Antonio “Tony” Planas is an express reporter for The Banner’s Montgomery County team. His focus is on law enforcement and immigration issues. He previously worked on the breaking news desk at NBC News, where he juggled writing about the nation’s biggest stories of the day. Tony’s career has focused on shining a spotlight on underserved communities, including leading a team of reporters in Boston who unearthed the city’s more than 300 unsolved homicides spanning a decade and the sizeable disparity in police arrest rates for Black victims compared to white victims. Tony is a Michigan State alumnus who enjoys watching his beloved Spartans compete on the gridiron and basketball court.
A teen arrested in connection with a Wednesday shooting at James Hubert Blake High School aimed a handgun at a school security officer who had commanded him to drop the weapon, according to court records.
A fight in the parking lot at Blake High School in Silver Spring resulted in a minor being shot, Montgomery County Police said on Wednesday. A 19-year-old man was taken into custody.
Kaloyan Stoev was found guilty of a 2025 double murder in Rockville. He shot one of the victims more than two dozen times, according to the Montgomery County state’s attorney’s office.
Montgomery County Police allege James Mulhern III recorded a 2018 video inside a changing room at Walter Johnson High School that showed people “in various stages of undress.”
A 17-year-old suspect was charged as an adult in a 2025 Germantown shooting in which several townhomes were struck by gunfire, Montgomery County Police said.
Funding for a Hindi book collection at the Germantown Library have fueled allegations of it being supported by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, deemed by some local activists as a hate group.
James Mulhern III is charged with sex abuse of a minor. The Montgomery County Public Schools employee is accused of planting a camera in a changing room at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda.
A teen is charged with arson and threats of mass violence for allegedly writing the name of the Sandy Hook shooter at a Bethesda elementary school and burning a shed, Montgomery County Police said Wednesday.
A fence at Bradley Hills Elementary School was vandalized with the name of the Sandy Hook Elemtary School shooter, according to Montgomery County Police and school district officials.
Lascelle Lee was indicted on multiple charges, including involuntary manslaughter, linked to the February death of his 6-year-old son, who shot himself in the face.
Judith Boivin and Dolores Miller lost thousands of dollars to faud scams and are now advocates, sharing their stories with other Montgomery County seniors.