A big start for 2006 with four murders between 1:45am and 9:30pm on January 1. 21-year-old Stephanie Mills was shot as she tried to break up a fight; 49-year-old Michelle Denton's throat was cut by her boyfriend; an unidentified man's body was found in Cherry Hill (it appears he was killed on Friday or Saturday, but his death will go on the record for 2006); and another unidentified man was shot and killed in Southwest Baltimore. It took four days for Baltimore City to reach four homicide victims last year.
The article above also mentions murder #269 for 2005: an unidentified taxi driver was fatally stabbed by two teenagers in West Baltimore on New Year's Eve.
It seems like the "Baltimore's Murder Rate Dropped!" articles are already starting to appear. I understand that nine less deaths is a big deal, but from the little I know of statistics, a 3% movement in either direction can be considered more of a statistical anomaly than a true change.
A 20-year-old man in Howard County killed his father, who was attacking the man's mother. The Sun's article briefly looks into gender issues in Chinese culture.
In Calvert County, 40-year-old Lisa Moore was shot to death by her 57-year-old ex-boyfriend, Graham Buckmaster. A protective order was in place, but Moore's family claim's police officers didn't enforce it since Buckmaster's family is prominent in Calvert County.
26-year-old Gerald Reed has been arrested for the attempted murder of 25-year-old Mathaddues Rozier and for the murder of Rozier's 79-year-old father.
New Year's day robbers in Harford County held about 50 attendees of a church service at gunpoint and stole their cash and valuables.
Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke is pushing for legislation that will allow police to close corner convenience stores in drug-infested neighborhoods for up to six hours each day. Dealing is usually heavy around the local stores, and the six-hour timeslot would be determined by when dealers are busiest in a neighborhood.
Two shootings and a whole lot of robbery in the Police Blotter.
An interesting article in the Sun about Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein and what his office is doing to combat crime in Baltimore.
3 comments:
Oh, let's get real about "Baltimore Reports Fewer Homicides", now shall we?
the history is:
2000 261
2001 256
2002 253
2003 270
2004 276-> 278
This year's number was 269, excluding the 3 murders occuring after the ball fell in Times Square but before the confetti settled. It also excludes the two city police officers killed by another Baltimorean across the jurisdictional boundary in Pikesville where the victim lived because the city is too violent.
Now, the number of murders is 2% higher than the five-year average during a period when the population has declined by 5%.
So, "Mayor Reports Fewer Homicides" is kinda misleading. And, it neglects to include the 270th casualty... the truth.
For what it's worth, the official number also excludes the following:
1) Raymond Smoot, an inmate at the Dept. of Public Safety and Correctional Services (aka DPSCS, aka jail) in Baltimore who was beaten to death by Correction Officers after his arrest. (From what I understand, the DPSCS is a state facility so related deaths count towards the state numbers but not the city numbers, even if they happen in the city.)
2) Stephen Cage, who was killed by Bradford Mulcahy in February while Mr. Mulcahy was trying to escape from police during a drug-related car chase.
3) Cheryl Broadnax, who was killed in July by Steven Craft while Mr. Craft was fleeing police in a stolen Toyota Camry (coincidentally, the same make and model that Mulcahy was driving when he hit Cage).
Those are just three that I can think of off the top of my head. I know there have been a couple of other DPSCS deaths within the city's borders, and I can only assume that there have been at least a few other vehicular homicides that are directly related to the city's high crime rate.
damn my boi ronny aka butch was killed new years day butch we love u and we here holdin it down r.i.p
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