Tuesday, February 27, 2007

February 27

A shooting victim was found by police last night on W. Lanvale St., and died after being taken to Shock Trauma [45].

Brian Jones' family has forgiven convicted killer Alvin Williams.

A private eye is questioning the FBI's conclusions in the death of investigator Jonathan Luna.

A former South Baltimore resident and her teenage daughter were killed in a double homicide / suicide in Upstate New York.

Last week they said Edgewood doesn't need the Guardian Angels, but today they're saying they do.

Sheila D. fought the smokers and Sheila D. won. One can only hope she'll fight the murderers, next.

14 comments:

Marc said...

My lazy-ass councilman wasn't even there:

One member, Edward L. Reisinger, was absent.

And TV25 switched away from the council meeting in the middle of the vote. Is there any part of city government that isn't plagued by gross incompetence?

John Galt said...

The guy who collects up the tax money ??

Maurice Bradbury said...

He better have been in the hospital!
You should call his office and ask where his azz was!

John Galt said...

So, let me get this straight, regarding the Guardian Angels story:

Harford residents are fed up with criminality.

And they want a patrol presence on the street.

And there's a government with responsibility to protect & serve.

So, why isn't that government being required to so provide in the form of police officers?

Why do governments around here think that policing is some kind of optional luxury, to be considered after funding discretionary spending ?

I kinda like [of all people] Marion Barry's proposal for city government to adopt a resolution establishing a right to Freedom From Fear.

It's time.

burgersub said...

actually the movement to ban trans-fats is picking up steam. new york and philly have already done it.

John Galt said...

Yeah, so fat and cigs will be against the law and heavily enforced, but assault with a weapon will be technically unlawful, but routinely tolerated.

Whatta f#@kin' joke this city is.

And by whom, pray tell are violations to be enforced in this city that has not managed to staff its police dept. for at least 15 years?

We cannot find officers, but we can sure find and hire more bureaucrats.

Maurice Bradbury said...

You wonder why a Sun reporter would follow Upstate NY crime news more closely than what's happening a mile away...
Answer: "Lessard then drove a steak knife into his own groin ... causing him to bleed to death."
Groins=news!

Unknown said...

I thought the city would appreciate some background on the trial that is taking place for Erik Stoddard. Erik was wrongfully convicted in the death of Calen Dirubbo nearly five years ago. While the death of Calen Dirubbo is tragic, the wrongful conviction of Erik Stoddard for a crime he did not commit is equally tragic. As someone that is intimately familiar with the case, I felt it necessary to correct several factual errors that have been written about Erik over the past few years. There is information here that clearly exonerates Erik Stoddard of this crime.

On the night Calen died, Erik Stoddard was not present at the time of Calen's death. Erik and Calen's mother, Cheryl Dieter-Dirubbo, had called Calen's father, Nick Dirubbo, to come over and baby-sit Calen and her brother. Nick arrived around 5 pm that evening, and Erik and Cheryl left for dinner just before 6 pm. When Nick arrived, the children were playing in the yard. Had Calen had her bowel severed by Erik prior to Nick's arrival, she would not have been playing with the other children in the yard.

When Erik and Cheryl returned home at 11:30 pm that night, there was an ambulance at the home and Nick was running around frantically in the front yard. Nick was clearly intoxicated when Erik and Cheryl arrived. The police took ten statements that evening from bystanders.

The next morning, Nick was arrested and held for Calen's death, but after his family dispatched several attorneys to bail him out of jail the next Monday, Baltimore police released Nick and charged Erik instead. It was no secret that Nick held a great deal of animosity toward Erik Stoddard because Nick's ex-wife, Cheryl, had left him for Erik.

Once Erik had been charged with the crime, there were many press releases and other propaganda released by the Baltimore police department to tilt the case in their favor. There were a number of facts that were withheld from the media, and from Erik's public defender, until after the case had been decided.

