleged drug dealer who escaped from a western Maryland jail and was spotted near the Seven Springs Village Apartments in northern College Park last week is no longer in the area, police said.
Deandre Kelly, 29, escaped Jan. 23 from the Garrett County Detention Center, where he was being held after he allegedly resisted arrest during a traffic stop and allegedly had a loaded gun, marijuana and drug paraphernalia in his 2009 Kia Optima, according to police and court records. He is considered armed and dangerous.
Kelly, of Southeast Washington, was facing 12 traffic citations — including one for driving 110 mph in a 65-mph zone — and eight criminal charges resulting from the Jan. 22 traffic stop when he allegedly assaulted two guards at the detention center and forced his way out with a handgun, according to University Police.
Police received reports Kelly was along Cherry Hill Road near the apartment complex early last week, and University Police sent out a crime alert Friday afternoon, but U.S. Marshals Service investigators, who are responsible for capturing fugitives, do not believe he is still in College Park or was ever very close to the campus.
"There was a possibility that he was on Cherry Hill Road," Prince George's County Police District 1 Commander Robert Liberati said, "but the [Marshals] Service determined that he was not there and he's not in the city anymore.
"They're looking at a couple of addresses, but I double-checked them all, and he's not here," Liberati added.
There is a $6,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Kelly, a 5-foot-11 black man weighing about 190 pounds.
Several students said they felt relieved to hear Kelly had moved on.
"I didn't feel safe even walking to class with all those people around," freshman letters and sciences major Cassandra O'Neil said. "It makes me feel a lot better knowing he's not here anymore."
But others said they were unfazed by Kelly's potential presence in College Park.
"I saw that crime report e-mail and literally said, ‘That's so typical of College Park,'" said Annika Glennon, a freshman economics major. "I'm glad they let us know about [Kelly] potentially being in the area just in case, but I really wasn't that worried."
egan at umdbk dot com
is a member of the 
Be the first to comment on this article! Log in to Comment
You must be logged in to comment on an article. Not already a member? Register now