February 2

The Post has more on the strange murder of Natasha Bacchus (left).

At a hearing today, Walter Robinson, Jr., 28, pled guilty to third-degree sex offense. Judge Sylvester Cox sentenced him to 10 years in prison suspending all but the time served, four years probation, ordered him to have no contact with the victim, have no unsupervised contact with children under 18, to undergo sex offender counseling and to register with the Maryland sex offense registry. Walter Robinson was a teacher's aide at Benjamin Franklin Junior High School where he sexually abused a 15-year-old student between August to October 2005 at the school.

Southeastern officers Mike Brassell and Jack Odem are accused of drunkenly assaulting a man in Federal Hill while they were off-duty.

The top investigator for the state prison system admitted chucking key evidence from the scene of the death of 51-year-old inmate Ifeanyi A. Iko, including a videotape.

Blotter: Narcotics, theft, burglary, assault, robbery, burglary, robbery...

A second man, Patrick Sisk, has been arrested in a construction-fraud scheme that soaked UMBC for $100k.

In Baltimore County, police found a woman's body inside a home in Lutherville.

BoCo police are seeking two guys who robbed the 7-11.

HoCo police opened fire on De Carlo Jonney Jacobs, 21, after he pulled a gun on them.

PG police are looking for a teenager who shot at a school bus.

Northern district theives just love license plates, video games and power tools.

Ristorante Italiano del Aldo della poca Italia dovrà pagare i $20,000 contro un operaio nero che ha protestato l'abuso razziale verbale.

February 1

There were "only" three murders last week: Temitayo Olowolayemo (who identical twin brother was shot in the face and survived), Augustus Venable and James Wright. (The Sun reported two of the three, earning a reporting score of 66% -- a solid "D").

Four stabbings in the Blotter... a 35-year-old man was stabbed by two guys on bikes trying to rob him. A 20-year-old man stabbed his "girlfriend" in the stomach with a fork. A 20-year-old woman was stabbed in the leg and face with a fountain pen. And a guy named "Bo," still at large, stabbed a man in the back with a steak knife on Guilford Ave.

HoCo popos have a name and face for the shooter whose stray bullet struck a four-year-old. They're now ISO Tion Jamaar Bell, 18 (left).

Way to go, honor system: Maurice, the short, pudgy rapist turned himself in.

Police suspect that the murderers of Neil Rivers of Essex may be the same people who have been stealing scooters, bikes and ATVs recently.

Vernon Evans sent a DVD to the governor.

BC answers the question on everybody's lips: who would elect that Dwyer guy? Why, neo-Nazis, of course! Turns out Don Dwyer's District has more reported hate crimes than the whole state of Mississippi. The Klan in AAC is so active that six years ago they tried to adopt a stretch of highway (the county abolished the program rather than take the "Invincible Realm" to court), and last month a neo-Nazi group ran recruiting ads on local television and distributed recruiting packets to residents' driveways.

Van Smith digs the dirt on upheaval at the Liquor Board.

Watch out, cyber-hos... the Baltimore County police are wise to your euphemisms.

January 31

A man who was being held on unrelated charges is now charged with the murder of Jerome Hooks, 26. And police are seeking a woman who rounded up a posse of four guys to shoot a man after a traffic accident.

A city judge denied Vernon Evans' appeal.

Thanks to support from Rod J. Rosenstein, we may get a new federal prison in Baltimore.

Are there going to be height markers on church doorways following a flagrant armed robbery during a service in HarfCo?

Who knew that making counterfeit bus passes was so lucrative?

"Hewwo, pwincipal.. we're gonna bwow up the thchool!"

Sounds like the gov. is a real ass of an employer.

Delegate Don Dwyer: if it's not in "concert with the laws of nature and of nature of God, and I would hold that, therefore, it is no law at all."
(Wonder what God said to Dwyer about the gay penguins and lesbian swans).

January 30

At a hearing today, John William Smith, 40, pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Judge Wanda K. Heard sentenced Smith to eight years in prison. On June 18, 2005 Smith stabbed Rodney Dickerson, 42, once in the chest at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church. Smith and Dickerson began arguing in the church's dining area while eating dinner.

A man was shot in the stomach during a robbery in the Western. Also, robbery at a White Marsh McDonald's and attempted robbery at the Little Tavern on Eastern Avenue.

In HoCo jury selection is underway in the first-degree murder trial of Melissa Harton, accused of strangling fellow grad student Natasha Bacchus.

An inmate hanged himself in a police holding cell in Annapolis.

A preliminary hearing for Michael Anthony Jolin, 28, is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. tomorrow. Court documents allege that the victim of Jolin's intimidation was also the victim of a robbery in December 2005. Since the date of the robbery incident, the witness reports that Jolin has continuously threatened to kill he, his family, his girlfriend and three children if the robbery was reported to the police.

Mayor: The violent crime rate is at its lowest point since the 60's.

January 29

There may be new evidence that death row inmate Vernon Evans Jr. wasn't the man who pulled the trigger, killing Scott Pahowitz and Susan Kennedy at a motel in Pikesville in 1983. Meanwhile, lawyers also claim that Evans' veins are so damaged from injecting heroin that trying to execute him by lethal injection might be a big mess.

The Friday night triple shooting in the Southwest of two men and a boy was reportedly caught on camera.

Victim's mom: "Ronald Kinzer was shot at 3:30 in the afternoon in broad daylight in front of a bus full of school children and the killer never disguised himself, but there are still no witnesses... if this victim had been 'blond and blue-eyed' it would have brought the wrath of the media and community upon the streets and upon the Mayor!"

Hamm and Dixon addressed residents of Brooklyn and Curtis Bay yesterday to talk about how to reduce crime ("report criminal activity to the police." Gee, rilly?) City Council President Sheila Dixon said people shouldn't judge the Police Department based on "one bad apple," and neglected to specify how many apples citizens should endure before forming an opinion.

In Greenbelt, 21-year-old Tywon Renwick is accused of beating is girlfriend's 13-month-old daughter, Angela Coleman, to death,

January 28

Correctional officer Jeffery Alan Wroten, shot in the face by an inmate, has died.

The Sun has more bullet points on the Central Booking recommendations.

William English, 24, got 15 years for firearm possession.

A former Baltimore firefighter, Carl Kus, got two years for bringing 150 pounds of pot up from Texas.

The good news: the Department of Juvenile Services has a ten-year plan to build detention centers. The bad news: construction won't start until 2011, there'll be fewer beds than before and there may not be enough money in the budget to actually make the plan happen.

Robert Smith of Aberdeen was arrested for impersonating an EMT.

January 27

Two children and an adult were shot in the Southwestern.

Two Baltimore officers, Hadyn D. Gross and Anita C. Pitts, are being investigated for perjury.

The murder trial of John William Smith, 40, aka the guy who stabbed the guy at a dinner for the homeless, is scheduled for 9:30 Monday morning before Judge Wanda K. Heard. The BCGJ indicted Smith July 25, 2005 for first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and weapons counts. Court documents allege that on June 18, 2005 Smith stabbed Rodney Dickerson, 42, once in the chest at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church. Smith and Dickerson allegedly began arguing in the church's dining area while eating dinner.