Here are a few of those facts:

* Calen Dirubbo had a brother that was approximately two years older than her. Her brother was obsessed with WWF wrestling and had been admonished for abusing his sister several times in the past. On the night Calen died, Cheryl's parents came by and picked up her brother. They obtained an attorney for the child and informed the Baltimore police that they would not be able to talk to the boy, and referred them to the child's attorney. Among Dirubbo family members, it is widely believed that the older brother of Calen is responsible for her death, yet the State never pursued this.

* The night that Calen died, Nick Dirubbo was supposed to be watching her and her brother. Instead, he was down in the basement playing video games and getting intoxicated with one of his friends. The children were left unsupervised. Calen was not discovered until shortly before 11 pm by Nick's friend, who came up from the basement in order to use the bathroom.

* When the coroner examined Calen, he discovered that she had died of a hemorrhage in her bowel due to a strong external blow. Had Erik been responsible for this (as the State postulated), she would have been severely injured at the time Nick came over to stay with the children, but this was not the case. If Erik did hurt the child, and then she died five or six hours later, there would have been substantial bruising on her stomach. However, she died so suddenly that there was no bruising in the injury area. The time of death was between 10:30 and 11:00 pm, so it is clear Erik was not involved. The bigger issue is that THIS EVIDENCE WAS WITHHELD BY THE STATE at Erik's first trial. This fact was revealed at Erik's appeal hearing, and is one of the reasons his conviction was overturned.

* There were ten statements that were taken by the police. The prosecutors office only released three of these statements for Erik's first trial. Erik has had to file many motions to force the State to release the other statements. The evidence the State concealed exonerates Erik of the crime based on witness statements.

* The State concocted a timeline that does not hold up. There were a number of factual discrepancies between the State's timeline and the actual facts that were disclosed by witnesses in the trial. This is another reason why the appeal overturned the conviction.

There is a great deal of additional evidence that exonerates Erik Stoddard of this crime. If you knew Erik, you would find that he is kind to children. There is absolutely nothing in Erik's history that shows he has ever done anything to hurt or discipline a child -- it is not in his nature. The children were Cheryl's children and were lovingly cared for by her -- Erik had nothing to do with raising the children or disciplining them.

It took Erik three and a half years to get the court to hear his appeal, which took place last January 2005. It took the State appeals court ELEVEN MONTHS to overturn his conviction after hearing the case. Even worse, he was never formally notified by the State that the appeals court had overturned his conviction -- instead Erik heard that the conviction was overturned when Erik talked to Cheryl Dieter-Dirubbo in his weekly call with her. Why did the State notify the media and others regarding the status of the appeal as early as December 8, 2005, and never notified Erik?

Erik was transferred without notice to the Baltimore detention center where he has been locked down in a 4 x 7 cell for several months. He has been beaten by guards, had his food tampered with, and been subject to extraordinarily cruel conditions.

Erik's only crime was that he was too poor to afford a decent attorney to defend him in the first place. How would you feel if you were innocent of your crime, and after having spent four and a half years in prison, the State notifies the media that your conviction has been overturned, but does not notify you? Would you consider that a fair justice system?

As for the hearsay evidence that resulted in Erik's original conviction being overturned, the State had contacted Jennifer Pritchett and told her Erik murdered Calen and that her child could be in jeopardy. Who knows what she told her child after the State poisoned her as a witness? Jennifer Pritchett was not at the scene of the crime and should have never been allowed to testify at Erik's trial. Of course her child was afraid of Erik -- she had told her child that State told her he was a murderer! What would you expect?

This case illustrates how the State can manufacture evidence to incarcerate a person simply because they do not have the financial means to hire a good attorney. There was clear evidence from several sources that exonerated Erik Stoddard. Why didn't the State pursue Calen's older brother? Why wasn't Nick Dirubbo held responsible when he was baby sitting the children? And why did the State pursue Erik for a crime they clearly knew he did not commit?

