Friday, November 4, 2011

Afternoon Round-up: Friday Edition

Three arrests have been made in two police impersonation robberies. Demon Harris, 36, Wayne Kasey, 26, and Donte Driggs, 23 are all facing serious charges for their roles in the robberies.

Two fatal fires in last 12 hours. 20-year-old Conner McKeown was killed in a Harford County fire, while an unidentified man died in northwest Baltimore garage fire.

A 10th grader at Civitas Middle/High School was stabbed by a 14-year-old fellow student yesterday.

A detective in a Carroll County murder case has been charged with perjury.

Two non-fatal shootings in the city yesterday including a 20 year old who was shot in the head.

Jury deliberations in the Ulysses Currie trial continue today.

33-year-old Chad Frobouck got 5 years for growing pot at a strip mall. The moral of the story here, is if you're going to grow weed in your business, make sure to pay your rent on time.


Creepy barber 54-year-old Jung Gon Kim(Pictured Right) was busted for sexually abusing a 13-year-old patron in his shop.

16 years exiled to Federal prison for career criminal Barry Murel, 49, for his 12th and (hopefully) final felony conviction.

A whopping 21 years in the Federal pen for heroin dealer Taurus "Ock" Wiggins, age 43.

Arrest in Yau Bros. Murder

Police say 17-year-old Markell Jones has reportedly confessed to Killing Freddie Jones Jr. at the Yau Brothers Carryout Monday night, after his parents turned him in. Two more suspects remain at large.

Twenty years for Arteesha Holt, the 14-year-old who killed Jose Rodolfo Gonzalez-Coreas after he laughed at her attempt to rob him

What is it going to take?!

to get a standing independent review board in this town?!
In case you haven't heard, the report is out on the criminally negligent "tragic perfect storm" that lead to the shooting deaths of Officer William H. Torbit Jr. and Select Lounge reveler Sean Gamble, and the stupidity within is mind-boggling. Highlights include:

- Torbit left his police identification in his trunk, went into the crowd alone, tried to get some drunk girls to quit hitting a car with their shoes and told Sean Gamble to "mind your own fucking business" when he tried to intervene, escalating the situation.

- many officers didn't let dispatchers know they were on the scene, so the chain of command couldn't be established. As the melee was going on, an officer radioed "That's an officer, he is one of us, stop shooting" and was ignored.

- officers shot into a crowd of people, exhibiting "poor marksmanship and undisciplined shooting."

- investigators didn't log photos of the crime scene.

- officers involved in the incident refused to testify, including Deputy Maj. Marc Partee, the commander on duty that night. If a civilian witness refuses to show up to testify, they get thrown in jail, but when it's an officer shooting someone, apparently they are within their rights to not even make an appearance.

- As we already knew, the police has for years gone against its own policies and failed to conduct "after-action" training reviews of police-involved shootings to prevent future incidents.

and, finally, two years ago Bealefeld justified not releasing the names of officers to the public because their own internal investigations are so thorough. "But the report found that in practice, the internal affairs unit defers to homicide detectives and waits until the criminal case is resolved — which can take months and in some cases more than a year, 'delay[ing] the Department's ability to determine what policies were violated or how it might improve its practices.'"

So what is it going to take to get an independent review board in this town?
So far this year we've had $1.2 million worth of extra tax dollars going to compensate victims of police malfeasance, how many citizens shot by police? 1, 2, 3.. a bunch. Also an officer dealing heroin out of the NW District Police Station, the towing scandal, 30 percent of rape cases being deemed "unfounded" ... what is it going to take?

Without demonstrable integrity, the police department loses its legitimacy. With no legitimate police force, people take the law into their own hands and refuse to cooperate, making community-based policing impossible. Citizens take the law into their own hands. If the mayor, Bealefeld and Robert Cherry are genuinely committed to a fair and responsive police force that holds protecting citizens as its top priority, they would welcome a standing independent review board, one with subpoena power and the ability to make recommendations. Seventeen out of 50 largest cities have this, including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Miami, San Diego and Pittsburgh. The fact that the mayor, chief of police and head of the police union support the BPD conducting its affairs in secrecy and answerable to no one is a spitwad on the cheek of every tax-paying citizen in this sorry burg.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Sleazy, sad and evil

Police have released video of the suspects wanted in the murder of Freddie Jones Jr. near the Yau Brothers on Monday. Lowell Melser reports that the robbery netted $13-- the exact same amount Charles Bowman was murdered for, which sounds a little too coincidental to be true.

Two shootings yesterday near Franklintown Blvd & Edmonson Ave

The Dept of Labor is suing Baltimore Behavioral Health for withholding financial records. A Sun investigation uncovered veritable assloads of shadiness at the supposed treatment clinic, including stolen retirement funds, Medicaid fraudsters on the payroll, and family members of the director pocketing six-figure salaries.