The murder trial of Martin Michael Morgan, 18, is scheduled to begin at 9:30 Monday morning before Judge Wanda K. Heard (yes, Wanda's got two trials at once, so expect postponements). Morgan was indicted April 7, 2004 for the shooting death of Wade Walker, 32, on March 12, 2004 inside a carryout in the 3700 block of W. Belvedere Avenue. The Grand Jury also indicted Morgan for the attempted first-degree murder of Tavon Jennings, 16, who was shot on March 6, 2004 in the 3700 block Beehler Avenue. Morgan remains held on a no-bail status at the Baltimore City Detention Center. A co-defendant in this case, James Murphy, pled guilty January 10 of last year to second-degree murder and is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence.

Edward Johnson, 21, pled guilty today to second-degree murder. Judge Lynn K. Stewart sentenced Johnson to 18 years in prison. On April 30, 2005, Johnson stabbed Henry Trociuk, 41, to death at Ditto's Bar on Hudson Street during physical altercation.

The Associated Press managed to get an un-censored copy of the Florida consultant's report about the problems at Central Booking. The conclusions: Stop arresting people for crimes that won't result in charges, reduce paperwork, provide more phones and TVs to inmates so they stop getting bored and wrecking shit, have medical staff conduct medical screenings instead of corrections officers. The story also hints at backstory of the mess: Schmoke had the state take over Central Booking in 1991, and then "a lack of sustained accountability throughout the booking process created conditions that led to frequent violations of a state law."

Temitayo Olowolayemo was fatally shot during a robbery in the Northwestern. James Ronald Wright, 31, was identified as the shooting victim found at GreenMount School.

A witness who was shot to prevent him from taking the stand showed up and took the stand anyway in the murder case against brothers Tracy Love and Tamall Parker, who are accused of shooting James Wise for robbing drug dealers. The trial is going on now before the Honorable Judge Cox, Part 27, Room 407, Mitchell Courthouse.

In AACo, a Severn teenager was convicted of killing 52-year-old EMT David Brown, who was taking a walk in the park. Said Terry Cooks Jr., "I went to the park to shoot someone... I felt sorry for him at first, but then I didn't worry about it."

Condemned inmate Vernon Evans Jr. has a blog and is taking questions.

The trial of Gregory A. Alston, 20, (you'll remember him as the carjacker who reported his stolen car stolen) is scheduled for 9:30 Monday morning before Judge John M. Glynn. A BCGJ indicted Alston June 16, 2005 with two counts of carjacking, two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of second-degree assault, one count of theft under $500, one count of theft over $500, one count of car theft and one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. If convicted on all counts, Alston could receive a maximum prison sentence of 144 years.

An MTA officer fired shots at armed robbery suspects in Hopkins Plaza.

A 45-year-old Texas woman, Lan Dang, got 12 federal years for a cocaine posession/distribution charge in HarfCo.

Loyola has stepped up patrols following three muggings so far this school year.

Some students in Frederick made their own $10 bills on the computer... and got caught, of course.

Editorial: Time for Ehrlich to come clean about his relationship with felon Jack Abramoff. Meanwhile, buckle your seatbelts for a dirty race: Ehrlich has hired a campaign manager notorious in GA for airing ads comparing a Vietnam-vet triple-amputee to Osama Bin Laden.

January 26

In Glen Burnie, police are seeking the driver of a blue Honda that hit an 18-year-old and sped off.

In Hagerstown, a correctional officer was shot in the face by 20-year-old inmate Brandon Morris.

There's a plan: "Phase 1, get weapons. Phase 2, kill the hillbilly."

Lanora Lucas, the Thurmont mom who drove around with three children locked in the trunk of her Volvo, won't have to serve any time.

HarfCo police arrested an Edgewood man who may have robbed 11 convenience stores.

Homicides may have been down in the city in '04, but the county had the highest number of killings in 13 years... 40.

Keith Mills' charging documents reveal he may have been stealing from his neighbor for more than two years... but she didn't turn him in because she felt sorry for his family.

January 25

There will be a hearing Friday in federal court regarding the intended execution of Vernon L. Evans Jr. The Supreme Court said today that it would hear arguements in a Florida case that the three-drug combination used for lethal injection (also used here)= cruel, unusual.

An unidentified man found dead with a gunshot wound to the head behind the GreenMount* School in Remington was city homicide 28.

Troy Smith was arrested January 20 for the fatal stabbing of Terrance J. Williams last September.

In the Ink: shot to death, Johnny Evans, 43; Gary Rideout, 41; Raymond Williams, 35; Mervyn Beckles, 23; Fernandez Woodson, 23; Karlee Blackwell, 14; Gregory Hopewell, 21; Kayla Baker, 12; Lemuel Davis, 48; Clyde Tatum, 18; Antwoine Armstead, 21. Stabbed to death: Kristopher Reinhard, 16, two unnamed males, 15 and 20.

Your tax dollars at work: the city has already paid out $187,000 to settle brutality claims in three separate incidents involving flex squad alleged rapist Jemini Jones. Meanwhile, flex squad officer Michael Nelson has been reassigned.

Crazed ex-boyfriend Jose Padilla-Colin pled guilty to kidnapping 19-year-old Delmy Beatriz Rivera in Frederick last July.

A rally was held at the SSq mall scene of the murder of Warren Fleming.

A second adult, Clyde Colmes Jr., has been charged in the daycare shooting, and the boy's dad, John Linwood, is a felon with a "criminal record that dates to the 1960s."

What the ?! Channel 2 sportscaster Keith Mills was charged with two counts of burglarly. Apparently our short sporty friend has some kind of problem with Vicodin, admitting "the rush and euphoria was real good." ED: Isn't Vicodin what you get from the dentist after your wisdom teeth get pulled out? Wouldn't a bag of frozen peas work just as well?

More tumult at the liquor board: now the head of the agency, Nathan Irby, has been suspended.

Good point: why are we debating slots when we already have video poker?

CP reader Maggie Blom: "the city has left-winged itself right into its own hell."

*It really is spelled as one word with an uppercase M in the middle. Weird.

January 24

The murder trial of Bryant Thompson, 20, of the 300 Block of East 29th Street, is scheduled for 9:30 tomorrow morning before Judge John P. Miller. The BCGJ indicted Thompson on February 17, 2005 for first-degree murder. Court documents allege that Thompson shot and killed Damon Lamont Brooks on September 26, 2004 in Brooks' apartment in the 300 block of East 23rd Street.

There have been 27 murders so far this year, incluing six juvenile victims.

Two men shot to death in the Eastern were identified as Gary Rideout, 41, and Raymond Williamson, 35. And in the Northern, a man was shot on Loyola Southway (a man was shot on Loyola Northway Dec. 12). Also in the Blotter, stolen beef, 130 pounds of shrimp, giant TVs, Chinese food, Acuras, some shop vacs, a gas truck, electrical wiring.

