WAMU 88.5 Contributors

Ashley Dejean

News Assistant

Dejean does a little bit of everything—from filing stories to keeping tabs on the latest local news. The youngest member of our news team got her radio chops interning for Houston Public Radio, where she won first place in the Texas AP Broadcasters Contest Best Feature-Light category. Dejean also interned at Washington City Paper and a local daily in Pune, India before coming to WAMU.


Articles Written by Ashley Dejean

WAMU 88.5
A federal appeals court says two Virginia college newspapers can run advertisements for alcohol despite a regulation the state says is intended to curb illegal underage drinking. The Fourth U.S. District Court of Appeals in Richmond has concluded the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission ban is unconstitutional as it applies to The Cavalier Daily at the Uni...
WAMU 88.5
Starting October 1, the cost of new SmarTrip cards will drop from $5 to $2. Once the price drops though, riders will not be able to exit Metro with a negative SmarTrip balance of less than $1.50 to exit the station. Riders will have to add more value to their card using ExitFare machines. But those machines only accept cash and coins. So Metro is asking riders to sign up for...
WAMU 88.5
Reports that a U.S. Capitol Police team arrived within minutes of the shootings at the Washington Navy Yard but was told by a supervisor to stand down is prompting some people to ask whether Monday's death toll could have been lower. Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine is ordering an investigation into the force's response to the shooting, which left 13 people dead, including the ...
WAMU 88.5
The six-alarm fire that burned down an Alexandria warehouse on Labor Day appears to have been intentionally set, and city officials have identified a person of interest. Officials with the Alexandria Fire Department say they have ruled out all accidental causes for the fire after conducting an investigation with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tabacco, Firearms and Explosives. The ca...
WAMU 88.5
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg performed a same-sex wedding Saturday in what is believed to be a first for a member of the nation's highest court. Ginsburg officiated the wedding of Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser and John Roberts, a government economist. Kaiser says he asked Ginsburg to conduct the ceremony because she's a longtime friend. The priv...
WAMU 88.5
The son of D.C. Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) was charged with driving under the influence and possession of marijuana in Virginia earlier this month. Police say they observed Marion Christopher Barry, 33, driving a gray PT Cruiser erratically in Hampton around 9:10 p.m. on Aug. 16. Police found what the officers belived to be marijuana on Barry's person, ...
WAMU 88.5
A traveling hospital technician accused of causing a multistate outbreak of hepatitis C last year has pleaded guilty to federal drug charges. David Kwiatkowski was accused of stealing painkiller syringes from Exeter Hospital in New Hamphire and replacing them with saline-filled syringes tainted with his own blood. He worked at 18 hospitals in seven states before being...
WAMU 88.5
Police in Montgomery County have arrested a music teacher at a Silver Spring elementary school and charged him with 14 counts of child sex abuse and various other charges, including second degree rape. Lawrence Joynes, 54, was taken into custody at his home in Dundalk. He'...
WAMU 88.5
Cleanup work is continuing at the National Cathedral following vandalism at two of its chapels. Cathedral staff say that while paint has largely been removed from the gilt wooden reredos in the Children’s Chapel, green paint that was splattered on a pipe organ's façade and keyboard, wood paneling and the floor would take longer. "A team of conservators is busy car...
WAMU 88.5
The National Zoo has closed part of its panda house because its female giant panda may be pregnant. Zoo officials say Mei Xiang is starting to show some behavioral changes and sensitivity to noise, leading the zoo to close the area around her den. The zoo says Mei Xiang's hormones are rising, indicating she is pregnant or experiencing a false pregnancy. Mei Xiang was ...
WAMU 88.5
A former D.C. teacher who was on the FBI's most wanted list faces charges of child pornography in multiple jurisdictions. Lawyers are now in plea discussions in the case of Eric Justin Toth, a former private school teacher who was added to the FBI's list of most wanted fugitives during his five years on the run. After being confronted about images of child pornography ...
WAMU 88.5
Hours after neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin — the unarmed black teenager whose killing unleashed debate over racial profiling — protesters took to the streets of D.C. Crowds gathered at U Street a...
WAMU 88.5
D.C. police are continuing the investigation into the death of a 7-year-old boy with autism. Assistant Chief Peter Newsham says the initial autopsy doesn't show signs of trauma, but they aren't ruling out foul play. Police are trying to figure out more than just how Michael Kingsbury died, but also how and when he got into the vehicle ...
WAMU 88.5
Earlier this week, the State Department escalated its travel warnings for Egypt, and issued a mandatory evacuation for all nonessential diplomats due to a military coup. Local universities are also calling for students to leave the country. "They have to rely on local folks to do things like bring food to them, and that's not comfortable, that's not appropriate," says Donna ...
WAMU 88.5
The Washington Humane Society is conducting a criminal investigation into an allegation of dog poisoning near Logan Circle in Northwest D.C. Area dog owners are concerned after someone reported on a neighborhood mailing list that their dog had been poisoned. The email alleges someone used pill pockets, meaty treats that help pets take medicine, to trick dogs into eating a h...
WAMU 88.5
A college student from Chevy Chase, Md. was killed in Egypt during a clash between government supporters and opponents. Andrew Pochter, 21, was in Alexandria, Egypt teaching young children English and improving his Arabic, according to a statement from his family. The family says he was stabbed by a protester while observing the demonstrations on Friday. Drew Bail...
WAMU 88.5
A woman has died and her two children have been injured along with several others in a multi-car crash in Anne Arundel County on Friday. Maryland State Police have identified the mother as 41-year-old Katherine K. Grooms, of Fort Washington. Police say her Honda Accord swerved across the grass median on Route 295 and collided head-on with a box truck heading in the op...
WAMU 88.5
National Zoo officials believe rain allowed Rusty to escape from what was thought to be a secure enclosure. That rain lowered tree limbs in the red panda exhibit, meaning Rusty could get closer to the edge of the enclosure. It also caused bamboo just outside the enclosure to bend over, creating a bridge perfect for Rusty's escape. The escape produced tense drama and a searc...
WAMU 88.5
Ten members of Congress are urging the Washington Redskins to change their name because it is offensive to many Native Americans. The representatives say they've sent letters to Redskins owner Dan Snyder, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Redskins sponsor FedEx and the other 31 NFL franchises. "Native Americans throughout the country consider the 'R-word' a racial,...
WAMU 88.5
The uncle of the suspected Boston bombers, who spoke out against the brothers after the attack, is helping with his older nephew's funeral. Tamerlan Tsarnaev's uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, of Montgomery Village, Maryland, and three of his friends met with Funeral Director Peter Stefan in Boston to wash and shroud Tsarnaev's body according to Muslim tradition. Tsarni says he i...