205

It's the Schmoke era all over again. A deadly triple last night in Govans, body count up to 205.

Baltimore city has doled out $900k in police settlements this year, including $150k to the family of a disabled man shot through a car window, $20k for a police horse that bit a disabled girl, and $60k to a man who was given a body-cavity search by the side of the road for having an obscured license plate.

Apparently Psychology Consultants, the psych firm was paid $730,000 by the city for 15-minute sanity evaluations for cops and firefighters, was busted by their own whistleblower therapist.* 

Judge Nance let an accused killer go free* in May because he thought the accused's lawyer was acting "like a mother hen"* and that the jury was unfavorable to the defense based on said jury's facial expressions. Yep, that's the "legal reason." Today's new word: "sua sponte"

Should you have forgotten why Nance is despicable - "he's been the subject of judicial investigations three times because of his "demeaning" treatment of female jurors,* ("During one jury selection, court transcripts show, he told a single woman "to stand up and let us see [you]. ... There may be a single guy out there.") had a woman handcuffed for saying "I love you," and unconstitutionally issued a gag order to Van Smith because he was a potential juror."

Hogan says he's going to close the city's Civil-War-Era jail, but when? 

The mayor wants to "reach out" to the city's dirtbikers.*

Today's perv is Bryce McKey
supposed to coach bball for college laydays.
But creeper is out of a job today
cuz ladies say he got Cosbay in Kentuckay.

This drawing for the aspiring Pole Play Lounge.

Kids, Puppies and Old People

Ever have one of those days where you just hate Baltimore and everyone in it? (Except for you, of course, dear reader). The city has been a horror show this week, with children, the elderly and taxpayers as the primary victims. Plus a puppy.

Latoya Skipwith

One Lucresha Mints ran over three people-- two-year-old Joshua Carter and Latoya Skipwith, 25, and 7-year-old Nevaeh Green-- on purpose, killing Carter and Skipwith.* Skipwith's boyfriend told WMAR that the three of them had been involved in a love triangle but "that was in the past." Three weeks before, Mints had been charged with beating a 12-year-old girl (!!), leaving her face looking like this

.@KeithDFox45 reported on it at the time, posting this pic of the young victim: pic.twitter.com/AGQfd2PMnO
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) May 29, 2014

Update, Mints, who is a nursing assistant with two kids, is being held without bail.* Ps., according to the JIS, someone took out a Peace Order against her less than three weeks ago, probably related to the assault on the 12-year-old. Someone also attempted to take out a Peace Order against her in 2011 but was denied due to insufficient evidence. She's also been the complaintant in a few cases, including accusing one of her kids' dads of assault, accusing some lady of theft, assault and misuse of the telephone.

Shanizya Taft

Meanwhile, police are still looking for the man who shot and killed 15 or 16-year-old Oscar Torres and killed 12-year-old Shanizya Taft as he tried to flee from police. Police have not released a name or description of the suspect but are combing the car for clues.*

Boy was stabbed Baltimore and South streets. Taken to hospital, not-life-threatening, police say. pic.twitter.com/q2ctr4cKmu
— Colin Campbell (@cmcampbell6) May 29, 2014

Two boys have been arrested in this stabbing. Police say victim's in good condition. Friends say he's a 17-year-old, Digital Harbor student.
— Colin Campbell (@cmcampbell6) May 29, 2014

@inkyspider @justin_fenton scene outside my window about 15 min ago. Victim was on corner bleeding from neck pic.twitter.com/OBBkIAKohK
— shamir (@shammy77) May 29, 2014

A 94-year-old woman and an 81-year-old man were robbed and pistol-whipped in the NE.

An Essex man got 60 years for stabbing his girlfriend, Janet Palasik, to death.

Poor Govans elementary was burgled three times in one week.*

Jackasses stole 40 bikes from the Druid Hill bike share program and kicked a worker.*

LOL to this sitting judges ad. Hullo, none of the judges were judges before they were judges, being elected or appointed is how judges are made. Alfred Nance is who needs a skipping: he's been the subject of judicial investigations three times because of his "demeaning" treatment of female jurors,* ("During one jury selection, court transcripts show, he told a single woman "to stand up and let us see [you]. ... There may be a single guy out there.") had a woman handcuffed for saying "I love you," and unconstitutionally issued a gag order to Van Smith because he was a potential juror.

The mayor whooped it up in Vegas at a "legendary" party for 1,600 paid for by real estate developers and featuring showgirls plus a bucket of crabs marched in to the tweetelings of a fife and drum corps. In other news of the mayor spending other people's money, she's told city residents to buy homeowner's insurance* from a company the city has made a deal with in case the city's contractors can't lay the pipe without fucking shit up all to hell. Yet "City officials declined to provide a legal basis for why they believe homeowners could be stuck with bills if pipes break during a contractor's work." Somehow I think HomeServe is going to get the short end of this deal.

Scanner: Police saying a state trooper has taken himself to Shock Trauma with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his leg #scanner
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) May 29, 2014

Departing city booze czar recounts the Liquor Board's most "outrageous" moments and potted-plant humping is involved. Meanwhile the board appears to be making up its own rules which (surprise!) make it harder for residents to complain about nuisance properties.

Chronicle of Rogues

An MTA bus driver, Craig Ray Jr., was shot to death* in South Baltimore, killed on the block where he lived.

A homeless man with a pellet gun is in critical condition after being shot by police* outside of the city homeless shelter on Fallsway.