Judge Ben C. Clyburn has issued a “stay” on 3,878 debt col­lec­tion cases brought by two com­pa­nies whose busi­ness licenses have been sus­pended

After liberating Libya, Matthew VanDyke is now headed home to work on his memoirs

No bail for a woman arrested here and charged with running a prostitution ring in El Paso

A prisoner named Derontay walked away from a work detail in Glen Burnie yesterday, but was soon recaptured

Down in Bethesda, Brittany Norwood was found guilty of murdering co-worker Jayna Murray

A thoroughly depressing suspected grandson/grandma murder/suicide in Parkville

The City Paper has their election endorsements. Wouldn't it be nice if Pistol Pete got rousted?

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Dead Man Inc. Indictments

22 members of the infamous Dead Man Incorporated were indicted in federal court today. Among the bevy of crimes the 18 men and 4 women indicted were charged with are the 2009 murders of James Flanary, Tony Geiger, Eugene Chambers, & Walter Milewski.

Indicted Members Are:

Perry “Saho the Ghost” Roark, age 42
James Sweeney, age 34
Nicky Cash, age 46
George "Fat Boy" Treas IV, age 28
Dane Shives, age 22
Michael Anthony Quinn, age 28
Michael “Skinny Pimp” Forame Jr., age 40
Brian Mitchell, age 40
Richard Lee Ingram, age 45
Timothy “Fuhrer” Mixter, age 35
John Henry Adams, age 25
Gregory David Cook Jr., age 36
Jeremy Ridgeway, age 22
John William Zion Jr., age 27
Russell Bernard Hartman, age 29
Bonnie Rice, age 35
Kelly Witter, age 26
Charles Robert Gray Jr., age 31
Edward Adam Mueller, age 31
Melanie Holquist, age 28
Scott William Jarriel, age 28
Gary Charles Horton, age 26

Despite the vast majority of members having long, serious, and violent criminal records, information was quite difficult to find on the indicted members. If you find any more information on the indicted, let us know.

"her buttocks had scratches"

The investigation into the shooting of William Torbit Jr. is reportedly complete, with results expected to be released to the public tomorrow (my money's on Friday afternoon, though...)

Walter Bishop Jr. got life without parole, which of course means he's eligible for parole in 25 years. Sentencing for handgun and conspiracy charges are still TK, though.

The accusation of sexual assault at Occupy Baltimore was unfounded, say police. Apparently a woman woke up to find that "her buttocks had scratches" and there was "$1,800 missing from an envelope in her purse." Who could sleep through a buttock-scratching? Who keeps $1,800 in their purse? And what's the next step for these occupiers, anyway?
.. in other protest-y news, a petition is circulation calling for greater transparency and more community participation from the Greater Baltimore Development Corporation, and protestors are gathering at 36 South Charles at 5 p.m. on the 7th, "where some sunlight can hopefully be cast upon these matters"

OH and here's some shady-sounding shiz: The Brew reports that the Board of Estimates has just approved a new no-bid contracting process that will have contractors selected by a five-member board instead of via competitive bidding. I don't see how such a system could possibly invite corruption, do you?

County police are ISO this lumberjack-looking guy for robbing an Essex CVS. He's also guilty of gross and willful fashion violations-- black jeans and white sneakers, yech.

THIS is a good idea: the city got a grant to build a child-custody handoff center. (... how bananas is it that a husband could try to strangle his wife, but still have unsupervised visits with kids?!)

Two drug-toting individuals are in custody after causing a flaming crash a few blocks from City College yesterday

Puke sandwiches: politicians line up to praise the honesty, integrity and overall super-fabulousness of Ulysses S. Currie. Closing statements in that case are apparently going on right now.

Former city solicitor Ralph Tyler, defender of many a police misconduct lawsuit, is joining the local mega-firm of Venable LLP.

Curtis Lopez, accused killer of Jane and William McQuain, is OTW back to MD from NC. .. apparently in these extradition cases the perp actually rides on a commercial airline handcuffed to a Marshall. If that's true, is the perp allowed to get little pretzels and half a Coke?

Walter Bishop Dodges Death

A Harford County jury has decided against the death penalty for Walter Bishop, and apparently against life w/o parole as well.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

172, 173

A man was fatally shot in the 2900 block of Greenmount Avenue yesterday evening after being robbed in front of the Yau Brothers carryout, and during prime trick-or-treating hours, no less.

Richard A. Ford Jr., shot in 1998 on York Rd. in Govans, has died of shooting-related injuries.

A man was arrested in the tan van teen gang rape case: one Lucky Christopher Crosby Jr., 22, who was wearing a GPS ankle bracelet at the time.

It is your right to videotape the police. But that apparently doesn't mean they can't threaten to arrest you on some BS charge and erase everything on your phone anyway.

Violence in Waverly

Fatal shooting at the Yau Brothers carryout on Greenmount. This is the second fatal robbery at that establishment in less than two years.

Rape Assault alleged at Occupy Baltimore

Some tension at the Occupy Baltimore protest