Kids these days

A detective's smarts nab Corey McLary, a 16-year-old serial robber* (assume he's being charged as an adult, else his name would not be released).

The former CEO of Wings to Go pleaded guilty to embezzling $88k to use on hookers and phone sex.

According to the Daily Record, the Daily Record trivialized the accomplishments of female judges with the headline "Girl Power on the Bench" (er, ew) for a story about the rising number of female judges and has since apologized. Ah, takes us back to when editor Keith Gerard made the art department photoshop a picture of Hitler in front of the Alex. Brown building and was fired soonafter, those were the days..

Stash busted

98 Rock DJ Stephen "Stash" Smith arrested for DUI after a three-car accident in Edgewood Sunday night that sent a fellow motorist to the hospital, reports The Dagger's Aaron Cahall. Stash went to rehab for painkiller addiction in 2008.  ...If you enjoy to drink, do yourself a favor: breathalyzer keychain.

Creepy and creepier

Two female corpses were found over the weekend. The badly decomposed body of a 41-year-old woman was found at the Wyman House in the 100 block of West 29th street, and the man in the apartment with her body was taken into custody. And a 60-year-old woman found on West 20th street.

A 21-year-old man was shot in the face in Park Heights.

Hopkins hospital has begun contacting patients who may have been infected with Hepatitis C by creepy lab tech David Kwiatkowski. Says a statement from the hospital, "Johns Hopkins is in the process of contacting these patients and offering them free testing for hepatitis C." So generous!

In Remington a man was robbed at gunpoint of a leather bag, $50 and some empty prescription bottles

A man was arrested for stealing two beers from the Kent House on York Rd and is being held on $50,000 bond.

Burglars in Pikesville did $200 worth of damage to two pool chairs. Also, if your pool chairs cost $100 each, you're a wiener.

Fishy, fishy.. SRB's office won't turn over emails and other records from former IT Chief Rico Singleton*. According to allegations, Singleton's ethical lapses at his previous job in New York cost the city $1.5 million.

A reader from Colombia took issue with Al Jazeera's assertion that Baltimore is "more deadly than Bogotá," but actually Al Jazeera is correct, at least when it comes to official numbers. Bogotá's homicide rate is 21 per 100,000 people, Baltimore's is 34.8. Of course we don't have vigilante groups that round up poor people and kill them (and I seriously doubt the official rate includes these limpiezas).

'One does not bear arms against a rabbit.'

Worthwhile read from the NYker archives, a history of American gun laws

Another Barbershop Shooting

A 39-year-old man was shot at the Cutz for Kingz barbershop* in Belair-Parkside

Stabbings, threatened stabbings, a guy shot by a pool table and a guy shot near Joe's Tavern in the Baltimore Guide Southeast blotter, a woman punched on the Charm City Circulator in the South

WBAL: Because of conflicts of interest, City Council President Jack has only voted on 28% of business before the city council in the past five months. And the point of him is what, again? (And did we ever see those damned underpants*?)

After Colorado shooting, MD police are putting extra patrols near movie theaters.

Perps and crazies

What the heck? A guy on York Road woke up to find himself being stabbed.

This just in: having the same name and birthdate as Russian fugitive David Levin is a huge asspain. Here's more on "Russian Dave"'s  "super dollars," produced by the North Korean government both for profit and destabilize the U.S. economy (allegedly).

A fake cop arrested in the 'Deener

Forty-one months in prison for Keith Eugene Daughtry for his role in stealing more than $1.3 million  from the Baltimore Housing Authority

20 Years for Pervy Pastor

Convicted of sexual assault in April, Pastor Leon Jones, left, was sentenced to 20 years, with another 25 suspended, and if you want the dirty details of what he and his accomplice did to their teenage victim, here you go. According to his web site, Pastor Leon is the father of eight, and his church just hosted a "mother and daughter luncheon." Uhm...

Roberts: DNA Collection can Resume

Chief Justice Roberts has issued an order for warrant-less DNA collection from suspects to resume.

113, 114

WBAL reports that the two other victims of last night's three shootings have both died, victims were all male and found on Ravenwood Avenue, Laurens and McCulloh and the 2300 block of Eutaw Place, respectively.

The gas-station murder of cross-dressing Desean "Lola Bee" Bowman is raising awareness of homophobia in the black community, says WBALTV

Baltimore Police who worked night shifts are set to get $477 k in back pay from the board of estimates

Brew: Wells Fargo's ghetto-loan holders are waiting for their money

Another Roland Park Creeper

From the Roland Park listserv, two girls were followed on the Stony Run trail by a thin older white guy with grey hair in a polo shirt, possibly driving a "champagne" - colored four-door Toyota or Honda sedan, who was later spotted masturbating by the Roland Park pool's basketball hoop.

