The Greenbelt Police Department’s Criminal Investigative Unit (CIU) was recognized with a Unit Citation for its work investigating violent crime between July 2025 and January 2026, including three homicides and multiple shootings. Detectives Carl Roberson, Oscar Rodas-Flores, Aidan Simms and Eric Alvarez received the citations on Monday, April 20. Officials say the recognition reflects months of complex investigations that led to arrests, recovered firearms and a measurable impact on public safety. Following the ceremony, Chief of Police Richard Bowers, Master Police Officer Carl Roberson and Public Information Officer Ricardo Dennis met with the News Review to discuss the important work of the unit and some of the modern detective work officers are involved in.
Serious Cases
Bowers said the award “represents a culmination of a six-month time frame” in which detectives handled some of the city’s most serious cases while operating short-staffed. The unit, typically composed of four detectives and a supervisor, completed the work with only three detectives due to a military deployment.
During that period, the CIU investigated three homicides, including the shooting of 14-year-old Carltin Bayong, along with multiple shootings, robberies and other violent incidents. They announced arrests in two of the homicides in April. Working alongside local, state and federal partnerships, the unit secured more than 70 search warrants and made 31 criminal arrests tied to those cases.
Scale of Effort
Bowers emphasized the scale of effort behind those numbers. The procedure for securing a warrant requires writing in specific details on what they are searching for and making sure the execution is properly conducted and that they know what to do with the data “to make it mean something.” Frequently major investigations now involve multiple warrants to different organizations for cellphone and social media information or camera footage, for example. “The amount of work that goes into that search warrant really is substantial,” said Bowers. “The biggest cases that we were able to close out, which were the contact shootings and two of the three homicides we had last year, consumed hundreds of hours of staff time to complete those investigations.”
Roberson described how modern investigations rely heavily on digital footprints. “Cellphone and social media are the two big drivers, and that’s most investigations now,” Roberson said. “People post what they do, or post where they are … that allows us to go behind what they did and kind of give us more context.”
That approach, combined with regional partnerships, helped investigators close major cases, including two of the three homicides. Police worked closely with Prince George’s County units and other agencies to identify suspects and gather evidence. The work also led to the recovery of seven firearms, including weapons used in two homicides, according to department officials.
Crime Trends
Despite the severity of the cases, citywide crime trends have improved. According to monthly crime reports, the total number of offenses in Greenbelt is down 30 percent compared with the previous year. Officials attribute that decline to a combination of enforcement, prosecution and policy changes, particularly regarding juvenile offenders.
Juvenile crime remains a central challenge. Investigators said a significant portion of recent violent offenses involved young suspects, complicating both investigations and prosecutions. “You deal with juveniles, it makes stuff a little trickier,” said Dennis, noting legal and procedural limitations on what can be released and how cases are handled. Roberson added that repeat juvenile offenses can strain resources. “The juveniles are primarily the driver of a lot of our crime,” he said.
Evidence Collection
Investigators also pointed to the time-consuming nature of digital evidence collection as a major obstacle. Requests to social media companies and tech providers can take days or weeks, delaying progress even when suspects are known. “It’s not like TV,” Dennis said. “This stuff does not happen within the same day or overnight or the same week typically.”
Still, officials say, the CIU’s work demonstrates the department’s ability to adapt and solve complex cases using evolving investigative techniques. The unit also credited tools such as license plate readers and traffic cameras with helping identify suspect vehicles and generate leads in violent crimes.
Community Connection
Beyond enforcement, officers emphasized their connection to the community. Many members of the department live locally or actively engage with residents through outreach programs and events. “We do legitimately care,” said Roberson. “Most of our officers are community-driven. They prefer going to the community events. They love interacting with the public.”
CIU Citation
The unit citation highlights not only case closures but also the sustained effort required to maintain public safety in a small department handling a wide range of crimes. As Bowers noted, unlike larger agencies with specialized teams, Greenbelt’s CIU investigates everything from homicides to robberies. “We have one unit, and they take every criminal investigation that’s assigned to them, regardless of the severity of it,” he said. Officials say the recognition underscores the unit’s professionalism, teamwork and commitment to justice and its role in bringing closure to victims while helping keep the Greenbelt community safe.
Laura Charleston is a University of Maryland student at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism interning at the Greenbelt News Review.
