Thursday, May 29, 2008

Talk amongst yourselves

I've got no time to post today, but there's lots of stuff on our favorite news sites. If you can find something interesting, share it with the BC gang down in the comments section. Snark and outrage are welcome and encouraged. Empathy doesn't hurt either.
Posted by taotechuck at

19 comments:

Bmore said...

Yet another stabbing?!?! Jesus! So its ok for thugs to carry pocket knives, and its not a concealed weapon? what a fucking joke! a 3-4 inch blade a freaking deadly weapon! This city is all about letting its innocent citizens get MURDERED and assaulted! The city cares MORE about the criminals! I swear i cant wait to read a story where the victim pulls out a gun and blows the criminals away...why should innocent citizens be treated like sitting ducks!?! Why is it ok for citizens to fall victim? Mayor Crackhead Dixon doesnt give 2 shits, this is the 3rd major stabbing in like 3 weeks....1st Castillo, then Federal Hill, now this poor kid...knives are becoming the weapon of choice, over the gun...fuck the bmore government, protect yourself, b/c no one else will!

Thu May 29, 09:53:00 AM EDT
Anonymous said...

Now this is the Baltimore we all know and love:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.slay29may29,0,4904026.story

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/crime/bal-md.strangle29may29,0,6694159.story

Thu May 29, 10:30:00 AM EDT
badfish said...

the baltimore beauracracy busy again.

how is this even deemed an accomplishment? just because the city council is pushing big tobacco's buttons? because they are emulating the new york city council in enacting trivial "bans"? at least follow through with the emulation and try and get these kids to eat healthier.

Thu May 29, 10:47:00 AM EDT
ppatin said...

Omar Spriggs, who was injured in a quadruple shooting on May 15 has died.

Attempted murder charges against Brandon Allen have been dropped because the only witness against him was murdered a couple of weeks ago.

The ME has found that 63-year old Josephine House was strangled to death. Police say there were no other signs of foul play, and they have no potential suspect or motive.

Thu May 29, 10:51:00 AM EDT
ppatin said...

The murder trial of cop-killing sociopath Brandon Grimes has been postponed.

Thu May 29, 11:51:00 AM EDT
Stewie del Gato said...

YPR did a spot on Mr. Grimes trial. Apparently he had something like 17 charges between the ages of 17 and 21. His "lawyer" said that the evidence against him (basically his blood down the street from the scene and a police bullet pulled out of his leg) does not indicate that he committed the attempted robbery only that BG was in the vicinity of the crime, which he doesn't dispute. This is like the 3rd or 4th time it's been postponed. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if he gets off.

Thu May 29, 12:17:00 PM EDT
ppatin said...

The SA's office should've sought the death penalty against Grimes. I know how resource intensive capital cases are, and I understand why they seek the death penalty so rarely in B'more, but Brandon Grimes is a cop-killer in addition to being an extraordinarily violent individual. If they'd filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty that might get them some leverage that would convince him to plead guilty & accept a life w/o parole sentence.

Thu May 29, 12:53:00 PM EDT
badfish said...

yeah if grimes's other case currently pending in Bmore circuit court (the one mentioned in the Sun) is any indication, he won't be facing trial any time soon. there were several postponements in that case starting in January of 2007.

i wonder what the likelihood of conviction in that case is. let's hope that a conviction on the handgun is allowed into the murder case during trial.

Thu May 29, 01:05:00 PM EDT
buzoncrime said...

I agree. Sometimes, the Bmore SA's office doesn't play the game well enough. But they're always afraid to try cases because of the possibility of jury nullification.
However, I don't think that will be a problem in the Ashley Zion case. So far, though, she apparently has not snitched on her fighting buddies.

Clearly Grimes is a very dangerous individual. And the odd thing about it is, you can always spot them early on when you see their record and talk to them--even as juveniles. All it takes is some common sense: if nothing changes this person, they'll become very dangerous. You can see it with repeated arrests and little punishment.

By the way, I couldn't agree with Gregory Kane more about all the hand-holding goings-on proposed at the City's elite schools.

Thu May 29, 01:08:00 PM EDT
ppatin said...

I wonder why Grimes's handgun case didn't go Federal? He sounds like he has a long enough record that the Feds could get a very stiff sentence against him (I <3 the lack of parole in the Federal system) and idiot juries are much less of a concern with cases that are tried in Federal court.