Jeffrey A. Ziegler, now 29, got a three-year prison term for the hit-and-run auto manslaughter of William Ruffin, 42. Ziegler is the horrible human being who hit a highway-construction worker with such force it sent his body flying 100 feet. According to witnesses, Ziegler then stopped, checked his car for damage, and sped off.

The family members shot by James Lydell Ray were identified as Kayla Baker, 12, Travon Baker, 16, Devin Baker, 15, and family friend Michelle Hickson, 39.

Money laundering, hooker parties, underage drinking, gambling, a police detective shot to death out front, tax evasion, mafia ties... it was once a helluva establishment, but after 50 years, Joe's Tavern on Dundalk Avenue is being shut down by the Liquor Board for selling booze to snitchy teen cadets.

Speaking of hookers, more on naughty women's studies prof. Brandy Britton.

WTF? In Montgomery County a 7-year-old girl was shot at a before-school daycare center by an 8-year-old boy.

In Rosedale, robbers tied up one employee of the Mars supermarket, assaulted two others and took money.

Greyhound: Another mugging strikes Loyola. [Is that correct? Can a mugging strike? Where my grammar bitches at?]

Crimes against occupational safety: Benjamin Kirk Locust died after falling into a 25-foot-deep hole at BWI.

Here's the story about Samuel Mercer, the guy who stole $325k from the Museum of Industry.

An idiot teenager led police on a high-speed chase in Hagerstown.

Ehrlich to immigrant children: drop dead!

January 23

The murder trial of Jerome McCardell, 33, of 5100 block of Frederick Avenue, is scheduled for 9 a.m. tomorrow before Judge John M. Glynn. The Baltimore City Grand jury indicted McCardell for first-degree murder February 7 for the December 9, 1991 shooting death of Thomas Robert Pratt, 26, in the 4700 block of Delaware Avenue. McCardell is currently being held on a no bail status.

The BC Grand Jury indicted Reginald Martinez Williams, 35, of the 600 block of North Carrollton Avenue, for first-degree rape, four counts of first-degree sex offense and three counts of second-degree assault. Court documents allege that between December 20-23, 2005 Williams raped and sexually assaulted three victims (news sources put the count at 9). Williams allegedly pulled a gun on police officers on December 23, 2005 while they were arresting him and the indictment charges him with three counts of second-degree assault in connection to that incident.

The BCGJ indicted Alvin Augustus Williams, 25, of the 6000 block of Marquette Road, Baltimore County, for first-degree murder and attempted robbery. Court documents allege that in the early morning hours of November 12, 2005 Williams shot and killed Brian Jones, 34, of Millersville, MD in the 1100 block of South Ellwood Street. Williams is currently held in the Baltimore City Detention Center without bail. An arraignment is scheduled for February 15, 2006 before Judge Martin P. Welch.

January 22

Sun: Five unrelated homicides in the last 24 hours have brough the murder total to 23.

Details on the cases of some violent, lucky criminals who will be roaming free in the Southwestern. Add those to dozens of cases jeapordized when Southern district detectives Clarence Grear and Kevin E. Jones were charged with perjury, and you have... the entire lower 2/3rds of the city being completely uninhabitable*.

James Lydell Ray died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at the home of Bernard and Linda Ganoe. He shot and killed a 12-year-old girl and wounded four other people on Sherwood Avenue ealy yesterday morning.

More details on the shootingn of Islam Fahad, the four-year-old wounded by a stray bullet in a Columbia "Hot Spot."

Three men with the oddest names you ever did hear were arrested for shooting James Rivers on his lawn in Essex: Chaunisty Terrell Wallace, 26, John Louise Williams, 21, and Deandre Lamont Williams, 17.

Joseph Schroen, 20, is accused of kidnapping and biting his ex-girlfriend in Sykesville.

The lawsuit brought by relatives of the late Noah Jamahl Jones saw their $1m lawsuit dimissed. Judge Paul Harris faulted the victim for going to the home where there were armed boys and starting a fight.

Graphic backstory from HoCo: troopers took down Paul Banville after his SUV was tracked using LoJack. Now he's awaiting extradition to MA for strangling his 17-year-old neice to death with a dog lead.

Post editorialist abuses horse metaphors, gripes that MD 'crat race is "glum".

Ehrlich is not happy about the results of the big gay lawsuit. JZ reports his omnious and awkwardly transcribed response: "Maryland is in the lime light {sic} nationally, and it's not a positive story, and we'll do what we can to correct the situation." That should come as good news to the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, which plans to stage a protest at the funeral of Sgt. Michael McMullen, 25, a soldier from Salisbury who died in Iraq. Church members and its leader, Fred Phelps, are famous for protesting the funeral of Matthew Sheppard with "God Hates Fags" signs, and multiple interviews on the Howard Stern Show.

I can't believe I missed this: In March, while a jury was in judge Prevas' courtoom listening to testimony in a murder case, the jury room was burgled. Jurors were robbed of cell phones, cash and car keys. "They were angry, hot, livid," said Warren A. Brown.

*If you look at a map, it's really shocking how much space the "good" neighborhoods take up! Like less than a fourth of the city land!

January 21

There have been (at least) 18 murders so far in 2006.

Thirty-four-year-old James Lydell Ray went on a shooting rampage, killing a 12-year-old girl and wounding his 15 and 16-year-old sons and his girlfriend. And he's on the loose, police are seeking a 2005 Black Elantra with the license plate 2BCP57. (Note to JZ, there is no Shirwood Avenue in Baltimore.)

Deaontae Fleming, 16, was arrested and charged as an adult for attempted murder (of whom it doesn't say).

There's nothing safe about the suburbs:
James Rivers Jr., 20, of Essex, was shot to death after confronting two suspicious men on his property.

A four-year-old boy was hit by a stray bullet in Columbia.

There are a lot of break-ins and robberies in the news from the Northwestern burbs, and a cluster of street robberies in Owings Mills.

Restraining orders and peace orders are becoming ever-more popular.

January 20

The family of Raymond Smoot (left), an inmate beaten to death by guards at Central Booking, is suing the State for $130 million.

Reporters, mark your calendars, photographers, shine your kneepads: an arraignment date has been scheduled for dirty flex cops Jemini Jones, Steven Hately, and Brian Shaffer at February 15, 2006 9:30 a.m. before Judge Lynn Stewart. (O'Malley makes a point: the arrests are a sign that he and Hamm are doing their jobs.)

Gentrification will be all that's spreading after Chubbies gentleman's club sells its Adult Entertainment license back to the city.

A judge has ruled MD's anti-homo-marriage statute unconstitutional. Ehrlich is pleading "for both parties to come together to protect traditional marriage" and a delegate Don Dwyer (who appears to represent people from the Glen Burnie/ Severna Park area) wants the House to try to pass a constitutional amendment.

Speaking of Senators (and though we don't like to be political, legislators make laws, and laws make criminals who commit the crimes of which we blog), I finally found a map of Maryland districts that's easy to use. I'm very happy to hear that Paul Sarbanes' son John P. is running in the 3rd so the former ABC-2 reporter Andy Barth isn't unopposed.