Two parents were arrested for child abuse after their teenage boys were rescued from their filthy, unheated boat.

On the heels of the state being given a D- for integrity, Jill Carter and friends have sponsored a bill that would create a state Public Information Act Compliance Board. There's already an Open Meetings Compliance Board,* FWIW, though the most they can apparently do is fine $100-$1000.

Bernstein has filed for re-election and his campaign manager is Chad Kinney, former CitiStat director. And he shares a PR/media relations specialist with the Rusty Scupper and the Prime Rib.

Sabein C. Burgess was cleared on murder charges, 19 years after he went to jail.*

Have you seen an unknown black man in a black hoodie with an unknown handgun in black shorts? You could be eligible for $$!

So they're all grandstanding about pot legalization and taxation in Annapolis. Two-thirds of gubernatorial candidates and 53 percent of MDers support it, but if you think it has a prayer of passing you haven't hung around long enough. Maryland arrests 23,000 pot users a year at the cost of more than $100 million to taxpayers, not to mention fines, fees and lost wages for the arrested. That's a lot of fingers in the .. pot. Still, it's Mizeur's time to shine!
And oh lawd, the AAC police chief's testimony against the pot has spread like wildfire and made national news! If you didn't hear, Chief Michael Pristoop cited a story from the Daily Currant, a satyrical web site (another headline: "Obama Appoints Oprah As Ambassador to Russia"). "Everyone in the room dropped their laptops," Sen. Raskin told the WaPo (wait, literally?) Later Tuesday afternoon Pristoop apologized* for repeating an "urban legend."

A Glen Burnie man arrested for a parking-lot stabbing has a really weird beard.*

Our favorite Criminal Justice Lawyer Page Croyder is running against Judge Alfred Nance, on account of his well-known inappropriateness. But does she have a full platform, or is she just a protest candidate? Meanwhile the gov has appointed 23 judges.*

Guns, crack, PCP and another Phylicia Barnes trial

A second trial for the convicted killer of Phylicia Barnes, Michael Johnson, because the defense didn't disclose the criminal history of the sole eyewitness, one James McCray. Understandable on some level, but on another, fckn whut? The ruling came from thrice- investigated Judge Alfred Nance is perhaps best known for jailing a woman who said "I love you" to her brother, being generally explosive and misogynistic, and for striking down the city's gun registry (which was just now upheld).

.. you probably heard that the Assault Weapons ban was effectively killed by the U.S. senate-- but perhaps that will give state and local courts more drive to pass local restrictions.

One Demond Taylor was found guilty of strangling his grandmother to death, which he did while high on PCP, which seems to be making a comeback-- every week or so some dusted-up driver gets busted on 295 and it's the drug of choice for xoJane/Vice writer Cat Marnell.

The president of the Har Sinai congregation was charged with laundering a crack dealer's money.

MD ranked 40/50 for state government transparency and accessibility to records in a Center for Public Integrity study.

Personal Questions

A man shot to death in the head last night at E Monument and N Milton* is our 10th(?) murder of the year. The Ink details last week's three murders included two women, Melissa Davis (allegedly stabbed to death by her husband) and 17-year-old Michelle Adrian of Middletown, shot on West Baltimore street after following someone into a dark alley to buy drugs.

Judge Alfred Nance,
about 40 years ago

Down at the trial for Phylicia Barnes' alleged killer, Judge Alfred Nance reportedly wouldn't let reporters in the room for jury selection yesterday,* claiming there just wasn't any space because there were 200 prospective jurors and 125 courtroom seats. Uhm, so, doesn't that mean they have to bring prospective jurors over two batches anyway ... ? Fenton notes Nance has "been criticized in the past for asking personal questions of potential jurors, including asking women their marital status and criticizing the way a prospective juror wore his yarmulke. In 2001, Nance was issued a rare public reprimand by the judicial disabilities commission for behaving in an “undignified” and “demanding” manner toward women." Super. Jury selection continues today and tomorrow.

Fenton also Tweeted a photo of someone named Kim Trueheart getting arrested today at the courthouse. Police say she was "disorderly" at a press conference* last week, interrupting the Mayor with questions about the phone system, and Trueheart herself Tweeted that she was banned from City Hall. The Brew notes local yacktivists Sharon Black, Courtly Witherspoon and Tom Kiefaber have also been banned from city hall a/o charged with trespassing.

Ed Ericson Jr. mulls over the idea that publishing gun owners' personal information might help promote a fairer firearms licensing and permit system.

Justin George drops by the Ras-a-ter International Nightclub and Restaurant at 2103 N. Ave. (right), where seven people have been shot* over the past 14 months. The owner's now been charged with operating an illegal nightclub.

A resident of the Wells House drug treatment center on E. Baltimore Street allegedly threatened another resident with a butcher knife.

A group called "YES" has opened a drop-in center for homeless teens at 2315 N. Charles St.

Hagtown corrections officer Ryan Lohr is the 9th person to face Federal charges for the in-cell beating of inmate Kenneth Davis, the recipient of four beatings in 24 hours.

The CP has a tribute to Robert Chew, the actor who played Prop Joe on The Wire

Some fug fat guy exposed his dangly bits to some girls at the Columbia Mall.

BPD crime data as of 1/19 posted: Homicides, robberies about same as last year; non-fatal shootings up (25 vs. 18); property crime down 11%
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) January 23, 2013