Thu May 29, 01:13:00 PM EDT
ppatin said...

"But they're always afraid to try cases because of the possibility of jury nullification."

All the more reason they should've gone for death in the Grimes case in my opinion, but offered him life w/o parole if he'd plead guilty. Brandon Grimes murdered a police officer and victimized god knows how many other people. If there's any case that justifies going all out this is it.

Thu May 29, 01:17:00 PM EDT
badfish said...

one thing puzzles me about grimes's handgun case, and i guess handgun cases in general, is the bail requirements set at the arraignment. based on the case summary, grimes's bail was set at $45,000, and this was paid by a bondsman. let's assume grimes paid 10% down to the bondsman: for a lousy 4,500 he gets out on bail 2 days after being found with a handgun? i realize bail cannot be "unnecessarily" high, but wouldn't it make sense to at least require that bail be paid "cash-only"? this way, at least some of the lower level criminals, without access to hard cash, would have to stay in the clink for longer periods as they await trial. i guess i'm just of the opinion that if you get caught with an illegal weapon, then even if you don't have a particularly violent criminal record (which is necessary for a bail revocation), you are still dangerous.

Thu May 29, 02:33:00 PM EDT
ppatin said...

badfish:

From what I understand the SA's office has gotten better about identifying exceptionally dangerous criminals and trying to get higher bail/no bail in their cases. The challenge is getting all the information to back up their requests quickly, since I think suspects are supposed to get a bail hearing in front of a court commissioner within 24 hours, and then a bail review hearing in District Court within a few days.

After the Dawson Family was killed the SA's office finally set up a facility at Central Booking staffed by prosecutors who had proper access to criminal records & court information. Before that prosecutors at bailing hearings would often not even know if a suspect was on parole or probation, so thugs would get arrested & released again & again & again. Unfortunately like every other part of the SA's office they have to operate on a shoestring budget, and the resources to snag every dangerous criminal just aren't there.

Thu May 29, 02:48:00 PM EDT
ppatin said...

Here is an article from the Daily Record about what I'd mentioned.

Thu May 29, 02:50:00 PM EDT
badfish said...

ppatin:

certainly good points about the importance of up-to-date information regarding priors and parole. and even with perfect information, there are other reasons why bail hearings can favor the defendant. for example, often times the prosecutor working arraigments will not be the same prosecutor working the case, and as such any glitches that arise during the hearing and that cannot be resolved may tend to decrease the bail amount.

i guess ideally you would have the attorney heading the case present at each bail hearing, armed with perfect information. alas, heavy caseloads and the desire for sanity in our prosecutors prohibit this. as such, i feel that legislating additional prohibitions or requirements on bail in the case of handguns is the only way to go. if anything, we could at least hold bail-bondsmen more accountable for the appearance of their clients in court. by legislating that a portion of a defendant's payment be diverted to court accounts until a successful appearance, we might at least cut down somewhat on absenteeism, or alternatively have additional revenue streams for the SA.

Thu May 29, 03:14:00 PM EDT
badfish said...

thanks for the article btw.

Thu May 29, 03:15:00 PM EDT
Maurice Bradbury said...

The victim may not have been on duty, but he was killed in the course of an armed robbery, right?

The NYT had a good series about bail bonds a while back.

Thu May 29, 03:22:00 PM EDT
ppatin said...

"if anything, we could at least hold bail-bondsmen more accountable for the appearance of their clients in court. "

Our current bail bonds system has many flaws, but getting defendants to appear in court is one thing it's actually good at. Bondsmen lose a ton of $$$ if a defendant doesn't show. What the defendant does while he's out on bail is a totally different issue...

Thu May 29, 03:34:00 PM EDT
ppatin said...

"The victim may not have been on duty, but he was killed in the course of an armed robbery, right?"

I assume you are referring to Det. Chesley. Yes he was, but you've got to prove that to a Baltimore jury. As far as I know nothing was actually taken from the victim, and I don't think there were any witnesses who could testify that Grimes intended to rob Chesley. BTW, what evidence do they have against Grimes? Is it just the fact that a bullet from the vic's gun was found in his leg?

Thu May 29, 03:37:00 PM EDT

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)