Saturday, February 26, 2005

February 25

In White Marsh, a 15-year-old did $900,000 worth of damage when he set an apartment building on fire.

Also in White Marsh, a man got 21 3/4 years for party powder.

A death warrant has been signed for a guy who murdered a Pikesville couple in a motel 23 years ago.

Sixteen-year-old William Alson, shot in Landsdowne, has been released from the hospital. His 14-year-old friend is still there.

Muggings and cafeteria fights in Annapolis.

Thursday, February 24, 2005

February 24

From the State's Attorney's Office: Just before jury selection was to begin in the murder trial of Darren Johnson, 22, of the 2800 block of Plainfield Road, Johnson pled guilty to second-degree murder and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. On April 4, 2004 Johnson and Calvin McCrea, 20, shot Robert Jenkins, Jr., 29, to death in the 1800 block of Dover Street. McCrea was involved in an altercation with a female on Dover Street and Jenkins attempted to intervene. Judge Kaye Allison sentenced Johnson to a total of 50 years in prison: 30 years for the murder count and 20 years for the handgun count with the terms to run consecutively. McCrea pled guilty Tuesday, February 22 to two counts of first-degree assault. Judge John M. Glynn sentenced McCrea to 15 years in prison,with all but six years in prison.

Yesterday afternoon Fatrina Malika Holloway, 16, of Park Heights Avenue, pled guilty to manslaughter. Judge John M. Glynn sentenced Holloway to ten years in prison will all but four years suspended. On October 15, 2003 Holloway and the victim, Natalie Trent, 24, were involved in a fight in which Trent was hitting Holloway with a stick. Holloway stabbed Trent to death following that altercation in the 3000 block of Thorndale Avenue.

Criminal profiling is apprently not the forte of the Towson cops: a second rape in a week has Towson coeds on the alert for a medium-sized white man, or maybe a black man, or pssibly a Hispanic man, who may be college-aged or not.

Camille Bivins got six years for beating her toddler to death. Her boyfriend, Timothy Horne, saw his charges dismissed on a technicality.

In better news, yesterday's Amber Alert that had drivers looking for one Joseph Warren with a nine-month-old baby in his pickup truck turned out to be the result of a false statement by the babymomma (who's now under arrest).

Bullet-catching boy bugger Maurice Blackwell wants a new trial. And by the way Michael Jackson now has a jury, mostly women.

Drunken diver Micahel Phelps will ahve to talk to students in Wicomico County about the error of his beer-swilling, Escalade-driving ways.

State of the News

I wonder if crime reporting in this town has changed, or if I'm just starting to pay more attention. Probably a little bit of both. The bext source of in-depth reporting is anything in-depth by the City Paper, particularly by Anna Ditkoff. The problem is that the CP only does those types of stories about once a month (understandably). If you want to know crime dirt while it's fresh, WJZ definately dishes it out the best. Mary Bubala did a great report last night about the pant-stealing mall murderers, and in the most fabulous orange coat. The local papers like the Messenger and Towson Times can be good for the robberies and burglaries, but finding out that stuff a week after it happened is not particularly useful. The Sun earns about a C-, not doing much more but making a few calls after getting a press release from the State's Attorney. They can't even seem someone at the courthouse regularly. Worst source of news: channel 11, (WBAL), which will actually, literally, during the news, report on television shows. Fox is in its own little world, namely Timonium, and hustles through local news to get to the national "theme" stories like feeding tubes, taxes and the president talking somewhere to somebody. Then the second half of the show is sports and editorials by that preening Ralph-Reedish Mark Hyman guy, who seems scarred for life from being teased about his last name on the playground.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Turns out that the brother of one of the gunmen, as well as the second gunman, in the Towson Mall shooting had been involved in a robbery the previous day in Overlea.

So, let's get this straight: Lavar Clark and two of his best buds go to Overlea, and at gunpoint, steal 97 bucks and a CD player from some guy.... and then demand his PANTS. The next day, Javon Clark and John Kennedy (!!) decide "Hey, that went pretty well! Now let's go shoot some old guy at the mall!"

Boy, I'd love to meet their parents.

