Pair Indicted for Conspiracy, Murder of 'NYT' Reporter

By: Joe Strupp and the Associated Press The two men accused of killing New York Times journalist David Rosenbaum have been indicted on conspiracy charges.

Prosecutors say Michael Hamlin and Percy Jordan conspired not only the deadly robbery of Rosenbaum but two other holdups -- one on the same day Rosenbaum was attacked.

Colbert King, a columnist at The Washington Post who has been on a crusade to determine if emergency and medical response crews made mistakes in their treatment of Rosenbaum, praised the indictments of the suspects, but said his concerns remain.

"I don't think there is any question they will get these guys," King told E&P about the suspects. "They are being very careful. They built this [case] very carefully." But he said he is still awaiting results of official probes of Rosenbaum's treatment.

The 17-count comes after criticism that two earlier robberies linked to the suspects were never properly investigated.

The pair have now been charged in one of those robberies - a November 17th attack on a 72-year-old retired police officer. In that robbery, the victim's cell phone was taken and later used to call relatives of the suspects. But investigators didn't pursue that lead until after Rosenbaum was killed.

The indictment also details a holdup in Silver Spring on January sixth, the day Rosenbaum was hit in the head and robbed near his Northwest Washington home. He died two days after the robbery.

The Washington Post reported today:

"In the Nov. 17 robbery, the victim's cellphone was stolen from him and was used to call relatives of Hamlin's and Jordan's, the victim said in an earlier interview. But investigators did not pursue that lead until after Rosenbaum was killed.

"It was one of the many agency failures that have shadowed the death of Rosenbaum, 63, who had just retired from the Times, where he spent most of his career reporting and editing in the paper's Washington bureau.

"Struck in the head with a pipe as he walked on Gramercy Street NW, Rosenbaum was felled by the blow. But when a passerby called 911 to summon emergency medical care, Rosenbaum, who was initially conscious, was deemed a low priority -- possibly just intoxicated."

King's long-running probe has focused on the care provided by District of Columbia police, fire and EMT departments, and Howard University Hospital - where Rosenbaum died. Since February, King, a Saturday columnist and member of the Post editorial board, has written more than a half-dozen pieces about the murder, specifically about concerns that ambulance response was too slow, initial diagnoses of Rosenbaum at the scene were wrong, and hospital care was negligent.

His columns have prompted several reviews by authorities, including a probe by the District of Columbia Inspector General, results of which he says could be out as early as today.

"I want to hold people in the system accountable for what they did," he said Thursday. "I still have to see the report and then I can respond."

Calls to the Inspector General's Office were not immediately returned today.

King said he is not planning to write about Rosenbaum again in the near future, but likely will continue to report on developments eventually, especially when the Inspector General's findings are revealed. "That is what I am waiting for," he said.