112

Two separate but likely related shootings in Baltimore's Brooklyn neighborhood put two men in the hospital and another in the morgue. In the first incident a 19-year-old male was shot and injured. Several hours later two men, 35 and 32 respectively, were shot. The 35-year-old received a gunshot wound to the head and died not long after. He is this year's 112 murder.

Two men are in custody after bar patrons detained a gunman following a brazen shooting. Alberto Ramos, 30, and Erasmo Sandobal, 32, (both pictured right) face attempted murder charges after shooting a 32-year-old man at the Rancho Blanco Bar located on 100 South Fagley St.

Can't just shoot a man... A man was forced by gunmen to strip before being shot in an ally off of the 4100 block of Newton Ave. early Saturday.

This week's Murder Ink has more details on the officer-involved killing of 20-year-old Devonte Bowman, as well as announcing the arrest of Kenneth Jackson, 23, for the July 5th murder of 27-year-old Andrew Davis.

New details regarding the County police-involved shooting of a sword wielding man have come to light, including the identification of the officer involved, and the reason for the warrant. Officer Carlos Artson, a 17-year vet who had shot and killed Dundalk native Cheryl Lynn Noel, 44, back in 2005, has been identified as the officer who fired the fatal shots. Ronald Melvin Cox Jr., was killed as police attempted to execute a search warrant related to the execution-style attempted murder of a 15-year-old in Howard County. Arrested for the above-mentioned attempted execution were Donald George Peoples Jr., 21, Laura Christian Karr, 24, and Chiquita Sketers, 21, all charged with several counts, including attempted first- degree murder.

Police are trying to identify the two men pictured right; both are wanted for their involvement in a July 3 robbery-shooting.  

City Paper has a very interesting story regarding Milton Tillman III's interests in acquiring the now-defunct Sonar music venue's liquor license. 

Oh, the memories. The infamous Maryland House of Correction in Jessup is, after 130 years, being torn down,  by current MD inmates, no less.

A man was stabbed during a late-night argument in the 3200 block of Greenmount Ave back on July 8. 

19-year-old Haudee Baygie was found dead in his Timonium home in the 200 block of Welford Road. No official cause of death has been given, and though Baygie was facing drug charges at the time of death, there's no stated indication of foul play.

 A guilty plea for renegade tax preparer Alexis Brett Travers, 37, found guilty of defrauding the government out of almost $225,000.

A conviction in the 2011 death of Willie Cedric Jackson puts Randallstown native Reginald Frederick, 22, in peril of spending the rest of his life behind bars. Still facing an October trial date for the drug-related murder is Sterling Lewis, age 22. 

A county crime round-up includes the body of Dundalkian Christopher Dietch, 51, being found behind a gas station, a late-night robbery outside White Marsh Mall, and the Bomb Squad being called to the Cockeysville Senior Center. 

You really have to question the Court of Appeals sometimes... Back in 2008 Tranell Dansbury was indicted for a 1997 rape he committed as a 15-year-old. By the time he faced his rape charges, Dansbury had a rap sheet that included a drug dealing arrest, a multitude of armed robbery charges, even a murder charge, as well as an attempted murder conviction. Eventually Dansbury was convicted of the '97 rape and given a 30-year term. Of course, he appealed it, and of course, it was reversed, so he was found not guilty and released. Then, after being a free man for less than a year, lo and behold he was arrested yet again, this time for armed robbery, and to add something to his criminal repertoire, carjacking.

Not BMore, but BadAzz

Scientist assaulted in a French McDonalds captures images of perps with his bionic eyepiece.

Bath salts present a challenge to drug-testing companies

Also, HoCo patrol captures 10 wannabe johns

Locally, 10 years in jail for Ronald Brady, who pointed a gun at a crowd outside of a bar last Christmas.

Remington burglar to resident, after pushing in his air conditioner to break in: "I have the wrong house." Also from the Patch, Tuscany/Canterbury burglar stole sympathy cards, Toyota.

Oh, cram it, Julius Henson's lawyer, your client won't be able to afford an appeal anyway considering he'll never work in this state again (one hopes). Just be glad your client got out early, k?

From ModifiedK9

Adorbz-- Baltimore City Officer Dan Waskiewicz adopted a pit bull. And if you once had a brown pit bull with a white neck patch who escaped from your yard and went missing, tuff tittays, you rotten dog owner. Hope Waskiewicz doesn't get a pile off poo from city command for talking to the 'press.'

Old, but just found it and worth a watch: Al Jazeera English did a "Frontline USA" episode on Baltimore, "the toughest and grittiest of U.S. cities ... gutted by circumstances beyond its control." Did you know our city is "more deadly than Bogotá"? There's also an episode on our drug addicts. And here's a show, not Russell Crowe's Fightin' Around the World, but one with some English soccer player named Vinnie Jones in some ITV4 show called "Toughest Cops of the USA," with an episode filmed in our fair city.

