One involved an arrest on Tuesday.
Frederick, Md (KM) Frederick Police Chief Jason Lando is giving a lot of praise to investigators for their work which led to the arrest of a man on drug and weapons charges. Leonard Anthony Morris, 22, was taken into custody on Tuesday at his apartment on Taney Avenue.
Lando, who was a guest recently on WFMD’s “Morning News Express,” said detectives acted on tips about Morris’ alleged involvement in drug distribution and illegal firearms activity. “They received information—we got to be a little bit sensitive about what we release—but they received information that allowed them to follow up and obtain a search warrant. They did use the SWAT team because when we got information there may firearms inside, we want to make sure our cops are safe ,” he said.
When police arrested Morris, they found a large quantity of firearms and ammunition his home.
The Frederick Police Special Response Team is often called the SWAT Team.
Chief Lando said the Frederick Police worked with other law enforcement agencies in apprehending Morris. “They recovered loaded firearms with extended magazines, ammunition, cocaine. They took a guy into custody, Mr. Morris, who’s already on probation. So this was a big one for us. We like to think that anytime we get guns off the street, it’s a win and it makes our community safer,” he said.
Frederick Police say one of the weapons recovered was a long rifle reported stolen from Baltimore County.
On another topic Chief Lando urged parents to be involved in their children’s lives. He made that comment following the arrest last month of a Frederick man who was charged with 11 counts of possession of child pornography. “If you have young kids, make sure you stay in tune with what they’re doing on line, monitor their social media,” he said. “There’s always apps out there right that you can install on the phones and put parental controls on there.”
Parents being a part of their children’s lives is especially important when it comes meeting a person on line. “We need people to be vigilant, to be advocates for their own safety,”: he says., “If your child says ‘hey, I’m going to meet a friend.’ Ask them ‘who is this person? Where they live?’ Because a lot of times, these people are very sneaky, and they’re very crafty, and they try to lure underage kids in and we need someone to be an advocate for their safety.”
The suspect, Mr. Daniel Patrick Vandervossen, was arrested on October 16th during a traffic stop The Frederick Police Major Crimes Division conducted searches of Vandervossen’s home and vehicle. At the time of his arrest, Vandervossen was a substitute teacher who worked at several elementary schools in Frederick County.
By Kevin McManus