January 19

Reports the Catholic Reporter in an article about how "blighted" Baltimore is, in 2005 there was a weekly average of five murders, 14 shootings, 72 robberies, 116 aggravated assaults, 107 burglaries, 299 larcenies, 119 auto thefts, 340 misdemeanor narcotics arrests, and 105 felony narcotics arrests.

SSQ mall murder suspect Brian K. Rose was arrested.

In Harford County, Frank Rainey, who admitted to killing Crystal Busta three months after they met on the Internet, will serve a life sentence. He also admitted to three other murders in DC. Yikes.

Millersville meth-making marrieds Michael and Sheila Beil face four criminal methamphetamine possession and intent-to-distribute counts.

Police are seeking a late 90's burgundy Dodge minivan with plates that say "BARK 68"-something in connection with the Jan. 9 hit-and-run of Antionio Martinez on I-95.

A 40-year-old man was wounded by police in East Baltimore during the response to an armed robbery.

Dept. of Bad Sex:

Kristopher Reinhard, 16, died of stab wounds following a fight which may have "stemmed from unflattering remarks about a girl."

Graphic details about exactly what Warren Brown's client Jemini Jones is accused of doing to a 22-year-old woman in an office in the Southwestern (Brown: "She's a big fat liar.") Meanwhile, two members of the flex squad had been "flagged" as potential bad apples in 2003. Here's more on the investigation against Vicki Mengel.

If a Maryland corrections officer settles for $250,000, it'll be one of the largest sexual harrassment settlements in MD history (and boy did this woman deserve it).

There is a such thing as too many of the wrong kind of details in a news story. For example, this BAL story about a women's studies professor charged with prostitution. (Is it necessary to specify "personal" lubricant?) The Sun story is just so much richer: we learn Brandy owned pot-bellied pigs, liked to garden in a bikini, worked on a task force with KK Townsend, and claimed her husband tried to cut ther throat.

In Sykesville, a retired middle school teacher was arrested for having child pornography on his state-issued laptop.

Ehrlich to gays: civil rights on your deathbeds... but not a minute sooner!

January 18

Go-getter U.S. (Federal) Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein plans to expand the local office of the prosecutor. During last fiscal year his office brought 565 criminal cases, up from 490. Interesting paragraph: "Mr. Rosenstein and Mayor Martin O'Malley had planned for the city to give $200,000 directly to federal prosecutors to go after criminals who use firearms to commit crimes. But Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia Jessamy threatened to recall a city prosecutor assigned to the U.S. Attorney's Office, and the plan was abandoned."

The CP talks 2005 homicide by the numbers and reports the murder clearance rate at 55 percent.

2005 in Review: Happy First Birthday, Bcrime!

Two-double-oh-five... we learned so much. I started the blog to try to answer a basic question: how safe are you in Baltimore City? At the end of the project the conclusion is: it depends on who you are.

(Police claim that) 90 percent of murder victims have criminal histories, with an average of eight arrests each. And almost all of the victims are male, and the majority are African-American and young. If you're a female not involved in the drug trade, you don't have much to worry much about, unless you have a jealous spouse, violent boyfriend, stalker friend-of-a-neighbor (see Linda Trinh), or encounter a drunk driver.

If you're a male, don't buy, sell or use the white drugs and stay away from the drink, barfights and other people's wives and girlfriends, stay alert to your surroundings and don't talk to or provoke strangers. And everyone should stay extra observant in mall parking lots (or shop Hampden). These simple rules will keep you safe much of the time. But the thrill of Baltimore living is that there are always roving wild cards of death: the bad babysitter, the serial mugger/rapist, the burglar or nurse who preys on the elderly, the speeding cop car. So while you may be safe most of the time, you're never safe all of the time, no matter what your demographic. And what the hell, sooner or later death comes for all Baltimoreans.

Anyhoo, we kicked off 2005 with a 26 murders in the first 20 days of the year, and Marcus Brown was promoted to Deputy. But it was Baltimorean-cum-Nugget Carmelo Anthony who scored biggest in the 01-05. His cameo in the notorious Stop Snitchin led to endorsements with Nike and Hallmark cards.

In February, Dontee Stokes, represented by Warren Brown, became an international hero for the victims of Catholic-priest-predators when pedophile Maurice Blackwell was convicted. But the victory was short-lived. Judges ruled that a witness' reference to other victims warranted a new trial, Jessamy refused to grant one, and Roussey, now head of the police union, said he believed the state's attorney's office had been looking for a way to avoid prosecuting Blackwell ever since Stokes came forward 13 years ago. The FBI released stats showing that Baltimore has the highest rate of bank robberies in the nation: more than double the rate of the second-most-bank-robbed city, L.A. And the blog got its first regular reader, plucky former Southwestern student (now a Towson U. student, I think,) Chris Bilal!

March kicked off with the start of the drug-kingpin trial of William Nicholson. Nine months later, Nicholson got a three-year sentence. Police officially filed the murder of Hopkins student and South Carolina native Chris Elser, left, under "cold." 50 cent released a song in which "Baltimore" was synonymous with "heroin." The blog added another regular customer, Jay.

And the blog's most searched-for story to date, and certainly the most unusual of the year, broke in March: that's the girl-on-girl psych-doctal-student on psych-doctal-student case of Natasha Bacchus, strangled by her (possibly lesbian) friend Melissa B. Harton after a night of drinking exactly one week before Bacchanalia.

In April an 11-year-old boy was arrested for dealing heroin, revealing the disturbing trend of drug gangs using juveniles for their dirty work. Donta Allen was indicted for murdering Hopkins student Linda Trinh, and two students were grazed with gunfire at Bowie state. O'Malley made Time magazine's "Five Best Mayors" list under the unfortunate banner Wonk N' Roller. The Baltimore police were sued for $30 million for shooting a 30-year-old man in the back. This great site summarizes the year's Maryland police misconduct news. The witness intimidation bill passed. In Annapolis, a midshipman fell from a window --the second incident in three years. Unregistered sex offender Kenneth Barnes was caught in Roland Park, spurring new vows of anti-perv measures from local top brass.

May: Monique Baldwin got 25 years for her role in the beating death of 12-year old Nicole Townes and five years for the abuse of her sister, Brenda Bailey, 11. Kenya Keene, 25, who delayed calling an ambulance, got six years. Former mom Monalisa Mackey pled guilty to killing her 18-month-old daughter Alicia. Ed Norris was working at a soap store in a Florida mall, and six officers were placed on leave after the death of inmate Raymond Smoot. Two policemen were accused of robbing drug dealers and selling the drugs themselves. Says policecrimes.com:

... a federal grand jury indicted Officers William King, 35, of Baltimore, and Antonio Murray, 34, of Abingdon. The five-count indictment alleges that the officers took part in alleged conspiracy to rob drug dealers of their drugs and money beginning last August to the present. Prosecutors said authorities had also bugged the officers' police car. They said that in those recorded conversations, the two officers allegedly asked drug dealers how much money and drugs they had on supply. Miller reported prosecutors' claims that the officers told drug dealers they wouldn't face arrest or prosecution so long as they kept supplying the drugs. In one case, prosecutors said, the officers sold drugs to an FBI agent.

