Prison-Bound Gang Leader Not From Hyattsville, City, County Say

According to an article in the May 9 issue of The Baltimore Sun, 26-year-old Brandon Smith, a leader of a gang represented locally, was sentenced to 23 years in prison for his involvement with the group.

The article claims that Smith, of the "Hyattsville" gang the Latin Kings was involved in a shooting outside a nightclub in New York City in 2009 and other crimes. The article credits the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office with the information.

Smith has never lived in Hyattsville, and his only known Maryland address is in Baltimore, according to the City of Hyattsville officials, who inquired about the matter with

Sun reporter Tricia Bishop said she wrote the article based off of information she received from the U.S. Department of Justice. A press release states that Smith is from Hyattsville.

As of press time, a DOJ representative had not returned calls seeking comment.

Media reports frequently label incidents as happening in Hyattsville, but generally they are referring to unincorporated parts of the county, not the incorporated city. This issue is not new for Hyattsville, which, according to the Washington Post, in 2005 was depicted by the TV show "Commander in Chief" as a murder hub, erroneously crediting it with 11 murders instead of the two that were actually reported that year in the city.

The U.S. Postal Service has, with ZIP codes, dubbed many areas of Prince George's County as being Hyattsville, even though some of those areas reach as far as Largo and Lanham.

Those ZIP codes include 20781, 20782, 20783, 20784, 20785, 20787, 20788, but there are actually only three ZIP codes in the city limits – 20781, 20782 and 20783, according to city officials.

There are no excuses for the mishaps, as Hyattsville late last year rolled out a map clearly identifying its boundaries.

It all began with a group of residents who banded together years ago to combat the ZIP code issue and the media's often misleading reports.

ORCHID, as the group was called, has now folded since some of its leaders moved out of the area.

According to city-data.com, a website that offers statistics on cities throughout the country, Hyattsville covers just 2.14 square miles. Wikipedia adds .03 to that number for areas covered by water within Hyattsville.