In legal news, a judge rejected gunshot residue evidence from the city's only gunshot analyst. This ruling, if it stands, will open up hundreds of trials for appeal. A quick Google search for cases where Harant's testimony figured importantly include the 2002 murder of Det. Thomas Newman by Jovan House, a capital case, and the conviction and life imprisonment of Jermaine Blackwell for the shooting of James Randolph in 2003.

February 23

Two murders last week bring this year's death toll to 44.

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

February 22nd

Courts are back from vacation so suddenly there's a ton of news..

A-hole child abuser of the week (so far) is 24-year old Scott Cromwell, who was sentenced to to 25 years in prison, with all but nine years suspended, for the assault of a three-year old child. On March 14, 2003, while Cromwell was caring for a three year-old at a home in the 6600 block of Snowberry Court when medics responded to an unresponsive child call. The child was found to be suffering from severe brain injury-- his brain was swollen with internal bleeding and there was a giant bruise on his forehead. The child suffered permanent paralysis as a result of the incident.

A second man has been arrested in the murder of Robert Gail of New Carrolton.

A judge's ruling on the definition of gunshot residue evidence has the potential to derail hundreds of cases in Baltimore city.

Thefts and a murder arrest in the blotter.

On Friday a Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Antoine Adams, 32, of Patterson Park Avenue, and Richard A. Damon, Jr., 35, of the 500 block of Force Road, on 32 counts realted to their robbery-and-murder spree last month. Court documents allege that Adams and Damon shot and killed Theresa Moore, 51, and Michael Mick, 40, inside a house in the 800 Block of Bradford Street on January 20. Adams and Damon were also indicted for first-degree murder, armed robbery, and conspiracy for the shooting death of Justin Michael Gaglione, 29, January 14 in the 300 block of East 20th Street. Both defendants are being held on a no bail status. An arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday, March 22.

A Hagerstown man has been arrested for raping two teenagers.

A pair of guys who were stopped for speeding on 95 who had the body of a man they'd beaten to death stuffed in the trunk got some mighty light-sounding sentences at a hearing today. Alberto Sanchez, 29, and Armando Rosales, 35, pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and accessory to murder, respectively. Sanchez got 4 1/2 years in prison and Rosales got three.

Two boys were shot in Landsdowne this morning. The gunman remains at large.

A bail hearing is set for today for Teon Hall, the Annapolis man charged in the Ritz Cabaret shooting. According to WBAL (which seems to dish dirt way better than WJZ):

The club's former owner was convicted in 2002 of laundering money and hiring illegal immigrants, mostly Hungarians, as dancers. The club now advertises as "The New Ritz Cabaret" and bills itself as an "upscale gentlemen's club."

Personally, I always liked the Ritz. And I never saw any Hungarians there. I can recognize a Hungarian from a mile away, especially naked.

[UPDATE: Hall was given "no bail" status.]

And lucky for all of us consumerist bastards, Towson Town Center is "reviewing its security." They offer no specifics, of course. I guess they have to look like they're doing something.

And just for shits and grins, check out O'Malley's 2000 plan to drastically reduce crime in Baltimore. Ed Norris, we hardly knew ye. But man, did you have a hairy back.

A choirboy-loving perv who was apparently unsucessfully treated at Hopkins for his predilictions is dead at age 87.

Another arrest has been made in the Annaoplis Noah Jamal Jones murder case.

The City Paper covers the muder of jazz musician Lydell Honeyblue.

Still more about the prison bus murder. Newsfuckingflash, the prisoners shouldn't have been seated next to each other.

Baltimore city is trying to set up cameras to nab illegal dumpers... who for some reason think it's easier to haul a sofa to the park than call 311 or the Salvation Army.

If you're a cop looking for drugs, knocking and immediately barging your ass in is perfectly fine in Hagerstown.

Monday, February 21, 2005

February 19-21

A man was fatally shot last night in Southeast Baltimore.

An employee of the Dundalk In And Out store is in shock trauma after being shot by robbers.

Elsewhere,
Two 18-year-olds from Middle River have been arrested for murdering St. Paul's Dean of Faculty in the parking lot of Towsontown Center.

Two armed robbers stole cell phones and an office safe at Comcast.

The FBI says that the rate of bank robberies in Maryland has hit a new high, more than double the rate of the second most bank-robbed city, L.A.