June brought the death of Samuel Richardson, shot while walking with his girlfriend near the Rendez-Vous.
Ross Talp was convicted of killing his mother.
Allegations of police misconduct were rife: cop Brent Allen Gates was accused of stealing $1,400 from a man during a traffic stop, and Gregory Mussmacher was convicted for assault and miconduct after beating up a handcuffed, shacked juvenile. At the Dept. of Corrections, secretary Mary Ann Saar said everything was going fine, even after officer Sherman Lawrence was charged with conspiring to help prison inmates shank a peer. Employee complaints about foul and unhealthy conditions in the ancient Mitchell Courthouse and problems at Central Booking were met with silence from government officials.

In July the FBI released stats showing violent crime up in Baltimore by 4.2 percent, and the Post published a story called "Maryland reports surplus of $1 billion." Attorney General Joe Curran refused to join in a lawsuit with the City (and his son-in-law) against the state over the conditions at Central Booking, and squarely blamed the police. He also got a threatening note written on a clipped obituray of dead businessman Robert Clay.

The case of the three beheaded Mexican children seemed to point to snakeheads, but DNA pointed to the children's uncle.

In August, Commissioner Hamm's daughter Nicole Sisker was outed as a steetwalking addict. Albert G. Antonelli of Queenstown got just three years for auto manslaughter for a hit-and-run on Route 50 that killed officer Duke G. Aaron III. Trial began for the accused murderers of William Bassett, the St. Paul's dean shot in the Towson Town Center mall parking lot. A man tied up traffic around BWI after he kidnapped a woman in Arbutus. Somebody named "tif" objected to the term Big Black Rapist. On the last day of August, the Espinoza/Canela trial ended in a hung jury.

In September, the State rejected Death Row inmate Vernon Evans Jr.'s claims of racial and geographic bias (a death warrant was recently issued for Feb. 6). Seventy-nine year old Lydia Wingfield was murdered, and CP reported: "Wingfield is the third African-American women to be asphyxiated this year. All three women were over 60 years old and found at home, but the Baltimore Police Department does not believe the homicides are connected." (Turns out they were, of course).

Transit police and federal agents have made 23 arrests of people selling prescription drugs at transit stations.Police dogs started getting sick, and by the end of the year, five had died mysteriously. Two Baltimore judges in separate rulings said they don't believe the police officers who investigated gun cases, prompting prosecutors to dismiss charges. And we were joined by a new Jay... a self-labeled-conservative then going by the nom de blog Publius.

In October, accusations of "ethical breaches" in Ehrlich's officehit the fan. First there was the Joe Steffan "Prince of Darkness" thing. Then, the Sun (and Scott Huffines) reported employees testifying about right-wing thought police firing people who weren't "Republican" enough.

Artist Myron "Terry" Koenig was killed and his house was set on fire in Waverly. Antoine Adams, 32, got life in prison for his third killing, Penelope Medina. Three people escaped from Central Booking in one week, and galt started ranting.

In November, Fletcher Worrell, 58, has been implicated by DNA in at least 24 unsolved rapes in Maryland and New Jersey. A probation officer, Yolanda Johnson, got 18 months in prison for extorting money from the cons she was supposed to be supervising. Ehrlich signed the death warrant for Wesley Baker. In the largest gambling raid in decades, police arrested 80 people at the Owl's Nest near Camden Yards. Authorities seized more than $25,000 in cash and cases of illegal liquor, then dismissed charges (but netted at least one officer from the Southwestern). And Alvin Kotz, 70, got three years for running a gambling operation out of Timpano's Italian Chop House in Rockville. And Liz's husband was arrested for littering-- never mind that Booking and Intake has been operating at 135 % capacity. And we were joined by team member Chuck!

As December began there were still no leads on the murder of Jeryl Singleterry, the kidnapping victim who was found dead after his family paid over $10,000 in ransom. A West Baltimore grandmother was tied up, her son stabbed and her Christmas tree set on fire by three home invaders. The wife of police officer David A. Williamson tried to pawn jewelry stolen from jewelry thieves who had been stopped by her husband. Serial killer Raymond Hopewell was caught, ans so was serial rapist Reginald Williams. Officers Leslie Holiday and Adam Vasquez were shot to death.

And the year ended with an official 269 murders, though only 137 were reported by the preliminary FBI crime stats.

January 17

The FBI is asking the public to help track down Lamont "Jamar" Jones and Javon Brewer, the latter of whom has a distinctive tattoo of a man lamping at Baltimore & Gilmor {sic}.

The murder trial of Tamall Parker, 19, and Tracy Love, 21, is scheduled to begin 9:30a.m. tomorrow before Judge Sylvester Cox. The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Parker and Love for first-degree murder November 23, 2004 for the shooting death of James Wise, Jr., 30. Court documents allege that on October 13, 2004 Parker and Love shot Mr. Wise 13 times in the 1000 block of Bonaparte Ave.

"Mickey" Hughes, wanted for beating a toddler and put him in scalding water, turned herself in. Not answered: why his mom was living in the Towson Ramada Inn and going to work at 10 p.m.,

Baltimore police identified Jose Mendoza, 40, as the employee shot dead duting a robbery the restaurant La Bahia (not Baha).

A Baltimore City jury convicted Martinez Brown, 26, of the 2300 block of East Chase Street, for the first-degree murder of Kelvin Knight, 18, and sentencing is scheduled for 9 a.m. tomorrow. The jury also convicted Brown of use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. In the early morning hours of December 7, 2003 the victim, Kelvin Knight, was ordering take-out from New Land Chinese Carry Out at the corner of Montford and Biddle Streets in East Baltimore when he observed Brown arguing with a woman. Upon hearing the victim laugh, Brown turned to the victim and said, "Do you think I am playing?" He then pulled out a handgun, put it to the victim's forehead, and shot him three times in the head and once in the chest. As Brown ran from the scene after the murder, an eyewitness disabled him by striking him with his car, thereby allowing police to arrest him at the scene. Another eyewitness identified him at the scene.

What was Darnell Brown involved with before he was shot and left dead on the campus of Saint John's college in Annapolis?

January 16

Hamm: officers will now get rotated out of special units in three years, because that's "the amount of time that helps stop corruption from coming in."

Hagerstown prison's on lockdown after a fight in the yard sent four inmates to the hospital.

A 38-year-old inmate died of a heart attack at the Corrections Center in Glen Burnie. Also in AAC, four generic-sounding robbers on the loose.

Two unidentified men were shot to death in East Baltimore on Friday night, an unidentified man died early yesterday morning after being beaten in West Baltimore on Saturday afternoon, an unidentified man was fatally shot in West Baltimore yesterday afternoon, and a restaurant worker in the Southeastern's Greektown neighborhood was killed when seven people robbed Restaurante La Baha on Sunday night.