Have you Seen This Rabbi?

The "Skokie Sexual Abuse Examiner" blogs a warning to Baltimore residents to be wary should you see Rabbi Stanely Z. Levitt, who has a residence in Baltimore and will be soon standing trial for abusing young boys at a Jewish day school in Boston. While the rabbi hasn't been convicted of anything, if he lived next door I'd want to know about it...

A Good Scrubbing

Three were shot and one killed this morning in a drug-related home invasion on Lothian Rd in the NW, and Fenton published a photo of blood spatters. Said a resident, "This ain't no robbery. This was something else. This was personal."

Tuan Minh Pham, from JZ

An armed, dangerous suspect, Tuan Minh Pham, 35, is on the loose after ignoring a protective order, storming into the Richards Valley Road Nail & Hair Care Spa in Ellicott City and (allegedly) shooting his babymother of his two kids and her male friend. So if you see this wild-haired, wild-eyed 35-ish man of Vietnamese descent in a 1998 tan or gold four-door Honda Accord with the license plate number 2AK0291, call 911. Update: Derek Valcourt says his car has been found, but Pham still has not.

An Ottobar employee was beaten and robbed behind the venue at 10:45 p.m. two Fridays ago, as a burlesque show went on inside.

Hellz 2 the ys, "Baltimore’s finances need a good scrubbing."
Also from the Brew (but on the Brew blog, where there are exclamation points in subheads), Fern Shen takes a trip to Baltimore Data Day, wherein Baltimore Slumlord Watch elicited a rare gasp from NPR's Sheilah Kast describing how a box cutter figures in to her blogging routine.

Twenty years for 39-year-old heroin dealer Michael Felton, a member of the Gettis drug organization. Twenty-seven defendants have already pleaded guilty in the case, including "Cutty Rock" “Captain” and “Beloved.”

'booty therapist' Kim Smedley,
from NewsOne

Georgian buttocks-injector Kimberly Smedley, left, got three years in the federal slammer for injecting a Block stripper's dumb ass with a black-market brew of industrial-grade chemicals in a room at the Renaissance Hotel. The victim wound up at the hospital with silicone inside of her lungs. If hotel records are any indication, Smedley may have hundreds of victims and earned $1 mil or more from her traveling medicine show.

A week of hearings for the Bradley Manning case, though trial isn't scheduled to start til September.

I always feel like somebody's watching me...

Flaming drone near Salisbury, from CNN

Quality op/ed in today's NYT regarding "The End of Privacy," which ended sometime between 2001 and 2007 when the guvmint began collecting everyone's emails and watching us from the air.  $176 million for a drone-- imagine how many schools that could get up to code, or swimming pools and rec centers those dollars could fund, sheesh.

And, yet, the one instance where the violation of someone's privacy could seriously protect citizens' life and limbs from psycho killers, and also potentially exonerate people -- by which I mean the DNA swabbing of suspects-- the MD court won't allow that. Gives one no doubts about whose interests are really being served by MD's courts, no?

In other news of Baltimore denizens getting boned by The Man, go get those big banks, George Nilson.

Old Shootings, COMSTAT Stats, and a Bevy of Wanted Criminals

Eleven years after being shot, 43-year-old Vernonda Fenner has been added to this year's homicide tally. Fenner was shot in the stomach on May 18, 2001. Fenner never fully recovered from the wound and died on May 4th of this year.

The latest Murder Ink has updates on several recent city homicides, giving information on victims 104-109.

Christmas is here for Baltimore residents who are fascinated by both statistics and crime, as the BPD has released COMSTAT data for all to enjoy.

Police have released a composite sketch of a man (Pictured Right), wanted in an attempted rape in the 2500 block of Edgecombe Circle North.

A man shot in the leg Saturday night in the 500 block of W. Lanvale St. decided to wait two hours until he finally checked himself into the hospital.

Two suspects, Mikris Jamaal Jackson, 19 (Pictured right, below), and Lawrence Paul Mayo, 19 (Pictured Far Right), are being sought by County police for raping a 13-year-old girl in the woods near Chris Ct. in Randallstown.

Speaking of wanted men, police have released a sketch of a man wanted for shooting woman in the Brookeshire Hotel in the 100 block of East Lombard St. during a suspected robbery attempt.

Me-ow, the City Fraternal Order of Police took their claws out recently, describing the Police administration as being "outdated" and "ineffective", among other choice comments.

The internet can breath a collective sigh of relief, as case of the video-taped assault and robbery of an intoxicated man on St. Patrick's day has come closer to a conclusion. Aaron Parsons, 20, the man identified by several people as having thrown a punch during the incident received one year in jail. Two others, Deangelo Carter, 19, and Shayona Davis, 20, were both sentenced to probation. Shatia Baldwin, 21, awaits sentencing.