I have no doubt that now that the evidence is finally in the open, Erik will prevail in this trial. When Erik gets out, he hopes he can return to active duty in the US Army. This ordeal has been hard on everyone that knows Erik, and the tragedy that took the life of little Calen. I hope Erik can walk away from this tragic experience and get on with his life. At least now you know the other side of the story.

Anonymous said...

CALEN DIRRUBO
Dave, if you are so familiar with the case, then you should know that Nick's last name isn't Dirubbo. That simple little piece of info shows that you don't know what you are talking about. Listen to somebody who has hugged and loved Calen; bruises didn't show up until this monster came around.
Thank GOD justice was served again..instead of giving your one sided view of this, show us the evidence that it isn't possible for Calen to have died hours after the fatal blow..

Jennifer Pritchett said...

Thank you to whomever you are that replied to Dave.

It is obvious that he has been severly misinformed. Please do not speak on behalf of the Dirubbo's. There is only one who uses that name that supports Erik Stoddard and that is Cheryl Dieter. It adds insult to injury when you make it sound as though the family actually supports this monster and believes him to be innocent. We are well aware of what he has done.

Paul Erik's Cuz said...

Dave is completely accurate and correct. I read about 100's of other judges around the united states and they have no idea why he was convicted. He has ZERO evidence and Nick Dieter should have been convicted of child-neglect. Its not Erik's fault just because he doesnt have as much money as the prosecuting side. They railroader him just because they arent sure who did it and i feel for them on that, but you dont convict innocent people. By the way, Cheryl Dieter's Mother is living with her cousin! Now you tell me, does it take to have a child for them to be crazy or is it crazy to live with your cousin?! They do not care, they want Erik convicted every time because they are stubborn and dont know exactly what has happened. Erik is completely innocent, and everything that "Dave" has said is completely true. ALSO, does it matter if he used "Dirubbo" instead of "Dieter"? No. After hearing everything about Nick Dieter and how he is the father of Calen, wouldnt you think that his last name IS Dirubbo? I know that he is the step-father, but Dave obviously did not know. Bottom line is, it doesnt matter. What matters is that the TRUE facts and evidence show that Erik MOST LIKELY did not hurt that child. We Know that Erik would NEVER hurt a child, ESPECIALLY with excessive force. We pray every night, if Erik is innocent, please let him be free. If Erik is guilty, let him FRY. Because only GOD knows the truth. Likely, he did not commit this crime.

Jennifer Pritchett said...

2 jurys have convicted him after less than 2 hours of deliberations both times and the appeals have gone through not because of evidence but because of stupid judicial technicalities. Obviously, there is evidence to convict him...twice.
So what if her mother lives with her cousin? As far as I'm aware, her situation is completely legal. Since you want to throw information out-You forgot to mention the numerous assault convictions that Erik served. He's a repeat violent offender with a history of terrorizing people. It's got to stop.

Anonymous said...

The fact that Dave didn't known Nick's last name shows that he isn't as familiar with the parties as he claimes.
Erik Stoddard is a piece of shit like his father. Nick might not have been the most responsible person, but he was always loving and gentle to Calen. Obviously the two men who commented are friends with Erik.

Anonymous said...

Cheryl is a whore that slept with many of Nick's
Friends. Nick couldn't care less that she was with Erik. Trust me. Nick had already moved on himself. She wasn't a freakin "prize"
To cry over. Horsed faced,white trash. She knew that Erik beat Calen while trying to potty train her. The family even had a sit down meeting about this. Erik promised he wouldn't do it again. Oh and while Nick was watching Calen that night, she wasn't playing around like Dave is making it seem. She was on the sofa because she didn't feel well for most of the evening, but it didn't seem life threatening at all. Nick should have prevented Erik fr being around Calen, but his hands were tied. He wasn't the biological father ( who is dead because Cheryl let him drive her car even though he didn't hav a
License