A heartwarming MLKJr.'s day tale: the real-life Penny and Seaweed! Shirley Billy got locked up in the Pines Street Jail for Women for having a halfie baby. Her mom bailed her out, she challenged Maryland's miscegenation laws, and she and her husband have now been married for 50 years.

January 15

What the ?!?!! The only word for the story out of the Southwestern is unfuckinggddamnedbelievable! Scores of city police officers were up to everything, and I do mean everything. Sex in offices with prisoners, stashing drugs on people, stealing cell phones .. a mind-blowing 375 cases will have to be thrown out. Only a handful of officers will be prosecuted by the city for the drug charges, the rest of the cops face federal charges because you can't have a cop testifying against a cop. So RJ's the knocker now... and maybe the bust at the Owl's Nest was not all total BS after all.

Graham D. Buckmaster, 57, was captured in the Cumberland gap. He was wanted for shooting his ex-girlfriend, Lisa Moore, to death, on New Year's Eve .

A woman was shot during a robbery at the Salvo Auto Parts in Woodlawn.

A man's body was found near a mysterious fire at an Essex used-car dealership.

Good news, ladies! The Sun says that even if Roe is overturned, we'll always have legal 'borshuns in our state.

And at my mysteries; take your revenge.
Thus as he spake, he made o'er earth and sky
To spread a fiery blaze of awful light.
Silence was in the heavens, in the green glen
Not a leaf whispered, and all beasts were still.

Stop the presses: a 17-year-old girl bought a beer at the Fuddrucker's in Columbia.

January 14

Two men were fatally shot in East Baltimore near Aiken and Curtain.

Not to be Confused with Mr. Loverman:Dennis 'Shabba' Burke is back in West Virginia. He was wanted for a murder in Oak Hill WVa. for 11 years and was found in December by Baltimore Police during a Stop-and-Frisk.

Dexter Bert Tyson, 31, had the bad fortune to face federal drug charges for his fifth crack-related felony. He got life without parole. Last week, extremely lucky William Nicholson got just three years for making a living as a cocaine kingpin.

A University of Maryland basketball player, Travis Garrison, is charged with triple ass-grabbery and improper backhanding of a lady at the Cornerstone Grill in PG County.

Nauseating Child Abuse Dept
Police are seeking 21-year-old Minita "Mickey" Genneetta Hughes, left, accused of scalding a two-year-old boy and fracturing his skull at the Towson Ramada Inn.

Loren Williams, 45, will serve 15 years in prison for videotaping himself sexually abusing a boy in Ocean City.

January 13

Mayor O'Malley was unable to attend a Planned Parenthood event due to the fact that his father, Thomas M. O'Malley, died of a lung ailment January 5. A mass of Catholic burial was held in Rockville.

More than 300 criminal cases in the Southwestern may be dismissed beacuse of the Flex Squad scandal.

It's alleged that Mathaddues Rozier, 25, shot a 15-year-old boy and then his 79-year-old father. And then there's some guy named Gerald Reed involved. I don't know, it's confusing.

The skeletal remains found in Jessup appear to have been homicided.

Robert C. Griffin, 71, is scheduled for a hearing at 2 p.m. today before Circuit Judge Gale E. Rasin. Griffin was found guilty in 1986 of stabbing and strangling 20-year-old Annie Cruse behind the Reptile House in Druid Hill Park. This past November, Judge Raisin granted a motion for new trial due to the results from a recent DNA test.

How retarded: documents from the NSA detail how agents, via a unit of the Baltimore Police, spied on people who were taking children (maybe even disabled children, 4800 York rd is BARC) to Washington DC for the 4th of July. The probable cause: "advised protestors would be demonstrating with 'against the war' signs."

Police Blotter: "a sampling of crimes."

Things got un-bucolic in Carroll County when police shot 23-year-old Jason Woodward.. oh wait, oh wait, no, they didn't... as he pressed a knife into the throat of a 21-year-old woman he'd dragged behind the route 140 Hess station. Or not. Seriously, what is going on at JZ?

Soon, entry-level prison guards may make more than Daily Record reporters.

Aleksandr Dzhanasvili of Pikesville got arrested for posing as a doctor and trying to steal a morphine patch from a patient at Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center.

SSQ mall shooting suspect Brian Keith Rose, 21, had also been convicted of stealing a police car.

Maryland's new bill requiring employers with <10k employees to spend 8 percent of payrolls on health insurance has made national news, as has our governor's blatant canoodling with a certain naughty corporation. Next on the liberal agenda: gay wedding reception packages at the Marriott Waterfront and health insurance for everybody.

January 12

In Greenbelt, James Everett Flood III, 28, got life in prison. Flood was accused of kidnapping and killing Eric Hayes II, a police officer's son.

A shooting, arrests, and a man robbed the "7-Elevent" in the Sun blotter.

Brian Keith Rose, left, is still on the lam, wanted for the carjacking/murder of 31-year-old Warren Fleming. The Sun reveals that Rose was previously charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder three years ago, when he was accused of trying to crash a vehicle head-on into a police car. Those charges were, however, dismissed.

The mean girl who stabbed 15-year-old Kanisha Neal outside of Blake High School in Rockville will be detained for five years as a juvenile.

On the Hill Cafe & Market on John and Mosher in Bolton Hill was robbed last night. Theives broke a door frame and removed the cash drawer. Jessica claims to have sucked it up as a part of Baltimore living but says George muttered something about how much safer things are in Boston.

Here's the lowdown according to Edward Ericson Jr. on the hearing at the War Memorial that went down on January 4. O'Malley gave a speech then left the hearing, pissing off the crowd. Jessamy blasted the police for arresting people without probable cause, noting that in August 408 drug cases fit under the "could not prove" category, and there were 845 loitering cases clogging up t he system. Leonard Hamm made everyone uncomfortable when he was asked to define the 5th amendment and got it wrong. Ralph Tyler, the "Ralph" from yesterday's meeting who is ostensibly acting in loco Mayoris this month, eventually prompted him. Close readers will note that in the handout distributed at the CJCC meeting a week later, the hilarious gaffe still was not corrected. Even funnier: yesterday, before this story was out or I'd even heard about the hearing, my cell phone went off in the middle of the CJCC meeting, playing "Push It". Then after some guy from the police department was like, "was that your ring tone?" and I said, "I plead the fifth!" HA!

...speaking of a reduction in crime, there's been no response as to why Greg Raymond, the drunk-driving lacrosse coach who skewered his friend's skull on a pole at the Guilford street exit ramp, has yet to be charged with manslaughter.

An editorial by Stephen Crockett in a Maine paper accuses Ehrlich of abusing power and points out that though certain news reporters "are Maryland residents, they cannot talk to their own state government by order of the crazed Republican Governor."

January 11

The actions of the police "flex squad" will mean victory for the criminals in dozens of cases in the Southwestern. Meanwhile the police union chief Lt. Frederick V. Roussey (who remarked to the Sun that Police were under pressure from top management to meet arrest quotas) says he feels "like Serpico."