The three men charged in the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Sean Johnson have plead not guilty. 21-year-old Antwan Mosely, 17-year-old Derrick Brown, and 29-year-old Danyae Robinson are facing an August trial date for the mistaken-identity murder.

If criminals weren't aware they could sell any car to a scrap yard with no identification or papers showing ownership, they sure know now. 

The man shot this past weekend in the 4900 block of Gunther St. in Parkville has been identified as 31-year-old Derrick Gamble. Gamble had been arrested for Attempted Murder twice, having received a conviction related to the second Att. Murder charge. Gamble was also a convicted drug dealer.

50 years in prison for Robert T. Buck, 48, convicted of the 2010 murder of Dundalk resident Leslie Jo Rasmussen.

A round-up of crime in the County includes racist graffiti in Lutherville, yet another armed robbery at the supposedly lucky 7-11 on Liberty Rd., a Dundalk Dunkin Doughnuts gets knocked over, a rash of burglaries in the Owings Mills/Reisterstown area, and an uptick in armed robberies in Catosville.

Amid a scandal AAC police Chief James Teare has stepped down in disgrace to avoid any further criminal investigation.

Finally, 24 years in the Federal pen for heroin wholesaler Charles Leonard Galloway, 46. Galloway was convicted of dealing kilogram amounts of heroin while working with the Mexican Cartels. 

Ladywives and man husbands

Speaking of our fair state's fine Federalist heritage, I'm sure it comes as news to no one that there are officially at least 55,736 petitioning citizens opposed to what the WaPo calls  "the gay nuptials law." Uh, what is the law actually called, again? Ah yes, The Civil Marriage Protection Act. Thnx Wikipedias. And hold on now, are we for or against this bill? Because the language is mega confusing:

Altering a provision of law to establish that only a marriage between two individuals who are not otherwise prohibited from marrying is valid in this State; prohibiting an official of a religious order or body authorized to perform a marriage ceremony from being required to solemnize or officiate a particular marriage or religious rite of a marriage in violation of the constitutional right to free exercise of religion; etc.

No four-way will for you!

establish that only a marriage between two individuals who are not otherwise prohibited from marrying is valid ...? parse, plz: ... not otherwise prohibited by existing law-- so not currently married, siblings, underage, non-human or dead, okay, but then there's the word "only"...  take out the middle matter... only a marriage between two individuals is valid in this State. So in other words, no coming here to try to file jointly thrice with your burka wives, sheiks of Araby, and don't come here to divorce Kody and try to get alimony, Sister Wives #s two and three. And should Mitt Romney come out after the election a la Bill Hendrickson with a few extra wives up his sleeve, then try to force us all to get fundamentalist-Mormon-plural-spiritual-sealed-married, this will stop that business right at the border. So, to clarify, against the initiative that is against the bill, and for the bill, which is for civil marriage, which is pro couple marriage and against plural marriage. Good.

And also, rather quietly in Port v. Cowan in May, the Court of Appeals affirmed that MD will perform same-sex divorces, even if the petitioners married in other states. So it's nice that the right of children to have support of both parents is protected no matter what and ... hey, who assigns those case numbers? Ahem...?!

Burning Ring of Fire

"A Baltimore firefighter has been charged with running an online prostitution ring and an unlicensed after-hours club in a city warehouse, less than two years after he received probation in Baltimore County in a similar sex trafficking case. The prior arrest didn’t end the city employment of Jamar Marvin Simmons, 29, who continued to work as a firefighter/paramedic out of a firehouse in the Roland Park neighborhood." ~ Fenton 

Criminally Insane

Accused cannibal killer Alexander Kinyua has been indicted and moved to Clifton T. Perkins hospital for the criminally insane.

Michael Knight, from Inside Charm City

You may have seen Dean "Journey" Myrie on "America's Most Wanted," last June, and soon you'll be able to see him co-starring live at the Garmatz courthouse with his co-defendants from the Brown Organization including, "Doc, " (left) "Dollar Bill" and "The Russian." The defendants are from Jamaica, California and Florida and charged with pot dealing and racketeering, and also kidnapping, murdering and dismembering Michael Knight, 50, of Woodlawn. "Doc" Downer is also charged with firearms violations, and with illegally re-entering the United States after having been deported after a felony conviction.

Cell phone carriers reported a massive uptick of law enforcement requests for subscriber information to Congress.