A manhunt is on for Brian Keith Rose, 21, wanted in the Security Square Mall carjacking/shooting death of one Warren Fleming, 31.

Parts of a 26-year-old hispanic man were found along I-95, and now investigators are now looking for a link between that man and a double-murder Sunday morning in Arbutus.

"Murder Ink" covers 12 Baltimore City murders: the last six of 2005 and the first six of 2006.

In one of the most horrific stories recently (even by Baltimore standards), the 18-month-old girl who was killed in Annapolis was beaten to death by her mother's boyfriend, Gerald E. Parker.

David Barnhill, the father who forgot his son was in the backseat of the car, received 18 months probation for the child's death.

A home invasion and sexual assault on an elderly woman in Columbia.

The Annapolis city council is working to expand drug-free zones beyond schools. (Does the idea of a drug-free school in Baltimore inspire cynical laughter in anyone besides me?)

Kevin Delmar Foster was arrested for bank robbery after writing a note to the teller on the back of a business card for a finance company he patronized.

Ahhh... to live in sweet, sweet Carroll County, where banned books get more press than murder, rape, and drug addiction.

The preliminary hearing of Tyrone Bonner, 29, was scheduled for this morning. Court documents allege that on December 15, 2005 Bonner approached the victim of an assault under investigation, verbally threatened the witness and assaulted him with an attempt to intimidate. Based on "statements" Bonner made during the assault the witness identified Bonner as a friend of the suspect in the assault investigation.

Don't miss the new BET reality series, "L'il Kim: Countdown to Lockdown."

January 10

Police Behaving Badly Dept.

January 6 a Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted three Baltimore police officers, Jemini Jones, 28, Brian Shaffer, 31 and Steven Hatley, 27, for first-degree rape, conspiracy to violate the rape laws and misconduct in office following an independent investigation. Jurors heard evidence and witness testimony during secret proceedings [as under Maryland law] before returning indictments.

The allegations occurred on December 27, 2005 following an investigation by Officers Jones, Shaffer and Hatley involving two women, aged 22 and 18, near Old Frederick Road. It is alleged the officers transported the women back to Southwest Police District where an officer allegedly had sexual intercourse with a 22-year old female in an office of the Southwest District station located at 424 Font Hill Avenue. Pre-set bails are $100,000 for each defendant. The boys were on something called the "flex squad," which has since dissolved. Local blowhard Warren Brown is involved.
The Southwestern district is struggling to replace officers in the wake of the suspensions.


Things that make you say "No Wonder" Dept.
From today's Daily Record, by Ostrovsky:
"In the wake of public criticism over allegedly unlawful arrests, the Baltimore City Police Department today is set to begin a comprehensive program to educate approximately 2,600 officers on the ins and outs of Fourth and Fifth Amendment law - everything from proper stop-and-frisk tactics to common errors at Central Booking. While such issues are normally covered in some fashion in the officers' mandatory annual in-service training of 35 hours per officer per year (staggered over 42 weeks) this year's program will have a key difference ... in the past major portions of the legal curriculum were conducted by specially trained police officers - not lawyers ... The most significant part of that curriculum is four hours dedicated exclusively to the law and practical applications of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments... from 8 a.m. today ... the Attorney General's office will provide an overview of the Fourth Amendment." --only 35 hours a year to teach 20-something law-enforcement officers about the law?

Two murders in the city yesterday: 33-year-old Ronald Kinzer was shot in West Baltimore while washing his car at a gas station, and 23-year-old Cornell Lemon was shot at a house on Monastery Ave in Southwest Baltimore.

21-year-old Brian Keith Rose (a.k.a. Mitchell Kemp) has been identified as a suspect in the murder of Warren T. Fleming, the man who was shot to death in his car last week at Security Square Mall.

Gerald Edwin Parker was arrested yesterday and charged with homicide in the death of a baby girl. Parker was babysitting the 18-month-old in Annapolis on Saturday when she died.

Cyrus Duvall Robertson, the alleged shooter in Timothy Morris' murder at TGIFriday's in Owings Mills last Friday night, was denied bail.

At the very bottom of the Metro Digest, an article reports that 19-year-old Daniel Allen Brown is being held without bail on an attempted murder charge stemming from last week's shooting at White Marsh Mall. Jonathan Derrell Parks and Travin Rashaad West, both 19, were granted bail.

A Lehighton, PA man named Thomas Moser was found guilty for soliciting sex from minors on the Internet.

Southeast Baltimore drug lord William Nicholson received a three year prison sentence yesterday after prosecutors reportedly broke an agreement they'd made with him.

The Southwestern district is struggling to replace its "flex squad" (the officers that target violence and drugs) in the wake of five suspensions since November.

Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Terry Lierman asked State Prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh to investigate the "legality of the links" between Gov. Ehrlich's Deputy Chief of Staff Edward Miller and Jack Abramoff.

January 9

The two men who were found dead near a school in Arbutus have been identified as 29-year-old Youani Alvares and 27-year-old Joel Gonzales, both of the 2600 block of Virginia Ave. in Baltimore. The men both died from multiple stab wounds.

The northbound lanes of I-95 were closed for seven hours today due to "a great scattering of the body parts over a wide range of area of the interstate." At about 4:30am, a person was either pushed from a car or walked onto the highway and was hit by multiple cars, none of which stopped.

Baltimore Circuit Court Judge John G. Turnbill II signed a death warrant that states Vernon Evans will be executed within a five-day period beginning Feb. 6. Evans was paid $9,000 to kill Scott Piechowicz and his sister-in-law Susan Kennedy in 1983 to prevent them from testifying against drug dealer Anthony Grandison. Kennedy was mistakenly killed in place of Piechowicz' wife.

25-year-old Howard County resident Fallah Johnson has been charged with second-degree rape and "various sex offense and assault charges" for raping a 12-year-old girl in the laundry room of her apartment complex. (Sorry for the editorial comment, but second-degree rape for going after a 12-year-old? WTF?)

WJZ reports on attorney Warren Brown's statement that there's a lack of substance to the rape charges against three Baltimore City police officers. At one point, Brown asked, "What is it--the State's Attorney's Office trying to make the Mayor and the Police Department look bad?"

Dan Rodricks asks men to step up and be mentors to men who are trying to break the cycle of "drugs-crime-incarceration-unemployment."

An implied armed robbery, a real armed robbery (of a 14-year-old boy), and a couple of shootings make up the city's contributions to the Blotter; all the county has to offer is a stolen bench, 2 stolen rocking chairs, and a broken window. (But for what it's worth, there have been at least four killings in the county since the last one was reported in the city.)

Those stragglers who haven't been rounded up under loitering and public nuisance laws had better be careful where they park.

I do Believe that The Greatest City In America's search for a new slogan warranted a nice, long article in the Christian Science Monitor.

January 8

The two dead men that were found this morning at a baseball field in Baltimore County are being treated as homicide victims.

A human skeleton was found by hunters in a wooded area near Jessup on Saturday morning. Howard County police have not determined a cause of death, but they said the remains appear to be several weeks old.