And the local branch of the Federalist Society would like to invite you, yes you, to lunch and discussion with Heritage Foundation fellow Hans von Spakovsky, "The Unpersuasive Case Against Voter Identification," Thursday July 19 at noon at the offices of Miles & Stockbridge, 10 Light St. Spakovsky was a lawyer in Fulton County, GA, then for Bush during the 2000 Florida recount and was later appointed to the Justice Department, where he worked to pass a voter ID law that was later overturned by a Federal judge. The Heritage Foundation is perhaps best known for promoting the Gulf Wars, denying global warming, raging against Obamacare and for its prominent members, which include Joseph Coors, John Ashcroft and Rush Limbaugh. The lunch 'n' learn is free, but email Brian Fish at asabrianfish@earthlink.net if you plan to attend.

... speaking of people who might have a hard time finding an ID, the CP drops in on Baltimore's  decade-old shantytown.

A happier shelter is this home in the 800 block of Caroline Street*, formerly a vacant where a 13-year-old was raped, now being turned into $150k-180k 'workforce housing.'

105-107

Three people were shot to death in 24 hours last Thursday, reports WBAL.

Another Roland Park Flasher

Writes a reader,

"A man exposed himself to me in broad daylight on the 4th of July at Keswick and Upland Road ... 5:30 p.m., 60 feet from men with chainsaws ... Black, 5'8", short braids, little mustache, circumcised ... low-riding shorts... I flagged down a city work truck and called the cops, but they'll never catch him."

Oh, such cynicism!

Said reader was also relieved to add, as I was assuaged to hear, that though the perp had an erection, he was not stroking it. Ah, the 4th of July. And ps., it's never a bad time to visit the sex offender registry and search your zip code...

Through Power Outages, Fallen Limbs, and Mind-Melting Heat, Crime Will Prevail

The 104th homicide of the year occurred Tuesday afternoon. Yarndragus Stanton, 26, was shot and killed in the 1400 block of East Preston Street. Stanton has a prior attempted murder arrest and several drug dealing convictions.*

A late-night shooting in the 3400 block of Mondawmin Ave. puts a 49-year-old man in the hospital.*

Gunfire in the 2700 block of Harford Rd. Sunday night left a car full of bullet holes and an unidentified man with non-life-threatening injuries.

Owen Bernstein at his dad's swearing-in, from WBAL

Ruh Roh, 22-year-old Owen Bernstein, the son of our very own State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein, was arrested again after some late night hijinks with a roommate, including an attempted "blood brother" ritual and an eventual brawl. Bernstein was charged with second-degree assault.  WBAL reports that in 2008, he was arrested for threatening a woman, forcing his way into a house and assaulting someone. He was convicted on drug charges and given a suspended sentence.

An arrest in the beating death murder of 44-year-old Darshewn Freeman. Antwan Conley (Pictured Right), age 38, was charged with first-degree murder for the argument-fueled homicide. Conley had previously received a 10-year sentence in 1994 after being convicted of second-degree murder.

This week's Murder Ink has a bevy of updates, including the identification of this year's 103rd murder victim Neal Gaines, 41. Also included in this week's update were several arrest announcements, including that of Shawn Stevenson, 41, charged with the murder of Sonchanh Sipayboun. Dontay Dorsey, 23, and Dontre Mitchell, 23, were charged in the June home invasion killing of Tavon Fredrick.

Not the hard-hitting trial we were all sort of hoping for... Perry “Saho the Ghost” Rourk,  42-year-old founder of the infamous Dead Man Incorporated prison/street gang has pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges. Rourk's plea agreement ensures that he'll be spending the rest of his life in a federal prison cell. Pictured right is Rourk giving the classic DMI pyramid hand symbol alongside fellow DMI member Felippo Santoni in an (illegal) jail house photo.

The shooting of a police officer has 32-year-old Franklin Gross preparing for a 30-year prison bid.

Two men were sent to prison for their respective roles in a series of street robberies. Davon Butler, 22, was given a 36-year sentence for a strong-armed robbery a few days before Christmas, while 22-year-old Terrance Garner received a 74-year sentence nearly killing a man as well as committing several robberies. 

If this year has had one definitive crime trend it's been police-impersonation related crimes. This time it's 26-year-old Joshua Brake, charged with pulling over and robbing a man of $900. 

Police are searching for several men wanted for a variety of different offenses. An as-of-yet unidentified man is wanted for his suspected role in the murder of 18-year-old Terrence Anderson. Police are hoping this very clear picture will help them apprehend a pharmacy robber. And authorities are on the lookout for home-detention escapee Eric Smith, 41. Smith was finishing up a five-year sentence for a robbery conviction. 

A Norland Road police raid nets several guns, over $11,000, and the arrest of 25-year-old Charles Wilson.

The murder of 30-year-old Tiffany Lynn Ragle, the woman found shot to death in an Essex apartment, has been solved. 19-year-old Darian Rashaad Walker had plotted for months to kill Ms. Ragle, and is now facing first-degree murder charges.

Finally, 20-year-old Woodlawn resident Jamal Lowell Carroll has been reported missing, so if you see him, please let the authorities know.

Shomrim Sentencing

Eli Werdesheim, the former Shomrim neighborhood watch crew member has been sentenced to a six-year suspended sentence and three years of probation for the beating of a black teenager.

After much commotion from the victims' family and members of the community, the County Police Department has indicted Officer James Laboard (Pictured Left) has been charged with manslaughter in the death of 17-year-old Chris Brown.

A 24-year-old who alongside his brother terrorized the city for a brief period last year has been sent to prison for killing two men in two separate robberies. Isaac Truss (Pictured Right) was given a 55-year sentence for killing 47-year-old Keith Cooper at an apartment building near the inner harbor, as well as killing Edward Jones, 50, during an attempted robbery. Truss, along with his brother Basil Truss, 30, faces a separate trial for a string of robberies committed during that same time period.*

Almost a year and a half ago a police officer apparently shot himself while insisting he was the victim of a robbery gone awry. Said officer, Detective Anthony N. Fata, is finally facing the music, and is now charged with four counts of perjury.

The murder of an as-of-yet unidentified man in the 4600 block of Norfolk Ave. is just one of several recent killings as part of a spate of violence in a normally quiet area.*

A man is ejected out of, and then crushed by, a stolen car during a fiery crash on I-295 and Annapolis Road. 

An Essex woman was found shot to death early this morning in the Marlyn Garden Apartments off Brunswick Road.

The latest North Baltimore crime report has thefts in large quantities, including that of deoderant and JHU t-shirts, as well as the usual car thefts and residential burglaries.

A 19-year-old Towson man is in critical condition after losing a fight with County police. The suspect was continually violating a protective order and visiting his baby momma, evidently an attempt to extract the suspect from hiding spot did not go according to plan, putting the man's skull on the receiving end of a blunt flashlight.

The county has had a boatload of noteworthy criminal activity lately, including a church van used in a Mickey D's robbery, police being shot at in Lansdowne, a racist mother daughter team pleading to federal charges related to the hanging of a Raccoon outside a black family's home, and father and son duo Jemal Stancil, 42, and Kevin Archer, 18, charged with the accidental shooting of a neighbors babysitter.

A Monkton man took the law into his hands, and then put a gun in said hands after reaching his breaking points over rude kayakers. Monkton resident Michael Hamilton, 61, faces first degree assault charges for shooting his gun at some kayakers on the Gunpowder Falls*

A dime and a nickel in the Federal clink for convicted felonious gun possessor Eric Young, 35. Young was caught with several illegal firearms while on a bicycle in the 2800 block of E. Monument Street.

Finally, a well earned 20 years of Federal prison time for convicted murderer and serial robber Brian Johnson, 35. When Johnson wasn't robbing stores all over the City and County, he was dealing heroin, crack, coke, and some weed for good measure.

101

These last few weeks, homicides have been fewer and farther between, but not entirely non-existent. Homicide vic #101 is an as-of-yet unidentified male, shot to death in the 1000 block of Central Ave., perhaps by someone in a black Lexus.

Finding information on city shootings is not an easy task, but Sun reporter Justin Fenton came across info on two shootings from earlier in the year. According to wiretaps in an unrelated drug case, on March 29th in the 900 block of Valley St. Brandon "Horse" Branch took a slug to the face; this attempted murder led to the retaliatory killing of 59-year-old Chauncey Hard, shot dead in the 900 block of E. Valley St., a case of classic Baltimore shootings, retaliation upon retaliation.*

I'm at a loss... A 14-year-old, yes, 14-year-old, has been charged as an adult with first-degree rape. Carnell Spencer III, born in 1998, is facing adult charges for Rape and Assault related to a June 18th sexual assault. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, apparently, as his father, Carnell H. Spencer Jr. is a convicted sex offender, currently serving a 12-year-bid related to an attempted murder and arson. Remember to sign in to the Case Search first before clicking the link.

A woman stopped at a light in the 2400 block of West Northern Parkway was carjacked last Wednesday.

The most recent Baltimore Guide's crime blotter, this one focusing on the South, includes an assault with a cigarette, an over-the-phone robbery, and stolen groceries.

Bealefeld's taking an Appalachian hike to help ease his mind after years of urban crime fighting.

A shotgun-wielding crook robbed the RoFo located in the 1000 block of West 41st St. 

It's been a bad week to work at Royal Farms. Two young men from North Baltimore robbed a Towson branch of Royal Farms located on Falls Rd. Charged with robbery and related offenses are 19-year-olds Thomas James Busard and Michael Robert Blevins.

And what happens when you commit robberies? You get sent to the Federal Pen, at least, occasionally. At least, that was the case for Matthew "Bro Gene" Talley, 46, sentenced to 12 years in the federal pen for imprisoning some employees during the robbery of an electronics store. Also given a 12-year-sentence was George Jordan, 50. Jordan got his dozen for robbing a Wachovia bank back in 2009.