The Sun has a Department of Justice report that details "serious misconduct" by the FBI in the way they investigated the death of federal prosecutor Jonathan Luna.

January 7

A man fatally shot an acquaintance in the parking lot of the TGIFriday's in Owings Mills at 11:00pm last night. An off-duty VA police officer witnessed the shooting and confronted the assailant, who then exchanged gunfire with the officer. The attacker hid and was sniffed out by a police dog.

On Saturday morning, a prisoner at the Anne Arundel County Detention Center, uh, "escaped by walking off".

January 6

Warren Fleming, the man killed yesterday at Security Square mall, was "described as a role model for aspiring young African-American entrepreneurs." He owned the Cingular Wireless store in the mall, as well as a Cingular store in Catonsville. He left behind his wife, a 7-year-old son, and a 5-year-old daughter. Police are investigating the act as a possible carjacking. A car that witnesses spotted at the scene was found at the Owings Mills Metro station with its engine running. As of 8:00 tonight, no arrests have been made in the murder.

34-year-old Raymont Hopewell is being held without bail on charges including five counts of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree rape. Hopewell is accused of murdering 82-year-old Carlton Crawford in August, 78-year-old Lydia Wingfield (also in August), 78-year-old Sadie Mack in May, 88-year-old Sarah Shannon in 2002, and 60-year-old Constance Wills in 1999. There is no word on whether Hopewell was involved in last year's murders of Jessie Lee Jr (74), Robert Little (88), or Shirley Chisley (64), but investigators are reviewing cases for possible connections.

Dwight Watson has been identified as the cab driver who was murdered by two teenagers on New Year's Eve.

There is some suspicion of murder in the July 2005 death of Army Sgt. Juwan L. Johnson, a Baltimore resident who was finishing out his active duty in Germany before returning home to his pregnant wife. The Purple Heart recipient had survived a mine attack in Iraq, but according to his family he died from traumatic force to the upper torso.

Unique Coleman remained in critical condition at Shock Trauma last night after being shot 11 times and then giving birth. Her boyfriend, Marcel Foster, was shot once in the buttocks during the alleged carjacking.

Three of the four officers who were suspended with pay from the Southwestern district have been indicted on rape charges related to a woman's claim they forced her to have sex with them after arresting her as part of a drug investigation.

A 40-year-old man was arrested after a 36-year-old woman claimed she escaped from a motel room after being tied up for three days.

In the wake of a September 13 incident where a 21-year-old registered sex offender attempted to randomly pick up a child at Glen Burnie Elementary School (charges were later dropped), Gov. Ehrlich has proposed tough new restrictions against sex offenders.

The second Baltimore County mall shooting of the day occurred yesterday at White Marsh Mall. A group of three men got in a fight with a group of four men, and a shot was fired. No one was hurt, the group of three men was arrested, and the gun was recovered.

30-year-old Baltimore City resident Ian McDonald was sentenced to 20 years in prison for carrying crack, pot, and a loaded gun. He was sentenced in federal court, which is part of a strategy that should go into effect within a month and should result in stronger convictions and sentences. McDonald described himself as "an idiot" for breaking the law, and U.S. Attorney for Maryland Rod Rosenstein agreed with the assessment.

The family that cooks together books together: 39-year-old Sheila Beil was charged yesterday with running a meth lab in Millersville, one day after her husband, Michael Don Beil, was charged.

Baltimore has been named The Country's Fittest City by Men's Fitness magazine. It must be all of the heroin addiction and bullet holes that keeps us looking so fabulous.

January 5

Police are seeking the person who fatally shot 25-year-old Gregory "Gotti" Ball at about 12:30am Tuesday in the 1300 block of Booth St.

The body of a 15-year-old boy from a North Baltimore group home was found in a railroad tunnel beneath the 2600 block of Greenmount. Vatell Antonio Murray was shot to death and had been dead for several hours when his body was found on Tuesday night. Police have no suspects or motive.

(For those of you who are counting, that makes six murders in the first three days of the year. It took us five whole days to kill six people last year.)

In the area's first shopping mall killing of 2006, 31-year-old Warren Fleming was fatally shot as he stepped out of his car at the Security Square mall in Baltimore County. Fleming was found near the Hecht's entrance at about 10:30 this morning. Police are searching for a silver 2002 Dodge Intrepid (Maryland tags MWH 755).

A 23-year-old pregnant woman who was shot early this morning has been taken to Shock Trauma in grave condition. Doctors are working to save the unborn child, who was due to be born in a few weeks. The woman was found in a car on an I-95 exit ramp after her boyfriend called police from a motel to report that they had been carjacked and he had been shot.

Identities of two New Year's Day murder victims in the Blotter: 16-year-old Ronny Martin was identified as the person found in a parked car on the 2600 block of Marbourne Ave. in Southwestern Baltimore, and 20-year-old Dahun Javon Jones is the man whose body was found in woods on the 3400 block of Spelman Rd. in South Baltimore's Cherry Hill. (Jones had been dead for 1 - 2 days, but his murder counts to the 2006 number.)

Also in the Blotter, a 22-year-old man was shot in the stomach, and a robber held a box cutter to the throat of a female clothing store employee in Canton.

Dan Rodricks profiles Alvester Rozier, the 79-year-old man who was shot to death because his son was involved in a drug dispute. Rodricks comes to an interesting conclusion for Baltimore: no one is to blame for Rozier's death "but punks from the drug life with guns."

Graham Buckmaster was captured as he drove through the Cumberland Gap into Tennessee. Buckmaster is charged with first- and second-degree murder in the New Year's Eve shooting death of 40-year-old Lisa Moore.

Ross Telp was sentenced to 33 years for stabbing his mother to death over an argument about scuffed hubcaps on her car.

The lawyers for dead convicted murderer Stefan Tyson Bell are trying to have his conviction overturned because he was waiting for an appeal when he died. Bell was sentenced to life for beating Joseph Demarest and then burying him alive.

The owner of Keeper's Market in Northeast Baltimore was shot during a robbery. He shot two of the three assailants, who are facing charges of attempted murder and armed robbery.

Police believe eight Harford County armed robberies might be connected.

In Frederick County, 51-year-old Patricia Nicholson was charged with 244 counts of animal abuse. 119 cats and three dogs were taken from her home, along with 184 dead cats. Contact the Frederick County animal control if you're interested in adopting.

In the "Stupid Companies who Make Identity Theft Really Easy" department, H&R Block sent out mailers that contained the recipient's name, address, and Social Security number on the outside of the envelope. The company played down their mistake by claiming it only happened on 3% of the mailings, and it won't happen again. No official word on whether it was "only" 3% of 10 envelopes or 3% of 6,000,000.

Michael Dronet was sentenced to 1 year and 1 day in prison for an illegal house-flipping business.

Air bags have been stolen from 16 Honda Civics between Ellicott City and Laurel.

And last but not least, there are some interesting comments under yesterday's post from Galt, who attended the public meeting on the BPD's arrest policies. The Sun also summarizes the meeting, stating Mayor O'Malley and Commissioner Hamm appeared before a "mostly defiant crowd".