$659,000 Worth of Quality Phones

Despite City comptroller Joan Pratt's pleas, Baltimore City Solicitor George Nilson has given the stamp of approval for the $659,000 worth of telephone equipment that Mayor Rawlings-Blake's office purchased. 

A Friday night shooting in the 1700 block of West Lexington St puts a 26-year-old man in the hospital.

The BPD have made an arrest in the 2007 homicide of Melvin Jordan, 32. Now 32-year-old Phillip Herrell was doing a bid in a Delaware correctional facility when he was charged with the five-year-old homicide.

A scooter accident in the 700 block of East Heath St. put a 43-year-old man in the hospital. 

Two arrests have been made in the June 12th Overlea murder of Miguiel Anthony Bailey. Linwood Tymais Smith , 21, and DeAngelo Devonne Johnson, 24, have been charged with first-degree murder in the drug robbery gone awry. The drug-rip-turned-murder left Baily dead and Smith and Johnson with gunshot wounds to the cheek and nose respectively. 

An intelligent young man threw rock into the window of a gas station, and instead of fleeing and returning home, decided the best course of action was to call police himself, and claim he was jumped by a group of men, in order to explain his injuries... or something. 

A former Dundalk resident already serving life in prison for one murder is facing another set of murder charges in Alleghany County after strangling his cell-mate to death at the North Branch Correctional Institution. Brian Cotter, 25, faces first degree murder charges for killing convicted rapist Lewis Thompson Jr., 57. 

In a County crime roundup, an Essex doctors' office burgled, "Nibbles" is dog-napped in Parkville, and remember Zachary Campbell, the glasses wearing perv who made college bathrooms worse than they already are? Well surprise, surprise, he's been charged yet again, this time for more Peeping Tom-ing committed back in April. It seems peepery, or perhaps anti-peeping vigilance is, for some weird reason, on the increase, as five different men have been charged with "Peeping Tom"- related crimes since May. They are (would be great to have pix -- Ed):

• Zachary Campbell, 20, of Baltimore, Charged May 3, and June 19
• Sean Shalev, 33, of Baltimore, Charged May 13
• Hector Pensalfini, 32, Homeless, Charged June 12
• Michael Nace, 58, of Parkville, Charged June 12
• Kevin Lange, 45, of Towson, Charged June 19

Free data should be free!

Fancy yourself a crime mapper/ information architect/ data analyst type? You might enjoy to read this article wherein SpotCrime.com discusses the design issues of relaying crime data to citizens, and the stickier wicket of getting timely public information from a public agency that's headed by people determined to contract with some friend-of-a-friend's-friend's for-profit company instead of releasing the information via free, public, no-barrier channels. 'Splains SpotCrime:

"We only see crime data delivered openly when a public agency - not commercial company - elects to use this method.  Private crime mapping companies have an incentive to balkanize the data they are contracted to publicize (typically funded by taxpayers) and limit entities from sharing this data (the same entities who are paying taxes). They may come across as open, however, they typically add a lengthy terms of service agreement to their maps and websites - ostensibly asking each citizen to agree to a contract before viewing public crime data.  These terms of service agreements have no public value.  They not only inhibit the press from republishing the data, but also serve to restrict public sharing of crime data."

Fox 45's Jeff Barnd linked to Vast Rat Wang Conspiracy

Remember those National Organization for Marriage-y robocalls a lot of Bmoreans got two Novembers ago? We knew the rat(s) would get smoked out eventually, and now they have (in the Sun's TV blog, no less. Which I think you can view without having it 'count' against yr firewall).

So if you thought you recognized that voice, you were right, 'twas no less voice than Fox 45's Jeff Barnd's, working for ccAdvertising of Centreville, VA, darkening your ringer with those do-you-believe-marriage-between-a-man-and-a-woman robocall push polls.

ccAdvertising has been linked to a company owned by a creationist in Centreville, VA, where coincidentally or not Mitt Romney's campaign has also been shooting political advertisements in the past week. Ooh, can't wait to see them. A source reports they involve B-roll of a very white Little League team.

And isn't it interesting that we have heard for years about Obama's supposed Muslim roots, but now we have a candidate who is part of a genuinely fringe religion, Mormonism, but liberals are too liberal mention how bizarre it is? ... well not me-- if you don't feel like reading Under the Banner of Heaven, enjoy this entertaining-yet-factual song from the Book of Mormon musical...




Anyway, re., Jeff Barnd, so much for the journalistic tradition of appearing objective and neutral. I wonder if the RNC paid Jeff Barnd in cash money (he's anti-gay for pay!), or if he was pressured into doing it by Fox honchos, or if he volunteered enthusiastically to record the push poll calls because he feels his hetero marriage (wait, does he even have one?) would be threatened by somebody's gay partner being eligible for health insurance. Wonder if he'd take an interview from Ed Ericson... considering how kind the CP has been to him previously...? Enquiring minds want to know...

Slave for a Day

An item on the park service's agenda is raising eyebrows: "Slave for a Day" aims to educate young whelps about Hampton Mansion's slavery history*, wherein servants were fed in troughs, among other activities. As a visitor you'll be able to whip your little sister in the hog pen, wipe the bottoms of other people's children and attempt to “carry buckets of water with a yoke on your shoulders!” ... actually I made some of those up. Next Sunday's event has been renamed the "African American Experience Tour," and if you want to go experience how the 3/5ths of a person people lived for 90 minutes in June, note that the map on the nps' site is wrong, the correct map is below. The tour is 2 - 3:30.
View Larger Map

The Big 100

Baltimore's homicide count for the year has reached the big 100, and the various news organizations sound almost excited about this unfortunate milestone. Baltimore's two most recent homicide victims are Tavon Whelchel, 18, and Lewis Womack IV, 36.*

Mayor Rawlings-Blake and City Comptroller Joan Pratt are in the midst of a very public tiff over a new phone system. Pratt is not-so-subtly saying that Rawlings-Blake is lining her own coattails, while Rawlings-Blake is demanding an apology for such an insinuation. 

Unsurprisingly, a not-guilty plea by alleged Phylicia Barnes killer Michael Johnson.

Police are asking for the public's help in figuring out who murdered 19-year-old Vernon Williams on the eighth of June.


Not the sort of list a college wants to get on... Morgan State has been named the 6th most "Crime-Rattled School" in America.

A woman robbed in yet another Craigslist scam is in trouble after repeatedly firing her gun into the air to ward off the aggressors.

It has not been a good few years for baseball icons. MLB Hall of Famer and former Oriole Eddie Murray is smack dab in the middle of a Federal insider trading probe.

North Baltimore Patch offers up a compilation of North Baltimore crimes from the last few days.

County citizens beware, there has been an influx of phone scams plaguing the area. Some have even slithered into extortion territory.

Genius. 42-year-old Dundalk resident Michael Blottenberger was not-so-subtly biking home with a television and various other ill-gotten gains from a recent burglary when two cops attempted to apprehend him. After a pursuit, Blottenberger managed to steal a cop car, and, to cut a long story short, is now facing a $1 million bail.

An Owings Mills accidental shooting puts a babysitter the hospital.

Three men are facing charges related to the robbery of a Lansdowne Wendy's. Hatratico Smith, 46, Rico Bias, 34, and Moncell Lee, 19, have been charged with the June 11 heist.

In other parts of Maryland, a 15-year-old in Ellicott City was shot in the head in an execution-style attempted murder, while Carroll County experienced its first homicide of the year on the same day mb and I visited an area gun range. Coincidence? Probably.  -- obvs we brought the devil up from the big city ... I love the Fox farm-team reporter with the busy hands in the clip, the last 5 seconds in particular. Paul Guessler? Gansler? Shelton Dutes he is not - mb

The latest Baltimore Guide crime blotter focuses on the city's Southeast, and includes fake police, assaults with wrenches and keys, and a mean ex-girlfriend.

Famed former Baltimore crime reported David Simon has put up a blog post chastising everything from the BPD, to the State's Attorney, to Justin Fenton, to (indirectly) yours truly. While I don't much appreciate what he had to say about Fenton, I do appreciate his general new bravado of being a cranky old fuss-pot, annoyed at all this newfangled technology and how no one does anything^the right way anymore.

Fun w/Guns

Illos from the cover of this

Shot an AR-15 in .223, a 9 mm, a .22 and some other kind of old-school rifle at the Hap Baker Range in Carroll County this morning with co-blogger TAB and some other guys. This just in: rifles are loud and shotguns are louder. If you've got some firearms and you're itchin to shoot em, it's byo guns,  ammo and ear protection, you can buy targets and soda there, and while their web site shows the address in an office building, it is actually on the 140 W in the landfill, which, remarkably, does not smell any stranger than anything else in Carroll County.

Croyder on Bernstein

Is the new State's Attorney tough, transparent or neither?

"here's what I found most interesting: that a State's Attorney who campaigned on the promise of transparency and the willingness to take on tough cases has apparently retreated on both fronts.  

According to Simon, Bernstein is using his unilateral power to charge cases to cherry pick the best cases, a tactic that should keep his conviction rate high for political purposes.  Bernstein directly criticized his predecessor for dropping tough cases, but at least she took the hit in her statistics.  She just blamed the police for lousy work.  But, says Simon, Bernstein can make his conviction statistics look great by not charging cases to begin with."